Smells Like Dead Elephants is a brilliant collection from Matt Taibbi, “a political reporter with the gonzo spirit that made Hunter S. Thompson and P. J. O’Rourke so much fun” (The Washington Post). Bringing together Taibbi’s most incisive and hilarious work from his “Road Work” column in Rolling Stone, Smells Like Dead Elephants shines an unflinching spotlight on the corruption, dishonesty, and sheer laziness of our leaders. Taibbi has plenty to say about George W. Bush, Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, and all the rest, but he doesn’t just hit inside the Beltway. He gets involved in the action, infiltrating Senator Conrad Burns’s birthday party under disguise as a lobbyist for a fictional oil firm that wants to drill in the Grand Canyon. He floats into apocalyptic post-Katrina New Orleans in a dinghy with Sean Penn. He goes to Iraq as an embedded reporter, where he witnesses the mind-boggling dysfunction of our occupation and spends three nights in Abu Ghraib prison. And he reports from two of the most bizarre and telling trials in recent memory: California v. Michael Jackson and the evolution-vs.-intelligent-design trial in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Equally funny and shocking, this is excellent work from one of our most entertaining writers.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
71 of 74 people found the following review helpful
By David Shank
Format:Paperback
As a longtime fan of Hunter S. Thompson's political reporting and social commentary I was first exposed to Matt Taibbi when i learned that he had inherited the very same job that the good Dr. HST held at the Foriegn Affairs Desk at Rolling Stone magazine. Pretty bold move to take that one on because nobody (I thought) could inherit that mantle from HST and do it justice. Well, I was wrong. Matt did it and did it well.
This book is a collection or articles (I assume from various sources - I don't recall seeing all of these in Rolling Stone). He takes us to see places and meet people we already think we know from the news stories of the day (or yesterday) and manages to make the stories (some now old and lame) fresh and new in the process.
My only complaint is the same one I had upon reading HST - severe depression at the state of our government and our fellow humans. Damn but the truth is painful and this book is full of truth.
You will love it. If you don't, there is probably something wrong with you.
This book is a collection or articles (I assume from various sources - I don't recall seeing all of these in Rolling Stone). He takes us to see places and meet people we already think we know from the news stories of the day (or yesterday) and manages to make the stories (some now old and lame) fresh and new in the process.
My only complaint is the same one I had upon reading HST - severe depression at the state of our government and our fellow humans. Damn but the truth is painful and this book is full of truth.
You will love it. If you don't, there is probably something wrong with you.
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful
By MZ
Format:Paperback
In spite of the off-putting title, this book is a delectable collection of Taibbi's habit-forming Rolling Stone essays on politics in the Bush era. His topics range from Michael Jackson to Lynndie England to (my favorite) Tom DeLay.
He fearlessly travels to New Orleans (with Sean Penn, as it happens) to see the Katrina disaster firsthand; he gets embedded with the troops in Iraq, then dis-embeds to go inside Abu Ghraib in the company of a mercenary. He is suitably appreciative and humble in the company of the soldiers (but not the contractors) with whom he is traveling. But the most horrifying story may be the one about Taibbi's time in the company of Bernie Sanders, the independent Congressman from Vermont, as bills he works on in the Republican Congress get snuffed out one by one. Whatever rules used to exist are either ignored or rewritten, all without regard for fairness or decency or even, quite possibly, for legality. It's the most stunning up-close look at a dysfunctional government a reader could stand.
Taibbi has been referred to as a "gonzo" journalist, and indeed there is a bit--just enough--of his "self" in the reporting; but he is mainly a deeply insightful observer and chronicler of things unseemly and egregious. While I regretted the very occasional occurrence of a superfluous four-letter word (usually, they appear in just the right places, one of his stylistic gifts), he seldom makes these gaffes, and his writing is almost always pure art. He does not write like an angel: he writes like a sharp-eyed, been-there done-that, hard-nosed, soft-hearted reporter with a mission to write the truth and a clear sense of the poignant. While his view is deeply and appropriately cynical, he has a superb sense of humor and command of language, and underneath it all, an unmistakable sweet soul.
He fearlessly travels to New Orleans (with Sean Penn, as it happens) to see the Katrina disaster firsthand; he gets embedded with the troops in Iraq, then dis-embeds to go inside Abu Ghraib in the company of a mercenary. He is suitably appreciative and humble in the company of the soldiers (but not the contractors) with whom he is traveling. But the most horrifying story may be the one about Taibbi's time in the company of Bernie Sanders, the independent Congressman from Vermont, as bills he works on in the Republican Congress get snuffed out one by one. Whatever rules used to exist are either ignored or rewritten, all without regard for fairness or decency or even, quite possibly, for legality. It's the most stunning up-close look at a dysfunctional government a reader could stand.
Taibbi has been referred to as a "gonzo" journalist, and indeed there is a bit--just enough--of his "self" in the reporting; but he is mainly a deeply insightful observer and chronicler of things unseemly and egregious. While I regretted the very occasional occurrence of a superfluous four-letter word (usually, they appear in just the right places, one of his stylistic gifts), he seldom makes these gaffes, and his writing is almost always pure art. He does not write like an angel: he writes like a sharp-eyed, been-there done-that, hard-nosed, soft-hearted reporter with a mission to write the truth and a clear sense of the poignant. While his view is deeply and appropriately cynical, he has a superb sense of humor and command of language, and underneath it all, an unmistakable sweet soul.
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By G. Crymes
Format:Paperback
This book is a masterful creation of reality, snark, wit and intellect. Matt shines the light of truth on just how far gone our government is. You can find him on the show Real Time With Bill Maher often. That is how I found out about him and his book. It's so refreshing and disheartening to read this book. You never get the real story from TV news on just how incredibly broken every part of Washington DC is. This is probably one of the best books I have read in a while.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book
Matt is a great writer, researcher. I recommend any book that he writes. He is one of the few people that can put to print what many of us believe to be the case.
Published 1 month ago by Stan Mullin
3.0 out of 5 stars
Informative but sticks and stones
The book at times is very informative when it deals with the processes of government. Who makes decisions and how it is done the author makes somewhat clear as it is a scatter-gun... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Brian Moher
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book. A MUST READ for everyone!
Excellent book. A MUST READ for everyone who wants to see how the government really runs behind the scenes. It's funny, witty, and scary to read. Read it NOW!
Published on April 4, 2010 by Russ L. Grubbs
5.0 out of 5 stars
There is no native criminal class except congress. - Mark Twain
Matt Taibbi says it like it is when he asserts that Congress has become an excercise of raw power w/no principles, and in that environment corruption has flourished. Read more
Published on January 8, 2010 by R. A. Barricklow
1.0 out of 5 stars
Reader of Smells Like Dead Elephants
I purchased the book because I enjoyed his writing in Spanking the Donkey. I enjoyed the book because I the liberaism was minimal. This book is truly partisan. Read more
Published on October 24, 2008 by Diane E. Shepherd
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond Words!
Taibbi's "Smells Like Dead Elephants" is mostly too funny to describe - especially describing Michael Jackson's trial, Bernie Sanders' efforts to pass legislation and amendments,... Read more
Published on July 13, 2008 by Loyd E. Eskildson
3.0 out of 5 stars
Almost ready for prime time
I give Matt maybe another few years to become crotchety and bitter before he inherits the mantle of a Hunter S. Read more
Published on February 17, 2008 by Ronald Battista
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