Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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330 of 365 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Laughing on the outside, February 19, 2002
Michael Moore is a muckraker, an American original, and a versatile and funny man. He has written a noisy and important book. Despite its jokey title, it's about lots more than "stupid white men." Moore is righteously indignant about out current American state of affairs: the huge disparity between rich and poor, racism, pollution, unemployment, sinking educational standards, women's issues, American violence and media culture. (When he likes someone or something, you know it, too.). He supports his opinions with facts and figures. Helpfully, he includes specific instructions to readers who might want to contact their Congressional Representative (an act that Moore asserts can be quite effective), organize in their own communities, and intelligently make a difference.Moore's first and easiest target in this book is the current administration and, in his view, wholly illegitimate ascendancy to the Presidency of George W. Bush. Moore is irate about what he views as Bush's appalling lack of "Presidential" qualifications, his untruthfulness regarding his past, and his vast array of family and financial connections. Moore's retelling of the stealing of the election, via the delivery of the Florida vote before the election ever took place (by the pre-Election day illegal disenfranchisement of thousands of Democratic voters) will shock readers. Although ignored by US media when it broke, it is factual, and it is appalling. Moore's style, unfortunately, is part student activist and part class clown. This clash of roles is at times a hindrance to his effectiveness. He is funny, and he loves to kid around, but at times his humor is slapstick - which didn't always work for me. He sometimes tends toward sarcasm, or volume (he will use all caps, for emphasis) which isn't really necessary given the importance of his message. In addition, disconcertingly, the book's tone changes midway through. In the first half Moore supplies the reader with a variety of important lists: "How to Stage the Countercoup," a sensible how-to for community organizers; "Survival Tips for White America," which is a serious discussion of ways to end racism; and the useful "Guide to Student Rights." Inexplicably, though, halfway through this book his lists change, and become jokey. "How to Use Less Gas," for example, has among its bullet points "Siphon gas from parked cars at airports," "Hitchhike," and "Live in your office or place of work." His chapter on gender issues is very funny, but I'm not quite sure why it's in the book. He is serious, but then he jokes at times about surviving global warming, recycling, and gender issues, too - at the expense of his thesis, which is that things are messed up and badly need changing if the people (_all_ the people) of the US are to thrive. This an important book with more than several messages toward advancing an old institution Moore thinks is definitely worth saving: American democracy. "Stupid White Men" is deadly serious in places, and funny in others, and well worth reading.
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224 of 249 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Page-turning comedy - Moore tells the truth, February 20, 2002
By A Customer
Whether or not you agree with Moore's political analysis, his views on economic racisms, and his contempt for the status quo - you WILL laugh. The facts can't be disputed, and he dispells just that - facts. This book SHOULD be in your collection.
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882 of 1,014 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laugh, But Learn, and Make Those Changes, February 19, 2002
_Stupid White Men_ by Michael Moore was supposed to be published in October, but the copies printed in September were going to be shredded, since the publisher thought that humorous attacks on President Bush and his partners would not be welcome after 9-11. There was a quiet campaign to get it to readers, and HarperCollins eventually did the right thing: it has released the book unchanged and uncensored, and Moore has said he admires the courage it showed in doing so. You don't have to be a fan of Moore's famous anti-corporate, anti-racist, and anti-conservative views to appreciate that this is a real victory.You would be right to assume that "President" Bush (as Moore likes to call him) will not be pleased by the book. Some of the chapters now have sort of a quaint ring, like "A Very American Coup," which explains what really happened to give Florida to Bush in the last election. It's not a matter of chads or butterfly ballots. Bush's brother and his aids were able to purge the polls of black voters, who would have turned out for Gore. It took the BBC to uncover this story, and by the time the American papers got it, no one was very interested. There is plenty more sleaze to this tale, which Moore obviously enjoys telling, and if you want to check on what he claims, he gives references at the end of the book; there are few humor books with a "Notes and Sources" section. It may no longer be unpatriotic to poke fun at the current President, but Moore does not restrict himself to Bush bashing, being equally tough on Clinton and Gore. There are wonderful shots fired here, and a good laugh on almost every page. Bush's inaugural parade came up against protesters armed with eggs and tomatoes and "Hail to the Thief" signs at the point in the parade when the brand new President usually gets out and walks. "Then, suddenly, the President's car bolted and tore down the street. The decision had been made - hit the gas and get past this rabble as quickly as possible. The Secret Service agents running beside the limo were left behind, the car's tires splashing dirty rain from the street onto the men who were there to protect its passenger. It might have been the finest thing I have ever witnessed in Washington, D.C. - a pretender to the American throne forced to turn tail and run from thousands of American citizens armed only with the Truth and the ingredients of a decent omelet." A hilarious letter to President Arafat advises him to initiate mass nonviolent civil disobedience, rather than to keep drawing blood; if this advice had been taken, could the Palestinians be in any worse shape now? About the conflict in Northern Ireland, his advice takes on that of Swift's "Modest Proposal": "This nonsense has gone on long enough. I have a solution that will bring permanent peace to the area: Convert the Protestants of Northern Ireland to Catholicism....Naturally, most of the Protestants won't want to convert - but since when has that stopped the Catholic Church?... All you need is a little water to pour over any Protestant's forehead, and then repeat the following words: 'I baptize thee in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.' That's it! It takes longer to join Weight Watchers!" It is going to get hard for Moore if things change to the way he wants, for he will have to make his humor out of less urgent and deadly matters. But he is pushing. "If you're finding yourself in a massive fit of rage and start itching to put this damn book down and call your congressman / woman, then folks, do it." He then gives easy access numbers and e-mail references, and it is hard to believe that some readers are not going to do just that. His calls for getting involved on school boards and within other branches of local governments are just what people should be hearing and acting on. If you want good laughs about serious provocation, and serious advocacy, this book is tops.
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