Customer Reviews

Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror: Observations and Denunciations by a Founding Member of Monty Python (Nation Books)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Unsurprisingly, the book is getting very low ratings from those who disagree with Jones's political views. It may also suffer from being overestimated by those sympathetic to those views.

This is a collection of columns written by humorist Terry Jones, beginning in in 2001 shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, and leaving off after Iraq's provisional government was granted limited sovereignty in the summer of 2004. Jones, known for his work with the Monty Python troupe and for his own books (including a controversial scholarly work on Chaucer), is a phlegmatic critic of the American Bush administration, and of the aid and comfort led to the American President by Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The book ranges from satire, some of it brilliant; to sarcastic rimming; to editorial spleen (what one Amazon reviewer characterized as "whining").

Interestingly, the book (and its perspective) are strongest with the satirical pieces. "I'm Losing Patience With My Neigbors" was one of the funniest pieces of political humor to appear in 2003, written during the buildup to invasion of Iraq that year. In this, as with "It's Not Really Torture," Jones assumes the character of someone who adopts the logic of American policymakers in his normal relationships - sending up the fractured logic and twisted grammar of wartime in a way that is timeless yet, for our times, very pointed. Don't think it's easy.

The sarcastic pieces, "Bombing For A Safer World" or "Colin Powell's Exploding English" play more for the converted, and while Jones is a very funny and analytical thinker, these columns become repetitive and tend towards commentary we have already heard. Pieces like "Shame On Blair" are nothing more than letters to the editor - respectable enough, but not representing Jones's unusual talent and creativity as a satirist.

My 4-star rating is in acknowledgment of the best that is in this little book, illustrated with political cartoons by Steve Bell and perhaps padded out ever so slightly. It remains a worthy volume of political humor with more than a dash of unabashed left-wing invective.

I discovered Jones as a writer with his marvelous book on Chaucer. This book is quite a different type of work, but just as enjoyable in its own way. He is both witty and very logical in his criticism. I take issue with the reviewer who prefers Ann Coulter, saying she backs up her allegations with "tons of material." Read Franken's "Lies & the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" for an analysis of Coulter's fraudulent footnoting--or just do the research yourself. As for the comment that she is "as mean spirited as Jones tries to be"-- true, she IS meanspirited--but I don't think Jones is, nor do I think he is trying to be. This is what is called "satire," guy. Jones' sesne of humanity and deep compassion for the people hurt by Bush's & Blair's policies is always close to the surface and obviously sincere. When has anyone ever claimed compassion on the part of Coulter?

I'm only half way through this book and the stark realizations and unwavering logic is overwhelming. Although I agree with everything Mr. Jones says, he's approached it from an angle unfamiliar to me. I highly recommend this book.... but only if you don't fear the truth about this administration. Now.... if only Bush and Blair were this sensible.

Terry Jones, of Monty Python fame, prolific writer of fiction and non-fiction, has written a very funny book on current affairs, composed of articles he wrote for the Guardian and the Observer from 2001 to 2004.

He shows the real reason for the attack on Iraq quoting the Project for the New American Century's `Rebuilding America's Defenses 2000': "The United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein."

The same report admits, "adversaries like Iran, Iraq, and North Korea are rushing to develop ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons as a deterrent to American intervention in regions they seek to dominate." So they want nukes to deter American aggression - sounds reasonable.

Terry is not very nice to Mr Bush. He cites an undersecretary in Bush's administration as saying, "George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the U.S. [That bit's right, anyway!] He was appointed by God."

So was it God who wanted to take health insurance off four million Americans, and jobs off two million? Did God want to withdraw benefits from working families earning less than $35,000 a year, by cutting Medicaid, supplemental health insurance, nutrition assistance and welfare? CNN reports, "Half of all Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck - effectively one paycheck away from poverty." But then he (He?) balanced all this by generously awarding tax breaks worth $50,000 per person to America's richest one per cent.

It's only fair that Bush's crony Blair gets some stick too. In `Grading Tony's latest essay', Terry writes, "Tony's uncritical acceptance of information supplied by the U.S. reveals a naivety that would be surprising in any sixth-form pupil, let alone one who has hopes of going on to university and then government, as I know Tony does." He ends, "To be quite candid, Mr. and Mrs. Blair, it's lucky that your son is not in a position of power; otherwise his lack of insight and his crass ignorance would place us all in appalling peril." Other classics include, `I'm losing patience with my neighbors, Mr. Bush' and `It really isn't torture'.

These editorials are really worth reading, blending satire and humor with truth and giving you facts that you never hear from the major news outlets. This book is great and I would recommend it to anyone.

This is just what you'd expect from a member of the extraordinarily literate and politically aware Monty Python. Jones shows that the years have not dulled his wit, skewering Bush, Blair and their minions with a thousand razor-sharp barbs, and showing up many of their absurdities by extending them to everyday life. Whether he is debating killing his neighbors because he suspects that they are up to no good or "justifying" the chaining of his son to a radiator because, after all, his _intention_ was to obtain information, not to torture, he makes us unsure whether to laugh or groan at the fact that this _is_ the real world of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al.

Not all of these columns (which they were originally published as) are classics, but they are always informative and most of them take a different perspective on issues that are all too often portrayed by the mainstream media with a mind-numbing sameness. Since they were published at sometimes widely-spaced intervals and of necessity repeat a lot of information, I would recommend not reading the book straight through, but picking it up and reading a chapter or two at a time.

Highly recommended chapters: 1) The Grammar of the War on Terror; 3) A Bag Over the Head is Worth Two for George W. Bush; 10) I'm Losing Patience With My Neighbors, Mr. Bush; 11) How To Bomb and Save Money; 20) If Fish Feel Pain...; 28) The War of Words in Iraq; and 32) It Really Isn't Torture.

While the book purports to be about terrorism, to a great extent it is British perspectives on British politics and the relation between Britain and the U.S.A. It is both mildly enlightenting and entertaining, though the specific messages and themes are repeated multiple times. That is a result of compiling individual articles originally written for various British publications, without editing out the redundancies, and calling it a book.
If you want the political perspective, there are better sources of information.
If you are attracted by the point of view of "a founding member of Monty Python" (to quote the subtitle) and want the humor, stick with Monty Python.

I consider myself to be too liberal for the Democrats, but Terry Jones is to the left of even me. Factually fascinating, his opinions are sure to inflame even the most unperterbable of conservatives. This is Bush bashing at its best. I hightly recommend this book for anyone who wants to know the real truth behind the Bush administration agenda. It is also relatively short and an easy read, although some of the information is already out of date.

...unfortunately this was garbage. I looked forward to a funny and witty look at modern events. however, it rambled on for what seemed like weeks about nothing but thinly veiled vitriol against two men. Personally, I would agree with his outlook politically, but the work here itself is just junk. The entire book could've been summed up in one paragraph and saved lots of paper and my time. I guess this is the beginning of the end of Jones being relevant. Maybe he'll make a comeback, but there's alot of climbing to do to get out of the crap literary hole he's dug for himself withis literary abortion

Much brilliance. A very small handful of weak points but mostly it's both extremely funny and immensely - agonisingly - serious.
It entertains as it points up the awful stupidity and impotence of you "masses", and the terrifyingly simple Command-Of-Things of us leaders.
A must-read to all students of persuasion and suggestibility, mass hypnosis, pre-pandemic psychosis, etc.
A must-avoid to all comfortable UK and US citizens.
A could-be-linked-illuminatingly to materials such as The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, A Complete Allegorical Manual On Consciousness & Cosmos, and the work of Arundhati Roy.
It's helped me to see more clearly into the way my mind is working (or NOT working), how the world really works, who my friends really aren't, what motivates me, how I come to feel rewarded (or otherwise get reinforced in psychological grooves), how I've never so knowingly lied to the public because I've always done such a jolly good job of fooling myself first, etc etc etc. In short it has helped me to appreciate some of the errors of my ways. Some real biggies. So Thank You Terry. No more of this Good Christian Bombing nonsense. No more Spin. No more Poodle. No more half-blindly Stoking The Terror. God no. Next time I identify the enemy I'm going to jolly well try LOVING THEM AS MYSELF. Oh yes. And not because any God, Christ or religion suggest I do so. Ah no. Because [ - END OF TRANSMISSION]