Customer Reviews

Obliviously On He Sails: The Bush Administration in Rhyme

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Whose words these are I think I know,
It's Trillin.... and his pen doth flow!
He writes with humor, never mean,
His knife sticks in and pulls out clean.

We hear of Bush, the younger one,
(Who really seems to be dim son.)
And Rummy, Ashcroft, Perle and Rice
And Cheney, who's the nation's vice.

The neo-cons do Cal amaze
As to abortion, prayer and gays.
The author offers in each section
A true, poetic "right" rejection.

I highly recommend this book,
(You'll love our writer's jab and hook!)
He'll make of you a lifetime pal,
This funny, punny, comic-Cal.

I bought this book after I saw the interview of the author with John Stewart on Daily Show, and really enjoyed it. The book is full of very funny poems which (of course!) make fun of Bush's administration. Either because of their gaffes or their extreme believes which they are trying to hide. If you like political satire, this books is a must-have. It's not a boring political book, full of facts and conclusions, just a piece of news and sharp comic poem afterwards, so you can enjoy reading each part separately or read all the book at once. However, if you're a republican, you need a whole lot of sense of humor in order to enjoy some of the poems. The guy went to a lot of trouble for finding words that rhyme with the names of people in administration, but the result is usually great. A side note, some of the poems refer to things that has happened in 2000 presidential campaign and election, but there is a one line note about the event before beginning of the poem.
For example check this part of poem about John Ashcroft's quote that in US we have no king but Jesus:

The only king we have is Jesus,
And I feel blessed to bring the news.
The only king we have is Jesus,
I can't explain why we got Jews.

This book is essential for those of us who are kept up at night out of our loathing for the current administration and need to learn how to transform our angst into humor. Trillin, though clearly incensed, focuses on the absurdity of the words and actions of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et al. You'll be no less angry after reading Trillin's poems but at least you'll have a smile on your face.

I thought I would laugh myself to death like the Weasels in Roger Rabbit after hearing Calvin reading "My Nanny, Dick", on the radio. This is the BEST BOOK yet on the misadventures and malfeasance of he who must not be opposed, IMHO--and makes the essential critical point with a combination of light-heartedness, acute poignancy, and the surprise of recognition. Well done!

When I first read this little volume through, my first reaction was that this was not much ado about even less. Then upon reflection-- and after I called a couple of friends and read some of my favorite little ditties to them-- the book began to grow on me. Now when I see Mr. Bush stumping-- if that's what he is doing-- or giving sound bites, Mr. Trillin's doggerel comes to mind and makes me smile. For example, when Kerry announced that Edwards would be his running mate in November, the current occupant of the White House, when asked to compare Mr. Edwards with Mr. Cheney, responded quicker than A Texas tornado, "Dick Cheney can be President." But Mr. Trillin calls Mr. Cheney "Nanny Dick" and concludes in another little poem that the current VP only holds his head at an angle when he is lying-- which is all of the time. Wolfowitz and his crowd, those who were hell-bent on getting the U. S. into war, are called "Sissy Hawks." After all most of them didn't wear the uniform. (Weekend soldiers don't count.) Condoleezza Rice's name is always followed with "Mushroom Cloud" in parentheses. While Mr. Trillin takes most of his shots-- and he has tremendously good aim-- at Bush and his administration, the Democrats get zapped a few times too. One of the saddest poems in this entire volume is one for the Democrats: "The Loyal Opposition." "The Senate Democrats sat mum/Like doves afraid to coo./So history will soon record/This war as their war too." Then there's "A Silver-Lining View of George Bush's Not Attending Military Funerals, Lest He Become Associated with Bad News": At least there's no Bush eulogy/On why they had to die./It's better that they're laid to rest/Without another lie." (Notice that the titles are often practically as long as the poems, themselves.)

Since 1990, Mr. Trillin apparently has written a poem each week on the news. The last one in this slender volume is dated April 19, 2004. Some of his efforts don't work very well as poems, hardly rhyming, something that these sorts of poems must do in order to be successful. (Ogden Nash's reputation will not be tarnished by this book.) What we do have here are thoughtful comments by a good and funny writer on the current state of the United States as he sees it.

One would assume that the antics of this administration would have made satirists work overtime. Yet few seem to dare make Cheney, Ashcroft, and the boys targets of their wit. Michael Moore and Al Franken belong to the few. Now, at last New Yorker columnist Calvin Trillin has produced a book full of sharp satire, clever wit, and just buckets of laughs. Good fun for the family. I hope it gets the distribution if merits.

It is sometimes difficult to find a reason to laugh in these days of corporate and government corruption, but at least there are a few rays of laughter, including this short book of short poems. Mr. Trillin aims his barbs at Cheney's greed, Bush's (toughest hombre ever hid in the Guard) low IQ, Rove, Delay, war, fundamentalists and political campaigns, and the poems are insightful and sharp. There are even a few sea chanteys (Let's Heave Ho Toward the Center, Lads)!, and sometimes the titles are the real punch line, as in "On the Bush Administration's Reversal of the Announcement that Testing School Lunch Meat for Salmonella Would No Longer Be Required" or "Richard Perle: Whose Fault Is He?", which ends :

"And he's got planes and ships and tanks and guns--
All manned, of course, by other people's sons."

The title comes from the first rhyme of the book,

"Obliviousy on he sails,
With marks not quite as good as Quayle's"

I thought the most biting was this one, called "A Silver Lining View of George Bush's Not Attending Military Funerals, Lest He Become Associated with Bad News":

"At least there's no Bush eulogy
On why they had to die.
It's better that they're laid to rest
Without another lie."

Fine, satirical poems with a liberal/moral/rational bias.

Trillin is not a household name in humor, but he is a witty and urbane veteran of pop culture analysis, from food to parking to life in the city. This slim volume is so sharp and sparkling--and at the same time devoid of ideology or hatred, unlike Michael Moore--that even Republicans should enjoy it. The other two funniest books are (of course) David Sedaris' incomparable "Dress Your Family..." and an overlooked little book about family life, "I Sleep At Red Lights: A True Story of Life After Triplets," by Bruce Stockler.

The emperor has no clothes so let's laugh. A great book to relieve some of the anger about all the lies and illegal actions of the Bush administration. It's all here, but with a twist. Sometimes laughter is the best response.

Trillin has the easy ability to satirize current Bush administration character and policy flaws in rhyme and with humor and a light touch. All the topics are ones we are familiar with so it's easy to have a chuckle or laugh. It's a fun book that my 20 something sons liked and also my 80 something parents. Just one caveat, however, some of the poems are humorous on first reading, but sadly serious at their core when you remember what the costs of the flaws are. Partisan critics of the book need to lighten up for goodness sake.