Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Political "debate" in this country is insufferable..." (more)
Key Phrases: election projections, conservative books, susan molinari, New York Times, Fox News, Washington Post (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Liberals have been wrong about everything in the last half century," writes conservative pundit Ann Coulter, author of the bestselling anti-Clinton tome High Crimes and Misdemeanors. They've been especially wrong about Republicans, she writes. The bulk of Slander, in fact, is a well-documented brief dedicated to the proposition that most of the media despises anybody whose political opinions lie an inch to the right of the New York Times editorial page. This is hardly an original observation, though few have presented it with such verve. Coulter is the shock-jock of right-wing political commentary, able to dash off page after page of over-the-top but hilarious one-liners: "Liberals dispute slight reductions in the marginal tax rates as if they are trying to prevent Charles Manson from slaughtering baby seals." There's a certain amount of irony about an author who says "liberals prefer invective to engagement" also declaring, "The good part of being a Democrat is that you can commit crimes, sell out your base, bomb foreigners, and rape women, and the Democratic faithful will still think you're the greatest." But then carefully measured criticism never has been Coulter's shtick--or her appeal. Fans of Rush Limbaugh and admirers of Bernard Goldberg's Bias won't want to miss Slander. --John Miller

From Booklist

For those who don't know Ann Coulter, she is one of those blond, right-wing, talking heads who pop up on cable--the most outspoken one. "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity," she remarked after the terrorist attacks. She is no easier on liberals, on whom she blames, well, just about everything: "The liberal catechism includes a hatred of Christians, guns, the profit motive and political speech." Page after page of invective follows: "In radical Islam liberals finally found a religion they could respect." The diatribe (complete with footnotes when she's quoting liberals) continues through discussions of the liberal press, the "apocryphal" religious right, and liberals' inability to engage in ideas, only name-calling(!). Sometimes she makes a valid point. She's exactly right about the way the media criticizes women because of their looks. She neglects to mention, though, that this criticism is not restricted to Republican women such as Linda Tripp. Just ask Hillary Clinton. Coulter tries very hard to be incendiary, but she comes across as merely tedious. Although she claims liberals run the press, she'll no doubt turn up on many right-wing call-in shows, among other venues, so a buy a copy. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Crown; Later printing edition (June 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400046610
• ISBN-13: 978-1400046614
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,233 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #459,621 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 150 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, biting sarcasm! A fun read., June 27, 2002

By A Customer

Anne Coulter documents the bias in the news that all of us have heard over the years and inserts her sharp commentary about media bias. Many people may not agree with what she says, but I don't think that's the point. She provides extensive, well documented quotes from those in the main stream media and lets readers know exactly what she thinks about it. This is what makes the book so enjoyable. I think her perspective is interesting and I love the sarcastic wit and humor of the book.

45 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Witty, & Informative Reading, June 30, 2002

By	J. L. Ortega "barrabaz2000" (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Methinks thou dost protest too much" would, I believe, prove to be a more than adequate Shakespearian quote to respond to the many frenzied protestations we find here amongst the reviews. The fact is that Coulter's barbs, razor sharp and unforgiving, are mostly a collection of direct quotes showing a host of contradictions and expressing a myriad of lunacies which, unfortunately for the Democratic party, seem to have found a comfortable home within the liberal worldview. I myself do not subscribe to the point of view that absolutely every notion that emanates from the left is destined to bring the downfall of American civilization (just a disproportionately large number of their ideas); however, Coulter does make a good argument to the contrary. What cannot be disputed is the fact that Coulter does bring to light many straw man arguments used by the left with every breath and then goes about systematically dismantling them. As an avid reader of the New York Times, an excellent paper in my opinion- though surely leaning towards the left of center to such a degree that it may soon topple over completely (Coulter would no doubt argue that my leaning "Times Tower of Pisa" has long ago fallen and crumbled)- I was very much entertained by her total evisceration of some of its duplicity in presenting itself as an utterly objective institution. In her acknowledgements, this one dripping with sarcasm, she gives "sincerest thanks to Pinch Sulzberger and the entire staff of the New York Times, without whom this book would have been impossible." Even though many people may harp about the inevitable disagreements that may arise between themselves and Coulter, how could it be otherwise in a book full of opinions, the truth is that Coulter does bring some interesting new perspectives to even seemingly tired topics such as the 2000 elections and the proposed regulations for the Internet. Ultimately, I found the book extremely entertaining - laughing out loud a good two dozen times or so as I read it - but it is this same deadly combination of wit and well referenced liberal positions and quotes that will inevitably sting the more thin skinned of those with left leaning political inclinations!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All in all, an enjoyable read., June 27, 2002

By A Customer

I found the uniquely homogenous string of single star reviews to Ms. Coulter's book so unusual that I figured it must be an organized smear campaign. If her book was so frightening as to evoke such vile and mean spirited response, well then, there must be something in there that is so blindingly truthful that it scares small minded people.

Well, I read it cover to cover and interestingly enough, there really wasn't anything that I found all that objectionable. I found myself disagreeing with a good bit of it while other parts made me laugh out loud. Perhaps not intentionally, there were sections that made me ponder my own paranoid illusions. I found conflict, humor, empathy and some of the zaniest postulates this side of the X-files.

Bottom line is, wether or not I agreed with any of it, I enjoyed it, which is a whole lot more that I can say for a lot of highly rated, politically correct books that I've read lately.