Of Mule and Man [Kindle Edition]

Mike Farrell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Actor-producer Farrell's 2007 memoir, Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist, traced his spiritual odyssey from a working-class childhood to fame from TV's M*A*S*H and his worldwide humanitarian efforts. Promotion of that paperback led him on an 8,882-mile book tour to 25 cities, documented in dispatches to the Huffington Post. Now he collects his journal entries from that 36-day road trip with Mule, his nickname for the Prius hybrid rental car he drove from city to city in May and June 2008. For Farrell, the trip was an opportunity to network with the human rights and justice organizations co-sponsoring the tour, while meeting old friends, giving interviews and doing q&a sessions where he could speak out: One woman asked me what I thought were the three most critically important things we had to do to get this country back on track. I said, 'Elect Barack Obama, elect Barack Obama, elect Barack Obama.' The book is nicely designed, with page numbers inside little road sign shapes; chapter headings list mileage, destination and such co-sponsors as the ACLU, Center for Victims of Torture and Greenpeace. Sidebars throughout detail the aims and accomplishments of groups like the Southern Center for Human Rights, which represents hundreds on death row. Farrell writes with an upbeat, optimistic attitude, infused with humor, insights and soul. As he drives across the landscape, he also drives home important social justice issues. (May 1)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Farrell is best known for his role as B.J. Hunnicutt on M*A*S*H, but off the screen, he has been a political activist, working with several human rights and peace organizations. In May 2008, he set out on a book tour for his autobiography, Just Call Me Mike, which he chronicled in dispatches to the Huffington Post. Those dispatches are gathered together here, along with additional information and resources. Farrell's politics are loud and clear in these vignettes as he frequently refers to the events happening in the late spring and summer of 2008, acquiring ammunition by listening to right-wing talk radio along the long stretches of highway between bookstores and public library readings. The descriptions of the landscapes and cities are evocative, but the flow of the story is frequently disrupted with his tendency to name-drop. The book will likely be appreciated by fans and like-minded activists, but others may be turned off by Farrell's polemics.—Anna Creech, Univ. of Richmond, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 1826 KB
• Print Length: 200 pages
• Publisher: Akashic Books (May 1, 2009)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002HEW56Y
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #506,113 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Mike is best known for playing Captain B.J. Hunnicutt in the ever popular series M*A*S*H. His eight years with the memorable show allowed the opportunity to both write and direct several episodes, earning him nominations for Director's Guild and Emmy Awar

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking author, April 26, 2009

By 

MotherLodeBeth "MotherLodeBeth" (Sierras of California) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Of Mule and Man (Paperback)

Mike Farrell is a gifted writer and a man who knows how to think outside the box. How many authors do you know who are walk the talk to the point of driving a hybrid car around the country to do a book tour? There are so many authors who profess to be green who sure do not walk the talk.

Now I have to be honest and say having had a spouse who was disabled by a drunk driver I haven't always been a big supporter of doing away with the death penalty. Then in the mid nineties I checked a book out from the library written by someone from a southern prison who who worked on death row.

He had written of the fact that when someone is put to death, it is innocent men/women who must do the killing even if its lethal injection which looks rather painless. Nonetheless he noted it takes a toll on the people doing the execution. Something society doesn't ever think about. Then I read some of Mr Farrells other pieces and books and I finally came to agree with him.

Also like that he is a fair man. Not at all the wild raving maniac leftist negative type some people who disagree with him, make him out to be. His views on Israel, the war in Iraq, human rights in general and what we do to the least of these we do to Christ, (for those who are Christian) are a must read.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mike Farrell: Of Mule & Man, July 5, 2009

By 

Felice Schulman (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Of Mule and Man (Paperback)

I loved the stories, both of the towns visited and the dialogue with his Prius. Have bought copies for friends who have Prius' as well. Very entertaining.