Surrounded by Idiots: Fighting Liberal Lunacy in America [Hardcover]

Mike Gallagher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 2005

In Surrounded by Idiots, Mike Gallagher, one of the top radio talk show hosts in America, takes us to the front lines of the unprecedented cultural and political war confronting all decent Americans.

The 2004 election was a watershed moment in our nation's history, and while it was shocking to the left to see so many red states on the electoral map, to conservatives it was just affirmation of what they'd known all along -- conservatives are the mainstream, and liberals are the fringe.

It is not a time to rest or take things for granted, Mike Gallagher argues. Not at all. "Maintaining America's role as the greatest nation in the world means we must stay the course," he writes, adding, "Liberal idiocy surrounds us all. It threatens to destroy the values and lifestyles that millions of us cherish."

The Left has targeted every value and standard, principle and idea, concept of God, family, honor, duty, country, and decency that we hold dear. As the nation battles for its very soul in this post 9/11 world, we have Mike Gallagher to help fight against the agenda-driven liberal lunatics.

Surrounded by Idiots is an important -- not to mention entertaining -- look at where America is today and the possibility that the future of America will only get brighter.

Foreword Written and read by Sean Hannity

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Conservative radio talker and Fox News regular Gallagher celebrates his career, his views, and his beloved liberal-Democratic wife in this chatty, self-confident debut. "The left is trying to destroy the pillars of our great country," Gallagher says. After a foreword by Sean Hannity, regular listeners will expect—and enjoy—attacks on familiar targets: Bill Clinton, Michael Moore, the Dixie Chicks, animal-rights groups, Hollywood liberals, parents who won't spank their kids and immigrants who don't or can't learn clear English ("Heh-yo, Hoppy China, yoh ohrduh peez?"). One chapter describes Gallagher's heated interview with "smarmy, arrogant" pollster John Zogby, who wrongly predicted a John Kerry win in 2004. Yet the right-wing host spends as much time, and perhaps has more fun, with anecdotes from his life and career. "Breaking into talk radio" at 17, the South Carolina native won a New York City radio berth before going national. After 9/11, he explains, "it was liberating to view the world from the perspective of Us versus Them." Even more liberating was Gallagher's successful battle with fat—he explains how he lost, and has kept off, 70 pounds. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Mike Gallagher is a talk radio host syndicated nationally by the Salem Radio Network. He also appears regularly on the Fox News Channel as a contributor and guest host. Gallagher is a pundit for the popular news and opinion website Newsmax.com. Gallagher and his wife live in New York City and in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (June 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060737980
• ISBN-13: 978-0060737986
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,929,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Surrounded by Drivel, May 6, 2006

By 

J. Green "Jiminator" (East Bethel, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Surrounded by Idiots : Fighting Liberal Lunacy in America (Hardcover)

As a conservative it never ceases to amaze me that nationally syndicated talk show hosts feel compelled to write books. Obviously it is a testament to their inability to get their point across within fifteen broadcast hours each week. Gallagher's opus is no exception. From Sean Hannity's sycophantic forward with its grammatical faux pas to the closing self-deprecating remarks in the final chapter it is a mediocre read at best and fails to offer any convincible solutions toward "fighting liberal lunacy in America".
This book is much like his show: considerable drivel about how things should be in his opinion and how those who don't share his philosophy are `idiots'. According to Wilkipedia.org an idiot is defined as "... a person with a very severe mental retardation or a very low IQ level..." Mike's opponents on the Left are not idiots. Idiots, by the above definition, would be incapable of holding public office or maintaining successful careers in entertainment or academia.. The root cause of their lunacy is driven more by ingratitude to this great nation more than anything. Gallagher fails to grasp this simple fact.
He writes: "The thrust of the book that you now hold in your hands is political". Gallagher himself has incorrectly assessed his own writing. It is anything but political. Bashing politicians, entertainers, and academicians who are left of center does not provide for interesting reading, is tantamount to childish name-calling, and is hardly a persuasive political strategy. Rather than harp upon the ills of society, comparing them with the "back when I was a kid" mantra, Gallagher would have been better served to focus on the political issues that have aided in the political and cultural decline in which we as a nation find ourselves. Sadly, Gallagher is incapable of such critical thinking. If he is, he has certainly squandered a golden opportunity to get to the core of the issues that his limited time on air prohibits. And should we be surprised? His book follows a format similar to his radio show. He touches on certain pet peeves, titillates the reader with a few anecdotes to invoke emotions, and then moves on. There's no expanding on an issue to provide a historical context as to why certain shortcomings ever came about and offers no solutions to the same.
Ridiculing people because of their physical appearance is rhetoric echoing across high school campuses from coast to coast. Gallagher's profession demands a higher acumen of the English vernacular as opposed to calling overweight people "fatties". His reference as such lacks empathy and condescending comments like this are better left unwritten. Accept it, Gallagher. Some people are not as motivated toward personal weight control as you are. Kudos to you for your accomplishment. Don't use it as a soapbox to disparage others.
Surrounded by Idiots is no more a political read than Mother Goose. It is a biographical retrospective written by a Rush Limbaugh wanna-be, who is one of the worst talk show hosts in the business and who has managed to convince enough of the right people that his opinions are worth syndication on national radio, but have little or no potential of making significant cultural or political change.

9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Gallagher-no value whatsoever, February 19, 2009

By 

C. Kronquist "Craig Kronquist" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Surrounded by Idiots: Fighting Liberal Lunacy in America (Hardcover)

Mike Gallagher is a liar. I was on hold for a topic and I was told that they already had enough callers with my opposing point of view. Three minutes later Gallagher says nobody called in to oppose him on the topic!! This liar believes he can get away with that stuff, and he often does. There are postings on the internet of Gallagher also committing blatant lies. Gallagher is a man who believes he is more intellectual then he actually is though. There are 12 year olds who are deeper thinkers then Gallagher. Absolute drivel.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I Like Mike...But Not His Book, January 29, 2010

By 

Cris Matthews - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Surrounded by Idiots: Fighting Liberal Lunacy in America (Hardcover)

Unlike reviewers who bash any opinion but their own, this review attempts to focus on the style and content of the book, not Mr. Gallagher's politics.
I read this book when Gallagher's show was added to the WIND-Chicago-lineup. He, Hugh Hewitt and Michael Medved were also coming to Chicago for a discussion of Obama's first 100 days in office. Since Gallagher was new to me, I'd hoped to learn something deeper than his radio show persona.
While I thoroughly enjoy Gallagher's program, the book left me wanting. It reads like a transcript of his show. So much so, I could almost hear him reciting it. There was no real insight into the basis for his conservatism, no deep revelations from his life. More or less an extension of his show. I wanted every day Mike. I already know--and like--radio Mike.
Mike wrote this before his wife contracted, and succumbed to cancer, making some of the anecdotal information unwittingly bittersweet. Otherwise, the book is rather dull, lacking inspiration or substative insight. Perhaps this is why there hasn't been another book.
The upside: Mike Gallagher is a dedicated patriot with a heart for America as big as the continent. Skip the book and tune in your radio. You won't be disappointed there.