Customer Reviews

We've Got it Made in America: A Common Man's Salute to an Uncommon Country

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Other reviewers may causticly write that John Ratzenberger's new book is a rant, or that he sounds like Rush Limbaugh. It is as if conservative thoughts are to be kept to yourself, and to write about them is to commit some kind of crime! In fact, I find this collection of essays to be very thought provoking and well written. Ratzenberger has spent the last few years touring American cities while filming a TV series, and has come into personal contact with Americans from all walks of life. Ratzenberger's thoughts are generated from real life experiences as he interviews and interacts with hard working Americans like you and me. Far from being a pointy-headed intellectual, his writing strikes me as common sensical, the kind of logic we might all agree with if we were able to let down our currently popular notions of political correctness. His essays show a man struggling to understand American values of yesterday and today, in the context of current world events. I applaud his ability to articulate his thoughts on common sense, perspective, moderation, and character. I enjoyed the book very much.

I wish I had read all the reviews before buying this book. At least I bought a used copy. As another reviewer wrote, this book starts off very well and I looked forward to more stories about workplaces and life in general across the US. He even wrote that not all workplaces are "happy" environments for the workers. And just as things were getting interesting, the book turned into a Fox News Rush Limbaugh rant. And after the first chapter of this, I understood his perspective but from then on, it kept getting worse with even more of the same. He obviously loves the idea of US as world's policeman even though we cannot afford this and at least points out the hypocrisy of our wars for "freedom" while ignoring places like Africa. He also criticizes Bush for illegal immigration (but that is a Fox News stance, too). And that affects our jobs and livelihoods.
There are some self-contradictions as well. He praises the "garage shops" of years past where father and son would work on "projects" and some businesses actually got their start. And then later he curses pack-rat syndrome where we accumulate so much especially in our garages. But then he does not acknowledge the change (in how it got this way or his point of view in the book).
In a few places he does make good points. But this was more like buying a CD and only getting one good song while the rest suck. Check this one out at the library, skim for the good parts, and watch the show (which is great).

I have been a huge fan of the Made In America TV series, so I was very excited to learn about this book. I was not disapointed. This should be required reading in every High School and for every American. It's a wonderful look at our country and what makes us great. I plan on getting the "on/off switch" set up for my cable tv this weekend. My kids are going outside! John has my vote for Emperor!

This book is a must read for anyone who loves America and embraces traditional American values like hard work.

John blends his background, humor, facts and common sense opinions into a must read book. To get this kind of perspective from someone in the entertainment industry is refreshing to be sure.

sitting down with this book in Borders today was like being released from prison.
the prison of constant left-wing indoctrination from the media.
you become hypnotized with the same rhetoric over and over.
it's like being swallowed up by a avalanche.
and then, you sit down with someone like John and pick anywhere
in his book and like magic, the avalanche melts and the mind clears refreshingly. i would vote for this man for president in a heartbeat.
thanks John for speaking out.

thank you. the book arrived on time, and the packaging was very good too.

John Ratzenberger is a familiar face and voice to the general American population. Far beyond the loveable barfly, Cliff, he has appeared in numerous other roles. Nowadays, he travels the nation for his television show John Ratzenberger's Made in America.

In WE'VE GOT IT MADE IN AMERICA, Ratzenberger takes a look at the direction American society is headed. International outsourcing of jobs, President G.W. Bush and the war in Iraq, and intellectual snobbery are only a few of his subjects.

While Ratzenberger does indeed honor America's blue-collar workforce, he sinks to the level of name-calling and patronizing people he doesn't agree with. This book started out as a promising look at a hopeful country, but it devolved into a right-wing rant against much of what's wrong with this country--a "get off my lawn" tirade.

Anyone who isn't deeply conservative will be put off by his narrative. No one wants to criticize someone who genuinely tries to honor his country, but the dripping cynicism makes it difficult to sympathize with his worldview.

He claims that small town folk see the same kind of "common sense" he espouses. Having hailed from a small town myself, I can agree, to a point. City and country folk in general do have different perspectives of how the world goes `round. But to label urban and suburban citizens, some of whom work as hard as humanly possible, in the ways he does (people who always had flat ground to walk on, and who can't walk across rough ground without tripping) is counterproductive. Rather than alienating people, "common sense" would dictate finding solutions to perceived issues rather than ranting in an insulting manner.

In the chapter called "Monday Morning Politics," he accuses liberals of changing the facts to suit themselves But all those top Democrats who are "pretending that he or she hadn't voted for the war's authorization" (page 143) aren't. Talk to John Edwards, among others. They admit they voted for the war, given the information they had at the time. What they're saying now is that it was a mistake. That's a big difference from the outright lies he accuses them of spouting.

Do most of us wish there was less rudeness, more compassion, less dumbing-down, and more use of common sense? Of course. Will a written tongue-lashing change that? No. If you don't like what you see, Mr. Ratzenberger (and don't worry, I won't call you "Cliff"), find a less cynical way to share it.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
10/17/2006

I have watched every "Made In America" show and have enjoyed each one. I wish I could say the same about this book. John needs to keep his day job (acting). It is basically 257 pages of a Rush Limbaugh show.
In this book you will learn that G.W.Bush & his Administration are paramount to God, Muslims are equal to Satan, and the media & Hollywood (where he learned & earned his career) is NEVER right.
The mistakes are too numerous to mention. For example, on page 188, "...getting a job at the Corvette plant in Bowling Green,Ohio, to put dings in new cherry-red turbos hot off the line."
#1 Corvettes are built in Bowling Green, Kentucky, not Ohio (I have been to the Corvette plant in KY & to the town in Ohio where there is no plant).
#2 You cannot "ding" SMC (sheet molded compound), the composite that forms the exterior skin of every Corvette.
#3 There was never a production "Turbo" Corvette built.
These facts are easily verifiable. Mistakes such as these are throughout this book. How can we possibly believe what he writes or even take him serious. Oh, that's right, he made his living doing "sitcoms".