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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very interesting insight!, March 28, 2006
The idea behind this review is two-fold, one to review the book itself and secondly to comment on the K.Larson review below.
Firstly, the book, in my opinion starts off at a startling pace as she interviews George Bush in a ten minute window and rather than peddle The White House line, she asks the questions that the majority of Irish people wished her to ask. It did her no favours as we are told that not to play ball with the White Houses' questioning is possibly a bad career move, no matter how brave.
The rest of the book shows Coleman meandering through the country attempting to uncover the `real' America, rather than that which the majority of the rest of the world would see - skyscrapers, home of the great American dream etc.. America is shown for what I now believe it to be - a world within a country - with varying opinions, beliefs and thoughts all rolled under the one flag. Some of the writings of Coleman are genuinely funny, some bewildering, but overall I found the whole book extremely engaging and educational as it showed as I said, a different side to this vast country.
Secondly, in relation to K Larson's review I would just like to point out two things. I want to stress that I do not intend to be either pedantic or offensive but two things must be explained. When Larson refers in the second half of his review to "Like another Brit...", I've got to explain that Coleman is IRISH and is not British. Britain comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland is a completely different and independent country. This is something that Irish people hear the odd time but it would be like if we lumped all Canadians and Americans as one and the same! It can be frustrating to hear it.
Secondly, when Larson refers to the interview as `near disastrous', I would like to explain that in Ireland, and a number of other areas where the interview with President Bush was shown, the interview was considered far from `disastrous' and in fact she was lauded for standing up for her beliefs in journalism.
Overall, I do not want, as I stressed, to appear nit picking but if one person learns something from this, then that'll make this review justified. Oh and read the book - its a good one!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent commentary on conservative America, June 18, 2006
I read this book back in December on the plane. It was an excellent commentary on conservative America. As an American living abroad, it is interesting to see how Americans are perceived and I often wondered how Bush got elected the second time. Now I understand that better.
I didn't see the original interview but would agree that it was far from a disaster. America needs more journalists that ask real questions instead of the preapproved ones.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
amateur historian/sociologist, March 24, 2006
As an amateur historian/sociologist, I really enjoyed reading this book and seeing my country through an outsider's eyes. Coleman shows Americans to be both quirky and serious in their attitudes toward politics and religion.
After an semi-disastrous interview with George Bush for Irish TV, Carol Coleman traveled America's red states to see how religion, or at least religious language has overtaken politics and how politicians have learned to take advantage of the natural religious inclinations of Americans. Coleman's book put me in mind of Alexis de Toqueville, a Frenchman who traveled America in the 1800s to see how democracy worked.
Like another Brit, Englishwoman Frances Trollope who wrote a scathing book about America's manners in the 1800s, Coleman keeps her distance as she sheds light on an American phenomenon that non-religious Europeans probably find fascinating and perplexing. Coleman's observations on American's regional and religious attitudes are funny and insightful and "Alleluia America" could go on to become a required read for future American historians.
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