Power to the People (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: fairness doctrine, dinosaur media, imperial judiciary, Supreme Court, United States, President Bush (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her latest, radio personality and author Ingraham (Shut up and Sing) calls on the American people to take back the phrase "Power to the People" from the anti-establishment groups of yesterday that, today, have made the country, according to Ingraham, "a slave to fringe groups, political correctness, expanding bureaucracies, and our own consumerism." Taking an approach that makes mutually exclusive groups out of those "working and taking care of their families" and the "protest culture," Ingraham's message is loud and clear: "they're coming for you." Specifically, "they" means the Lifetime network (brainwashing women to "swear off men and family"), the growing ranks of "Team Atheist" (including Dan Brown), "family deconstructivists," illegal immigrants and Islamic jihadists, among others. Chapters cover most of today's hot button topics-the war in Iraq, homeland security, the judiciary, the news media and global warming-with attitude and conviction. Ingraham's commentary on the lack of education in our schools and the "pornification" of the culture contain her most sound, articulate arguments (bolstered by a wealth of statistics), but Ingraham's assembling tactics are overzealous; still, fans of her strident radio show should be pleased to find more of the same here.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

The #1 New York Times bestseller--now in paperback! Top-rated radio personality Laura Ingraham issues a call to arms in Power to the People--a plea to reinvigorate our birthright of liberty, to reconnect to our American heritage, and to revive our commitment to traditional, conservative principles. Ingraham exposes the threats we face from an emboldened cultural Left, global dogmatists, science worshippers, and politicians who spend more time on their hair than on constituency outreach. She also offers real-world solutions for how we can demand more from our leaders and ourselves. Power to the People will not just rile up Ingraham's millions of fans, it will also incite readers to do their part to protect the country that we love. "It is ours to lose," she writes, "and there are many at home and abroad who are more than willing to take it from us. Let's get to work."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Press (August 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596985534
• ISBN-13: 978-1596985537
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (144 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #74,736 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #13 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Social Situations
  #74 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Political Science > Political Doctrines > Conservatism

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

122 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On the money - VERY well written, September 14, 2007

By	David S. Rhodes (Scottsdale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Power to the People (Hardcover)

Ingraham once again uses her acerbic, straightforward style to entertain and inform. She genuinely is a gifted writer. She is one of the few authors who actually writes like they speak - a key component of readability.

She is almost poignant in her discussion of the current culture and its downward spiral. While reading the part about Rosie O'Donnell, I couldn't help but think of past comedians like Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, et al. How far we have dropped in 40 years!

She also takes on the "science worshippers" - a fitting moniker for those who believe that if a consensus of scientists support something - it must be true. She points out that such an intellectual endeavor is NOT science. Spot on!

You will find this book an easy, flowing read - filled with facts and opinion. Laura Ingraham is a talented writer and it shows!

444 of 517 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, passionate, energizing writing on the issues Laura cares about most, September 10, 2007

By	Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Power to the People (Hardcover)

Fans of Laura Ingraham's popular radio show will recognize the themes discussed in this lively book. She is a person who is passionate about traditional moral values, protecting the family, enforcing the country's laws & our Constitution, and cleaning up the culture from what she calls its pornification.

Laura began her political writing as one of the conservative students at Dartmouth who wouldn't just sit back and take the pronouncements and bias of the left wing faculty. One of the incidents that came from her writing is recounted in this book. The chairman of the music department, William Cole, was using a general music class that kids took for an easy credit, to make pronouncements on racism and culture in America. She wrote about it and he became not only angry but threatening. Things escalated from there.

While she is also a lawyer (University of Virginia Law School - and she clerked for Clarence Thomas), is a blonde and a media personality, she should not be confused with Ann Coulter. Coulter is much more of a bomb thrower and sensationalist than Ingraham is. Ann Coulter makes much of her impact through shock and satire of her opponents. Laura is much more about speaking directly from her heart about what matters to her. While she isn't afraid to call things as she sees them without pulling punches, she doesn't look for the most inflammatory way to say things. However, Laura's language is full of passion, energy, clarity, and humor.

This book pleads with everyday conservatives to stand up and speak up about the things that we see as going dead wrong in our culture. She begins by talking about the assault of the left upon the traditional family and the way that kids are actually being devalued despite all the appeals about "the children" and traditional marriage is being undermined.

Her chapter on illegal immigration is spot on. She is clear that immigration is an American tradition and valuable and even necessary to our economic growth and success. However illegal immigration undermines us in several ways. It allows those who are employing illegal aliens to externalize costs that they should actually bear. That cheap lettuce only seems cheap because the costs of medical care for illegal workers and educating their children are not factored in. This is an issue where her opponents constantly misrepresent her position to make her (and those of us who agree with her) out to be ignorant bigots. To be for controlled borders and legal immigration is not racist. It is a sensible response in a Welfare State.

Open borders made sense in a time when people had to make it without taxpayer support (or minimal support) once they arrived. However, nowadays, our hospitals and schools are being burdened with huge costs for treating illegal immigrants and our schools lose billions from educating their children. No one wants anyone to be untreated or to die. Nor do we want children to be trapped in illiteracy or innumeracy. However, if they were still living in their home country, they would not have to be treated or educated at US taxpayer's expense. If they were employed legally, at least some of those costs would be borne by their employers and through them, by those of us who purchase the goods and services they provide. You know, like regular workers. Then there is the whole issue of how the winking at breaking our laws undermines the rule of law in our country. A culture that winks at lawbreaking rots the very structure that allows civil society in the first place. Yet, the idea of being repealing immigration laws is obviously foolish. So, the only honest options is to simply enforce our laws and to change them as needed, through the legislature not the judiciary.

I also loved her chapter on why we have to get control of our judiciary by only electing and appointing judges who understand the principle of judicial restraint. Legislating from the bench is not only an abuse of our Constitution; it undermines our freedoms because it takes lawmaking out of our hands through the people we elect every two years.

Laura is also dead on about the importance of local government versus the constant Federalization of our lives. She could have discussed how the 14th amendment has contributed to that process, but even without it, her overall point is true. Her chapters on the pornification of our culture and the failure of our public schools are also very good. The left has always known that the key to its success over generations is to get control of educating the young and filling their minds with their values and principles. In this, they have succeeded for decades. The question is whether we will let them continue to win.

I obviously can't cover everything in the book in this little review. However, I will stress that we simply must hear her pleas for us to stand up and be counted. We must become those irritating "loud folks" our politicians complained about during the recent debate on "comprehensive immigration reform". If we don't, we are simply acquiescing to the agenda of the other side of the important debates of our time. Laura also expresses her faith in God and her gratitude for the second chance she has gotten in surviving her bout with cancer. For me, hearing expressions of faith and gratitude are among the most beautiful uses of the human mind, voice and heart. Thanks, Laura!

This is a very good handbook for those debates that you are likely to have with your liberal friends. It will give you some good stories that will both energize you and provide some information that will aid you in the debates that will surely arise over these issues. But make sure you become one of those speaking loudly to your representatives, too. Just because they got elected doesn't mean that they get to shut you out until the next election. Your voice counts, so let them hear it.

Recommended.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson

89 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly different political book, September 13, 2007

By	ironman96 (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Power to the People (Hardcover)

As Laura says, this is a purple book, something that can appeal to both those on the right and left. Get past the fact that Laura is a "right wing radio talk show host" (the horror!) and take a look at her ideas on their own merit. You may be surprised if you look at this with an open mind:) This book is well worth the read!