Customer Reviews

The Republican Playbook

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What would we do without Andy Borowitz to let us know that it isn't so bad that we can't still laugh? The Republican Playbook is not only clever and entertaining with laughs on every single page from start to finish, but it properly belongs in a time capsule to let future generations know that some of us were aware, appropriately appalled and energetically resisted the tyranny of our day with every resource available including a damning wit, a comprehensive vision and Adobe® Photoshop® CS2.

One of the most popular political humor books in recent memory was America (The Book) : A Citizen's Guide to Democratic Inaction, put out by Jon Stewart and others at Comedy Central's The Daily Show. America was a political parody disguised as a civics textbook. Now comes another political parody in disguise, this time as a Republican strategy manual called The Republican Playbook. The book passes itself off as a top-secret manual misplaced by President George W. Bush (complete with "his" doodlings and commentaries within) on how to win elections and political points.

The trick in a book like this is to be over the top enough to be funny, yet just realistic enough to make it look and feel like what is being parodied. America succeeded in this, and so does The Republican Playbook. No opportunity to pick on Republicans is missed, particularly ones from the current administration-but the book offers "forewords" to "previous editions" from other Republican presidents that are equally entertaining. However, the book is seldom so overtaken with anger at the current administration that it loses its sense of humor, and maintains just the hint of plausibility needed to make a book like this work. The book is organized into five "lessons"that concern current political issues such as Iraq. Within these lessons. among the more entertaining sections are "Official Republican Supreme Court Litmus Test","How To Drain All Spontaneity From Your Town Meetings", and "Dr. Frist's Long-Distance Diagnosis of Leading Democrats". As he does in the last of these three, Borowitz is able to take plenty of digs at the Democrats, too. The Republican Playbook is a fun, relatively quick read that is clearly targeted to liberals, but many conservatives should be able to see the humor in it, too. This is one of the more entertaining American political parodies of the past several years. I repeatedly laughed out loud reading it, and other fans of current American politics will, too.

This is a slightly edited copy of mail I sent to Andy Borowitz. I seriously needed and loved this book. Please take a chance and buy it. As I said, above, it might save your life. Or at least your mental health!
Andy,
I sent a copy of your book to someone for their birthday, messed up the address part on Amazon and the book came to me (I did go back on Amazon and made sure that the birthday person got their own copy!). I am really glad that I made that first mistake, however. I have been reading MY copy and it is very smart, very funny, and almost frighteningly prescient. Especially the October surprise #2! You are soooo good. Instead of sinking into dispair (which is what I have done) over the whole Bush mess, especially the war, you made something sharp and poisonously funny from it. Oh, yeah. I am going to vote (much good it will do me in Idaho) but, no matter how the whole 2006 election turns out, I think I can continue to see the irony of the whole thing...now that you showed it to me. THANK YOU!!!

Rarely is it asked "Is our President learning"?

Even rarer, is that question answered with Andy Borowitz's good-natured wit and wisdom. Mr. Borowitz not only puts America's collective mind at ease that our President is learning, Mr. Borowitz's "The Republican Playbook" shows us exactly what it is our President has learned.

The Republican-authored Wikipedia entries for Harry Reid and John Edwards are fall off your chair funny. The debate tips -- including the section on "change the topic before the topic changes you" -- will make even the most jaded political news junkie grin. The photoshopped rendition of the Supreme Court featuring the Dixie Chicks and Michael Moore is priceless, notwithstanding the fact that these gems -- and so much more -- can be yours for the shockingly low price touted by Amazon.

Mr. Borowitz has shown once again that he is the legitimate heir to Will Rogers -- except for maybe the part about trick roping while on horseback.

But I digress.

This is a very funny book that should not be missed.

For those whose politics lean left, it confirms much of what you always thought and provides the particulars and a whole lot more.

For those whose politics lean right, this book is a handy prop to prove that the current leader of the Free World has not been taking his cues from "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Politics."

For those whose politics lean neither left nor right, there are hilarious illustrations and not too many hard to pronounce words.

Don't miss this book!

I start every day with a guffaw reading the Borowitz Report breaking news email. So when Andy demanded that his loyal email fans put their money where their...er...mouths are (although he has never directly asked where my mouth has been), I jumped on the Republican Playbook and ordered it right away.

I love it. It's a little book, besmirched by Bush's coffee stains, fingerprints and doodling (Bush tends to drift away from reading when the words get bigger than "the"), but it is chock full of in-depth explanations and directions for playing every dirty political trick imaginable. Bush may not be very bright but he obviously knows how to follow directions.

Andy Borowitz provides an invaluable service. He makes me laugh about things that generally make me snarl and spit. Why loiter helplessly, watching that little twerp that masquerades as our president turn America into a despised world power? At least now we can laugh as we go down in flames! Laughing is better than feeling hopeless. (Most psychologists would agree with me there) If I do sell my house and all belongings and fly away to some distant island, this book will be in my carry-on bag. I'm still researching if there is actually an island to fly away to that doesn't have a WalMart.

Andy Borowitz is a genius of political satire! I ordered "The Republican Playbook" and Frank Rich's "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" at the same time. One is fiction, one is non-fiction. One makes me laugh, one makes me cry.

Although this book skewers Republicans, Andy is an equal opportunity satirist. You can subscribe to The Borowitz Report, a daily dose of topical humor, at borowitzreport.com.

but it is a tragicomedy. The manipulation and betrayal of American voters may not seem hilarious, but Borowitz shows us humor galore there.
If your attention span is like our president's, this collection of sketches may be read in several um sittings.
Although authors Lee Atwater and Karl Rove are not properly credited, you can learn something while laughing with, or at, this book.
Maybe you already suspected that for such clever masters of the universe, our rulers are a little slow, but having it confirmed without provoking depression is a therapeutic breakthrough -- and for a fraction of the price of psychoanalysis.
I can't wait for the Democratic sequel. If only Borowitz could organize that material.

All fans of Andy Borowitz's daily online column will enjoy this compact and clever volume. Although the election has passed, and new one is lurking right around the corner and no doubt, the Republican playbook is being dusted off in anticipation. You owe it to yourself to read Andy's comments and also his daily online columns at the Borowitz Report!!

Covers just about everything one would expect in "The George W. Bush Leadership Series," including dirty tricks, talking points, the nuclear options, etc. - all exactly as one might imagine them written down and kept in #43's back pocket. I especially liked #43's handwritten notes - eg. "Ask Mr. Cheney about this!" The only thing missing was a solution to the Iraq War - and of course that's because Republicans don't have one!

Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (11/06)

"The Republican Playbook" is side splittingly funny. I enjoyed the book from start to finish. It was supposedly commissioned in 1972 by Richard "Tricky Dick" Nixon and has the best known rule for beating the democrats - complete disregard for federal laws. The book has in depth coverage for covering up leaks and running smear campaigns.

This particular copy of the "Republican Playbook" is touted to be George W. Bush's and full of coffee stains, "notes to self" in the margins and doodling (I noticed that the doodling was most common with tough concepts). The Playbook is very comprehensive and required reading for every Republican candidate prior to taking office. While containing all the best tricks and scams, its real success is due to the Democrats falling for them again and again.

The "Republican Playbook" relates to past presidents and their most successful tactics such as President Ronald Reagan unprecedented success by following the chapter "Deny Knowing Anything about Anything." The full voting blueprint for the 2006 election was laid out and I have to wonder if the Democrats uncovered the scheme for fully functioning voting booth/ballot shredders in the battleground states, or if one of the Republicans failed to read and understand this concept completely.

The book also includes some very funny photos linking the six degrees of photos from Hillary Clinton to Osama bin Laden and Kim Jong II. The totally irreverent Republican-to-English glossary translates phrases like "personal responsibility" to rationalizing it as "welfare cuts" and many more. And then there is the chapter on placing fake newspaper stories such as "Short sleeve shirt manufacturer's praise global warming."

Andy Borowitz points out the many political shortcomings of our system in a very comical way, but you never miss the point of what he is trying to achieve in this very well-written book. I highly recommend "The Republican Playbook" to anyone who enjoys political satire, takes politics too seriously and opinionated Republicans who have completely ruined holiday meals by over expressing their views for hours on end. Seriously, this book is high on my Holiday gift lists for my friends with strong political views. I hope to see and read the "Democrat Playbook" as I am sure it would be equally as comical.

Book received free of charge