New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)

by Bill Maher (Author)
Key Phrases: President Bush, George Bush, Super Bowl (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Book Description:
Bill Maher is on the forefront of the new wave of comedians who have begun to influence and shape political debate through their comedy. He is best known not just for being funny, but for advocating truth over sensitivity and taking on the political establishment. Maher first came to national attention as the host of the hit ABC-TV program Politically Incorrect, where he offered a combustible mixture of irreverence and acerbic humor that helped him to garner a loyal following, as well as a reputation for being a controversial bad boy.

Bill Maher's popular new HBO television show, Real Time, has put Maher more front and center than ever before. Particularly one regular segment on the show, entitled "New Rules," has been a hit with his ever-growing legion of fans. It is the part of the show during which Maher takes serious aim, bringing all of his intelligence, incisiveness, wit, and his signature exasperation to bear on topics ranging from cell phones ("I don't need my cell phone to take pictures or access the Internet. I just need it to make a phone call. From everywhere! Not just the places it likes!") to fast food ("No McDonald's in hospitals. I'm not kidding!) to the conservative agenda ("Stop claiming it's an agenda. It's not an agenda. It's a random collection of laws that your corporate donors paid you to pass.")

His new book, the first since his bestselling When You Ride Alone You Ride with bin Laden, brings these brilliantly conceived riffs and rants to the written page. Appropriately titled New Rules, the book will collect some of the best of the rules derived from previously written material and will also contain substantial new material, including some longer form "editorials"--of course with a twist and bite that only Bill Maher can deliver.

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Rule Breaker: An Amazon.com Interview with Bill Maher

In New Rules: Polite Musings of a Timid Observer, Bill Maher skewers celebrity, pop culture, and politics in his classic acerbic style. With a new season of Real Time with Bill Maher and an upcoming HBO Special (his sixth), Bill Maher: I'm Swiss, on deck, Maher also found the time to host Amazon.com's 10th Anniversary Concert at Seattle's Benaroya Hall. Amazon.com caught up with Maher upon his return to Los Angeles to talk about the book, the comic's night-table reading habits, the Internet, and what's wrong with the media.

Read our Amazon.com interview with Bill Maher

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More from Bill Maher

Books:
When You Ride Alone You Ride with bin Laden	Does Anybody Have a Problem with That?	True Story: A Novel

DVDs:
Bill Maher: I'm Swiss (DVD)	Bill Maher: Victory Begins at Home (DVD)	Bill Maher: Be More Cynical (DVD)

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
The new rules TV host Maher establishes for "a self-obsessed, success-by-any-means, get-mine culture" make a convincing case for Maher's claim that everyone but him is crazy. Zingers about fads like low-carb dieting and flat-screen televisions ("Congratulations-you just paid $10,000 to watch Hogan's Heroes") poke fun at appearance-obsessed, megalomaniacal American consumers, and his takes on current news stories such as Jennifer Wilbanks, the runaway bride from Georgia, and the popular television shows Desperate Housewives and Growing Up Gotti ("You don't get a TV show because Grandpa killed people") are clever jabs at the media and the entertainment industry. But Maher is at his best when he addresses controversial political issues by making a serious point without sacrificing the wisecracks. He slips a cheeky remark about George Bush's past into his discussion of brutal conditions in prisons, and points out that the No Child Left Behind law has created "pushouts": poor-performing students who Maher says schools put in "phony categories like 'transferred' or 'enrolled in GED' or 'dating Demi Moore'" in order to meet requirements to receive federal funding. Though Maher's rules are sometimes just whiny (he complains about room service personnel not knowing what kind of soup is available) and he repeats a few tired jokes (variations of "you want to spend your millions on a worthless cause, try donating it to the Democrats" appear several times), his views on the state of contemporary political and social culture are bound to cause a few laugh-out-loud moments.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: Rodale, Inc.; 1St Edition edition (July 26, 2005)
• ISBN-10: 1594862958
• ISBN-13: 978-1594862953
• ASIN: B000GYI1O2
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (180 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #500,194 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Rules, Rules!, September 30, 2007

By	!Edwin C. Pauzer (New York City) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Bill Maher, ascerbic comedian, claims that we all lived by rules, even if the rules were just "Stay off the grass," or "Don't Feed the Ducks." So, new rules becomes his signature before each witticism. For example, according to Maher, the best way for terrorism to be defeated is to ensure that the terrorists all receive plenty of sex. He suggests, "New rule: We need to mobilize two divisions of skanks,... a brigade of girls who just can't say no--all under the command of Colonel Ann Coulter, who'll be dressed in her Ilsa, She-Wolf of the S.S. uniform. Girls, there's a cure for terrorism and you're...it."

Such comedic salvos are pithy, creative, and irreverent. Maher's language is often salty, and everyone and everything is grist for his mill. Although decidedly anti-Bush, he takes potshots at democrats alike, and most importantly, at himself. "... Something is very wrong when the only one fired over terrorism is me." (Too many times people turned their attention toward me to find out why I suddenly laughed out loud).

It would help the reader to have already heard Maher's voice and delivery. It might give each joke more impact. Nevertheless, this man's star is on the rise, and so is his book.

"New Rules," rules!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Re-run, Re-wind, Re-play, December 7, 2005

By	D. Ertel Jr. (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer (Hardcover)

I love Real Time with Bill Maher, especially the New Rules segment. (HBO and Tivo Rule). This book was very good, but I had previously heard almost all of the material. I was expecting some additional materials or some insight beyond the show script. Having said that, it was fun to re-live the rules and I could almost hear Maher's voice as I read them. A personal favorite rule is - "The people who were most in favor of the war in Iraq must go there and fight it."

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MUST READ, December 16, 2005

By	Hips - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer (Hardcover)

A book about very random observations on life today. Bill Maher, a famous comedian known for his political humor , and his very blunt way of expressing them. Maher is famous for his HBO show "Real Time with Bill Maher", and it's famous ending New Rules. This is where the concept of the book came from. He took the best of his New Rules segments, and one's that never made it on air. With these rules Maher takes aim at serious issues ranging from cell phones to McDonald's in hospitals. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys political humor and is always looking for a laugh.

This book is an easy read. It is great for people that have short attention spans, like me. It jumps from subject to subject organized alphabetically and that is the only way that is organized. Maher is very creative when thinking of the correct way of convey what he is thinking and is hilarious in the process. For example "New Rule- Enough with the "for dummies" series. The last straw was this week when I say NASCAR for dummies. Let me save you the $12.99. It's rednecks drinking beer and watching other rednecks turn left." I have to utmost respect for Bill Maher. He is a comedic genious and does not get the amount of possitive feedback that he diserves. I find it refreshing listening to his views and the bold way that he conveys it. He doesn't care about the consequences, he cares about the message taht it sends. If you get one thing from this review it should be to but this book. DO NOT get scared of the Bill Maher name, and the unfortunate shadow casted by it.