No comments about On Their Own: Women Journalists and the American Experience in Vietnam.

5 comments about No Momma's Boy: How I Let Go of My Past and Embraced the Future.

1. Often the family history of some one who has a mental illness is covered up. This almost happened in this mans family. His story lets us all know that to seek the truth brings healing to deep hurts. Leaving the truth covered never gets to forgiveness. As a Black family member this is particularly true. The unspoken code of Black families is to not ever uncover mental illness, just pray to deal with the issues. Additionally, most men do not speak of a difficult past, espically one in the public eye as this important well known news personality. The book was easy to read, and tells of wonderful forgiveness, and can help anyone bring their own hidden truths of abuse and mental illness into the sunshine of healing. Thank you Dominic Carter for telling your story.



2. NY1's top reporter/political analyst gives a painful recollection of his childhood with a schizophrenic mother and how he was able to overcome it to become successful, careerwise and personally. I thought his writing was sincere, not showy, and gave insights into the people and institutions that influenced him in a positive way. An interesting read.



3. All I can say is thank you Dominic for opening up your heart and allowing me the opportunity to read about your family secrets. From start to finish I was captivated by this story and I must say what a delightful person he is when you meet him in public. This was one gem of a read......you go New York 1 Political Commentator!



4. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has included this as one of the best books of 2007. It probably did't hurt that Dominic Carter--a colorful media celebrity--served as grand marsal for the NAMI New York City walkathon, but the book deserves the distinction in its own right.
   
   It is an incredible book by a person who has lived an incredible life, and overcome odds that would defeat most people.
   
   Carter is a character written in bold and an inspiration. He grew from a childhood of poverty in the Bronx to become one of New York City's best-known news anchors and political reporters, interviewing Nelson Mandela and President Clinton and sparring with former New York City mayor Rudy Guliani. (If Guliani does become president, let's hope that one of the national television networks assign Carter to the White House press room; it would be great theater to watch and a service to the nation).
   
   Carter also lived with a secret of physical and sexual abuse as a child. After his mother died in 2001, he collected 620 pages of medical records and learned for the first time of her life-long struggle with paranoid schizophrenia. "I got hit with a double-barreled shotgun," he said in recent newspaper interviews. "As a child, I didn't know what was going on,"
   
   His autobiography is therapeutic. "I've been running from the ghetto...I've been running from my mother, and I didn't want to run anymore."
   
   In confronting the past, Carter comes to terms with his mother's mental illness and his own emotions. "My mother was not a demon, but she saw demons," Carter writes. "If a demon exists in this story, it is society's collective mistreatment and misunderstanding of mental illness."
   
   "In spite of her tragic life, I celebrate my mother for this one thing," Carter concludes. "She was a survivor...I am proud of my mother for not giving up...You become a real winner in life when the winds of fate knock you down and you manage to get back up. Many people, rich or poor, cannot get back up, but my mother did."
   
   "I am not ashamed to be called her son."
   
   The book is self-published and candid. To his credit, Carter resisted suggestions by mainstream publishers to sensationalize his story, because the basic facts and description of his childhood are upsetting enough. It is a memoir marked by pain, but also, an enduring love. It details Carter's successful career, but the unifying theme throughout is one of family. Its candid disclosures are also an act of courage, not unlike Mike Wallace's disclosure of long history of depression, or that of actor Joe Pantaliano, whose 2003 autobiography similarly reflects his mother's mental illness.
   
   Frankly, I'd love to see Dominic, Wallace and "Joey Pants" discuss their childhoods together sometime. They have much in common. They have much in common. They are larger than life characters, who love a good scrap and rarely censor themselves, except perhaps to usually hide the softer hearts of their nature.



5. Dominic Carter has written a deeply moving memoir framed around the horrific physical and sexual abuse he suffered as a young child. No Momma's Boy is not for the faint of heart. Some of the descriptions of the abuse that Mr. Carter suffered at the hands of his mentally ill mother, Laverne, are almost unbearable to read.
   
   Yet, ultimately, Dominic Carter's story is one of triumph over adversity. Laverne sexually abused Carter and tried to kill him when he was a toddler. Born with heart defects and pneumonia, Mr. Carter grew up in poverty on the mean streets of Harlem and The Bronx. Under these circumstances, it is remarkable that he survived, let alone thrived. "Prisons and mental institutions are full of people with backgrounds similar to mine," Carter opines.
   
   In a fast-paced, conversational style, Carter takes readers through the darkest days of his inner city childhood, his escape from poverty via graduate school in upstate New York, and his meteoric rise to journalist extraordinaire at one of New York's top cable television stations.
   
   A key factor in young Dominic's survival was the support he received from his grandmother, Anna Pearl, and his Aunt Inez. Laverne was in and out of mental institutions, and Dominic's father was absent most of the time. Anna Pearl and Inez stepped in to fill the parental void, providing love and putting steel in Dominic's spine, which served him well growing up and later in the cutthroat profession of television journalism.
   
   Mr. Carter is brutally honest about his volcanic temper and the subsequent emotional breakdown following Laverne's death which nearly ended his career. No Momma's Boy is not only an eye-opening read, it represents a cathartic healing of Carter's pain. After a lifetime of holding back powerful negative emotions relating to childhood trauma, Mr. Carter has found the courage to admit that "talking about issues that shame you is like giving CPR to your soul."
   
   Mr. Carter proudly displays bravado and does a lot of name-dropping. This trait is a double-edged sword. It is initially off-putting, but as Carter cogently notes, it is also a critical source of self-confidence that enabled him to overcome extraordinary adversity.
   
   He brags, but he has a lot to brag about. Mr. Carter is a top reporter at NY1, a premier cable television station in the nation's largest media market. He has interviewed world figures such as Bill Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, and Nelson Mandela. This would be a monumental achievement for anyone; it is absolutely amazing for someone who grew up poor and abused in The Bronx.

5 comments about Confessions of a Recovering Slut: And Other Love Stories.

1. I had really high hopes for this book - I thought the title was fabulous and the first story was funny, but it quickly went downhill from there. It seemed there was a lot of ramblings about characters I not only had trouble following - but didn't even have much interest in.



2. Thought the title was fabulous, and had high expectations for the book. In places it was good, especially some of the phrases she used, but I found it very repetitive and not funny. Holly's overwhelming maternal joy was also not in keeping with the rest of the book, maybe she could have felt maternal joy but not written about it.



3. I loved this book so much after I borrowed it from the library, that when I couldn't find her first book at any of my state interlibrary lenders, I bought it (from Amazon!). I love Hollis' writing style; she is hilarious and original but all of her tales end with a poignant thought. I'd never heard of her before I read a review of her books on Amazon and I'm so glad I found her. I love that each chapter in her books is a short, mostly true story and I wish I had wacky friends like hers. I hope she keeps writing more novels because I will be reading every last one of them, possibly more than once, and I don't usually re-read books. (Another author I just discovered who is just like Hollis, is Laurie Notaro...I'll be reviewing her books next!)



4. OK, I admit I bought this book on a whim, and purely from the cover illustration (I know, I know...), but I don't regret it for a minute! I can't tell you how many people I've reccomended this book to. This is not the kind of book you should read out in public alone. I laughed so hard at her writing that I'm sure people thought I was some nutjob. It was well written, dryly funny, and great for picking up and putting down so you can read it on a break at work. It speaks to the 30 something woman that I am without being the dreaded Chick Lit fluff.
   I loved it and can't wait to get Bleachy Haired Honky Bitch!



5. I forced myself to read at least half of this to see if it would get any better...it didn't. If you want something in the same genre that is truly entertaining save your money and buy a Laurie Notaro book!

5 comments about Breaking News: A Stunning and Memorable Account of Reporting from Some of the Most Dangerous Places in the World.

1. Hanging my boots up last year after my final trip to Afghanistan was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make in my life. It was done at the insistence of my daughter and my knees. I finally had to realize that I could be a liability to those around me in a war zone. With that in mind, I was quite intrigued when friends contacted me and asked if I would read and review Martin Fletcher's book, "Breaking News". Martin was starting his career with the Yom Kipper (October) War of 1973 just as I was ending my Navy Combat Camera days with the very same war. Martin's account of this war is "spot on"! I wish he had written about this many years ago when I got asked to leave a Political Science class in college for telling the professor he didn't know what he was talking about. When the professor asked me how I knew, I replied with the only answer I could give, "because I was there"! Where were you when I needed you, Martin!
   
   "Breaking News" is a MUST READ for anyone interested in international conflicts and what it is like to cover these conflicts as a cameraman and as a broadcast journalist. In his 35 year career, Martin Fletcher has pretty much seen it all, and this book is his very personal account of what life is like in the day to day world of the Foreign Correspondent. Part of what makes this book great is that it does not focus on world leaders, and "their" stories. It focuses on the day to day struggles of the average person caught in the middle of these conflicts. It gives an excellent account of the journalistic integrity of one man working in the trenches of so many conflicts, Martin Fletcher.
   
   I am always reluctant to give too much detail in a book review because I hate to give out "spoilers". Once again, I will just say, "READ THIS BOOK"! Martin takes us on a journey of adventure and personal growth from the October War of 1973 to the Coup in Cyprus just a year later, to the Rhodesian War that gave us what today is known as Zimbabwe. He gives an excellent account of life in Paris for news reporters and takes us to Algiers and Iran for an insider's look at the Hostage Crisis in Tehran. From there he takes us to Afghanistan and covering the Afghan/Soviet War. He gives us a very telling account of life in Israel during the first Gulf War with SCUD missiles falling in Tel Aviv.
   
   I could go on and on about his coverage of the Middle East, Somalia, Rwanda, Kosovo, Bosnia and numerous other places of conflict and genocide. But, once again I will simply point out that Martin's book is really about his own personal and professional growth. There is some humor here, but there is a huge amount of sorrow and pain. One does not do this kind of work for 35 years without it taking a toll on your soul.
   
   Martin closes his book with the following: And I can only hope that Shakespeare wasn't referring to storytellers like me when he wrote "Life is but a walking shadow...it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"! Rest assured that Martin's book is anything but this! It is a glimpse into one man's continent crossing dedicated life as a Foreign Correspondent, a glimpse into hell, and hopefully an offered understanding of "conflict" on the average person, as well as what covering such conflicts does to those who report them.
   
   Please...READ THIS BOOK "BREAKING NEWS"!



2. This is a very different, deeply-impressing account by a very special reporter - and if this book hadn't been thrust under my nose with the recommendation to read it, I would have assumed it was the usual set of star-turn anecdotes from someone who thought they were the star-turn. Not a bit of it. Unlike some, Fletcher is never, ever bigger than the news on which he reports.
   
   If this was only the most brilliant account of exceptional, award-winning TV war-reporting journalism, which, incidentally, it is - then that in itself that would be something. But it's much more than that; it's about the moral and ethical dilemmas that people like Fletcher face daily on our behalf in reporting serious news - and, refreshingly, nothing to do with the soulless ephemerals of providing 'entertaining' so-called, 'news' features between adverts.
   
   Fletcher is one of the last vestiges of conscience and soul in the digital age when it comes to serious news reporting. Breaking News is likely - and rightly - to be considered core-curriculum stuff for anyone considering serious journalism as a career - but it's also likely a must-read for anyone who wants to share Fletcher's personal 'take' - and the chance to share in his very human enlightenment - through his reporting of a truly extraordinary series of world events over 30 years.



3. An amazing, POWERFUL, insight into the world of Martin Fletcher. I read the book in two sittings, four days ago, and I am still thinking about it. He tells his story in a 'mostly' chronological order, leaving me breathless at the end. It's an incredible journey and I am so thankful he took the time to tell it!



4. I couldn't put this book down, and read it in one day. Martin Fletcher takes you where most reporters won't go, or can't go. You'll read of the intense competition between the networks, and what ranks as "go" or "no-go" story; which amounts to the number of people dying or killed as being newsworthy.
   
   Stories of fellow journalists who are killed and wounded (including his own first-person account), in attempts to bring the stories of war and its victims to our television screens. How Fletcher identifies with the suffering of the victims of war in Somalia and the "Ethnic-Cleansing" of the conflicts in Rwanda and Kosovo; with his own family's suffering in The Holocaust.
   
   From the Arab-Israeli Wars to the present Palestinian struggle, to personal interviews with a warlord, suicide bombers and refugees (one very touching story of a young girl). There'll be stories that will make you laugh, cry, and some that will anger you. But they are all presented within a very personal and moving context that almost makes you feel as if you're right there, experiencing Fletcher's witness of history in the making. And that indeed, this is a very dangerous and evil world in which
   live.



5. I want to just add to the 5 star reviews. As a moderate I was pleasantly surprised by how balanced this book was. The author clearly struggled with his feelings and never acted superior. As you get deeper into the book it becomes as riveting as any book I can recall. Very highly recommended.

5 comments about Front Row: Anna Wintour: What Lies Beneath the Chic Exterior of Vogue's Editor in Chief.

1. I just finished read two smashing books on Diana Vreeland, so I was interested to read Front Row. I had high hopes, not knowing a lot about Wintour, that this would be a great read. Wintour's life is not that intriguing. And compared to Vreeland, her moral compass is a bit off. She seems to be, as my grandmother would say, a bit of a harlot. Wintour may know style, and I love Vogue, but if this is what Wintour is like, she doesn't have a lot of depth. In fact, I got the impression more than once that this is a person who doesn't read--not like real readers do. I'll take Vreeland's outlandish description of "The Night of the Long Knives" in her biography over this "street smart" clothes horse. But then again maybe high school drop outs are OK if they come from a tony British background and rise to the top of Fashion's bible. Oppenheimer does his best with a subject who may "sparkle" at the galas--but is, sadly, just made out of paste.



2. This book is slightly boring. If you want to read about a spoiled neurotic woman, this book is for you! I had trouble finishing it.



3. Not that Anna Wintour is such an interesting person, but the author writes a nice biography. He does a good job, interesting details. However, I probably expected more "glitz". I recommend the book.



4. Give me a break. Jerry Oppenheimer is one of those "unauthorized" biographers who extrapolates and dramatizes, adding his own skewed agenda all along the way. I couldn't stand his writing (especially his creating thoughts for Ms. Wintour as a child!) and wish there was an actual, trustworthy and unbiased biography of this visionary, if demanding, stylemaker.



5. I agree with much of what the previous reviewer,Lee Mellott,said. I too stopped reading VOGUE years ago (personally, I much prefer VANITY FAIR).
   
   Like many reviewers of this Oppenheimer book, I was enthralled to read more about Anna Wintour's life and so I picked up this book. And I was not disappointed!
   
   Oppenheimer has taken task to interview so many people that have known Anna,(many many) and with those interviews, he was able to write a very interesting book.
   
   Granted , the book is Oppenheimer's point of view on Anna. However, if even HALF of what Oppenheimer has discovered about Anna is true (via his research), OMG, the woman sounds like a manipulative, menacing, ruthless, and highly interesting person!
   
   You may ask how a woman (ie:Anna) who is so menacing can also be interesting? Well, if you were to read this book, you'd know just why I stated this point.
   
   The first half of the book is about Anna's past and how she climbed her way to the "top". I found this sooo interesting,from start to finish!
   
   Basically, Anna knows how to use her money , her family status, and her sexual personna to manipulate people in order to get what she wants. As ANDREA, the main character in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA would say:
   "...had Miranda [ie: Anna] been a man, Miranda would be a typical assertive executive male, using everything in his power to climb to the top.But because Miranda [Anna] is a woman,then she is seen as a B****".
   
   Yes, Anna Wintour (or Miranda) is not a MAN, and therefore society deems her as a "devil",... or a self-serving "status climber". Is that totally fair to Anna Wintour? Well, when you read this book, you can decide for yourself.
   
   The second half of the book deals with Anna Wintour's rise to the top. This part of the book goes deeply into what makes Anna tick. What turns her on (and off). What Anna Wintour will do to get what she wants is carefully explained.
   
   In this book , Anna is often portrayed as a woman that was/is selfish and cold, and as a woman that will sleep her way to the top, whether she loves the man or not. She married for status, as the book reflects. She used/uses people then basically throws them away when she is done with them. She is portrayed as a woman that was (& is) eager to please her Dad, and was (& is) willing to do anything to win that approval. What I get, from the book, is that once her Dad died, Anna's ruthless personality was so deeply embedded,...so much so that it has been difficult for Anna to turn back.
   
   For a while, when Anna was having an affair with "the Texan", Anna seemed to be softening a bit. However, since the book stops at 2004, heaven only knows if she is still with "the Texan" or not.
   
   Once again, this is Oppenheimer's take on Anna. Is it true, or is Oppenheimer's view of Anna a bit far fetched?
   The only way for the reader to decide this point, is to read the book and decide for themself.
   
   My opinion (& this is only my opinion) is that Anna is very much like what Oppenheimer's research portrayed in this book. But I'm sure that there is much more to Anna that the reader will never know.
   
   Anna Wintour is a chamelion, and also, she is a mystery to many, ---and primarily since she rarely lets her guard down.

1 comments about Georgia Diary: A Chronicle of War And Political Chaos in the Post-soviet Caucasus.

1. Knowing little about the country, I was looking for some background reading on a recent visit. This book served a both a great introduction to the country/region and was very entertaining. I found myself having a hard time putting it down. The history could be a little more developed but that may take away from its overall readability. I have already bought and recommened this book to others traveling to the area.

5 comments about Diana Vreeland.

1. I too, waited on pins and needles as Ms. Dwight's book was delayed and delayed. I had preordered it and it was a considerable wait. It was worth the wait. I bought it and read it in a couple of sittings, loved it so much I bought copies and sent to dear friends. One sent me a thank you card which read "WHY DON'T YOU hire a jet plane and fly to see me so I can thank you for this wonderful (struck out) NO, DELICIOUS book. Id' say that pretty much sums it up.

   It was great to read about her lower profile, but still dramatic homelife. Her husband was equally style conscious and quite the fashion plate himself. Their children grew up remarkably well adjusted. I wish we had more Diana Vreelands in this world. She spurned a half loaf. She did it her way!

   You will love this book!




2. Immediately after finishing D.V., I ordered this book. I will warn you that reading both of these books will make you absolutely besotted with the divine Mrs. Vreeland. On the face of it, it doesn't seem possible that a book mainly about someone's professional life could hold so much interest. You are happily wrong if you thought that. There is just something about Diana V that gets under your skin and works it's way into your psyche, until you are absolutely mad about the woman. She is absolutely fascinating, entrancing, and possibly one of the most aggravating women of all times. But that is all part of her considerable charm. Even years after her death, she continues to fascinate. The story itself is first rate, and the stuff of dreams and motion pictures. Homely girl marries handsome man, lives beyond her means, and becomes one of the most influential people in the worlds of fashion and culture. I read the book in two days, but the day I recieved it, I spent a good hour devouring photographs. The one quibble I had with Vreeland's autobiography was that there weren't enough pictures. There are almost enough in this wonderful book to satisfy even the most diehard Vreeland fanatic. And oddly enough, the writing and pictures are more personal and informative than in Vreeland's book. She influended nearly all the fashion people of her time and beyond. I am only sorry that I finished the book so quickly. I would have been happier had the book been longer and not found it the least bit tedious. Despite the fact that many of the pictures are from definite time periods, you can see people today that dress the same way. Vreeland's taste was impeccable, classic, timeless, and iconoclastic. She knew what suited her, and she knew what she suited. What a fabulous character. Vreeland is like a fine wine in that she grows better with time. The presentation is wonderful. When you open the box, you see a bright red book that almost looks like a lacquered box. Then after you sigh with pleasure over visual impact, you open the covers, and are lost in her fascinating world. This book is worth any price you have to pay for it. I suppose some people might consider this a coffee table book, but I wouldn't. I would never put this out where people would see it, because then they would want to borrow it, and that is never going to happen! Engaging, well written, and perfectly executed. I am going to see what other Vreeland books are available. Too much is never enough of this delightful woman. Her friends and acquaintances would fill a who's who of American culture in the 20th century. While certainly not classically beautiful, she was attractive, and her face had great charm, intelligence, and nobility. She was vain, theatrical, and always the little girl who revered beauty and created her own instintice and personal beauty. It will last forever. Her mother told her that she was a very ugly little girl, and when I read that, I wanted to shake her nasty conceited mother until her teeth fell out. Definitely that incident shaped Diana for life, and probably went a long distance towards making her what she was. But all the same, her mother was a monster, and I can not think of her with less than contempt. Vreeland herself noted that it took her many years to come to terms with her mother. I applaud her for making the effort, and being gracious and truthful at the same time. That's a difficult feat at best. What a wonderful, delightful woman. While living a very public life, she was an intensely private person. A delightful enigma. Nobody will ever know the real Diana Vreeland, but this book will help get you as far as you can go.



3. This book could easily have become another banal coffee table "picture book for grown-ups"; big on visual display and short on commentary. It did not. The author has expended a great deal of effort into capturing the essence of a woman who single-handedly revolutionized the concept of fashion magazines.
   
   The book simultaneously chronicles the events in Ms. Vreeland's life among the international glamor set and showcases her astounding professional achievements. Dwight's prose is so evocative that we feel that we are in the Vogue office or at a fashion shoot, while Ms Vreeland makes her trademark dramatic pronouncements with theatrical gestures. As madcap as her ideas seemed, they captured the imagination of the fashionistas and people in the industry, sky-rocketing sales of the avant garde Vogue (previously a staid, niche publication).
   
   Ms.Vreeland comes across as someone who approached everything she did with wholehearted passion. Shown in the book are photographs of Ms.Vreeland with her suavely attired husband and sons, with friends, models and designers. In every photograph we see her totally in the moment, a larger-than-life but also very human diva. She was a genuine original, a woman of extraordinary talent and vision. It would be hard-put to do justice to her life and spirit, but Dwight has stepped up to this demanding task. Bravo!



4. She was,is and still to this day considered an Icon in the Fashion industry.



5. Diana Vreeland was born homely into a family where beauty was rife. So what did she do? She invented herself! This is the most important lesson on style that she has bequeathed us: we are not born with style, we can acquire it. Diana Vreeland is an example of self-improvement, of how to do the most of your poor features and blow yourself up into a lady through the sheer force of your uniqueness. She taught herself poise and class and strived hard to render the world around her more beautiful in her personal, exquisite way. Apart from that, she led a very interesting life. From long sojourns in Europe as a child, where she had the chance to attend performances of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes to our times, where she hobnobbed with the rich and famous and was privy to the backtages of the fashion world as editor of Vogue magazine, in this all-out, thoroughly researched and profusely illustrated biography we get to know better this inspiring woman whose positive outlook on life and strong personality make her a role model of style to women from all walks of life. Very entertaining reading and very thought-provoking.

No comments about Road Work: Among Tyrants, Heroes, Rogues, and Beasts.

5 comments about Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence, and a Bad Haircut (O'Rourke, P. J.).

1. I first discovered P.J.O'Rourke in the pages of various automotive publications. In addition to being a well-known political humorist, he is also an automotive enthusiast, as am I. This book, the second of his that I have read, is quite good once you get past the somewhat slow start. The second half of the book ("Drives to Nowhere," "Bad Sports") is wonderful. O'Rourke is a master of simile, metaphor, and analogy. Only the fiction writer Tom Robbins compares to him in this regard, in my opinion. I had my wife read a selection from the book, and she enjoyed it so much that she started reading it aloud to me. We laughed so hard our jaws hurt and our eyes teared! Whether you agree with his political bent or not, you cannot help but to enjoy the man's way with words; he is a true wordsmith. He can really "turn a phrase," as the trite expression goes. I can't wait to read more of his prose.



2. If you or someone you know and love is looking for great material for a speach competition, try the stories "Dynamite" and "Another Tale of Uncle Mike." I used them to get to the state competition. The book is all-around hillarious with great little tips such as how to out-drink an Irish wedding party when they have a few hours head-start. It also has some great lines such as "none of us were seriously hurt, except for Terry, who had part of a hash pipe blown up his nose, something they had a hard time understanding at the emergency room." Buy it and laugh.



3. First and foremost: it is worth noting (and it pains an saddens me that this is the case) that the phrase "Youth, Innocence, and a Bad Haircut" is the first time I have seen a three-item list with correct grammar in a book printed in America after World War II.

   Second, and not quite so foremost: P. J. O'Rourke is a very, very funny guy. He is completely politically incorrect, in most cases, and is therefore more than happy to pull out the jokes, puns, and other humorous concepts his more liberal colleagues have left to the dust.

   Third, and not really far up there on the scale, but still worth mentioning: in most ways, P. J. O'Rourke is a tremendous boon to the right-wing American. He's not afraid to take pot-shots at just about anything, including fellow members of the right (Pat Buchanan is roasted almost as often as Bill Clinton), and he's not afraid to admit his mistakes, such as endorsing Clinton in 1992.

   Combine those, and for most of this book you have a tremendously funny read, an almost literary roasting of such things as book tours, drinking, stupid sports, Whitewater, various makes and models of automobile, and the like. Unfortunately, it's the part that falls outside the realm of "most" that keeps this from being one of the finest political collections of the past decade. There are times when O'Rourke, who seems to be sitting right on the Libertarian partyline, veers far off to the left, and if he is to be trusted he was stuck out there in at least one case by the head of the Cato Institute (making me wonder how Libertarian they truly are), and he also has many of the strange and illogical hang-ups that keep me from ever wanting to vote Republican. He also, and he is well aware of it, asks a lot of our indulgence in the book's second section, a collection of short stories published (well, most of them) in the National Lampoon during his tenure as editor in chief there. Anyone who still wonders why I abhor the very idea of self-publishing need only read the section "The Truth About the Sixties and Other Fictions" in this book. It's shameless, awful, contorted, constipated prose, and O'Rourke is fully aware of this, and even says so in a few places.

   But if you skip that section, and immediately stop reading any time you find one of those places where conservatives suddenly dismiss anything relating to logic (I have often theorized it's remnants of too many drugs during the sixties), this is most definitely a worthwhile book. Both the automobile and sports sections brought forth guffaws. And if you've ever heard me guffaw, you'll know that's soemthing to stay away from.




4. PJ O'Rourke has always been one of my favorite cultural and political commentators. An unrepentant Libertarian Republican who used to be an unrepentant Marxist radical, O'Rourke is a conservative who writes with all the wit and verve that, supposedly, only liberals are capable of. P.J. O'Rourke is the Al Franken of the American Right, if Al Franken were actually funny. Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence, and a Bad Haircut is made up of O'Rourke's previously uncollected writings over the past three decades. As such, the book begins with a few choice pieces from his angry days as a Marxist journalist in the early '70s (where, it must be said, O'Rourke still writes with a wit that proves that funny is funny not matter what the ideology) moves on to cover his brief period as an adherent to Concrete Poetry (an art form that he admits still having no idea what to make of) and finally closes with a few of his recent essays as Rolling Stone's Foreign Affairs Editor. Best of all, O'Rourke includes a few short stories that he wrote and published while editor of National Lampoon. The stories, all dealing with his past as a '60s radical, are a perfect mixture of radical nostalgia and modern day clear headedness and, along with an unexpected pathos for his lost characters wandering through the political wilderness of protest, they also rank amongst the most hilarious of O'Rourke's writings, perfectly displaying his trademark style of detached irony and self-depreciating wit (one can always sense O'Rourke saying, "Can you believe they actually pay me to write this stuff?"). Perhaps most nicely, the pieces in this collection are arranged by chronological order so that the reader literally goes through O'Rourke's political and literary evolution with him over the course of the book. As such, we're provided with a nice view of the political odyssey of both O'Rourke and America over the past 30-odd years. If one thing remains the same it is that O'Rourke, whether conservative or liberal, consistently refuses to accept anything at face value. He remains, always, the eternal skeptic. And we, as readers, are all the better off for it.



5. I first got into PJ O'Rourke when I started reading his book "Republican Party Reptile" and realized that I could laugh heartily at his wit, as opposed to the often divisive rhetoric of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News Channel. O'Rourke is equally scathing in his approach to "born-again" nutjobs as he is to "pinko" enviromentalists, and his is a style of writing I wouldn't mind trying to emulate in my own belated (and as yet unpublished) career as a writer.

   "Age and Guile" caught my fancy because I had heard it was a collection of his pieces from over the years, and I tried to find it at the local library and various bookstores, but was unlucky in my pursuit. I ended up checking out a Books-on-Tape version of the book, read by Norman Deitz, and I was quite pleased.

   The early material is amatuerish, to be fair, but there are nuggets of wit to be found amongst the "juvinelia". The Truth About The Sixties was actually one of my favorite parts of the book, I found it very involving and fascinating to hear. The rest of the book tickled my funny bone. I just don't have enough good things to say about this book.

   So, I ordered it on Amazon, and I've recieved it, and it's joined my collection of P.J. O'Rourke books. A liberal at heart myself, I agree with a previous reviewer that O'Rourke celebrates individual freedom and doesn't care for those who try and take it away. I only hope I can be as good at conveying that in my own writing, he's certainly one hell of a teacher.

1 comments about Dark Genius: The Influential Career of Legendary Political Operative and Fox News Founder Roger Ailes.

1. As a Libertarian I have always seen Roger Ailes as being very much a Machiavellian type person, and the author seems to agree, although he also see Forest Gump in the man as well.
   
   Mr. Ailes is no Gump to me. And I was surprised to learn he had been involved with the old Mike Douglas Show which I so loved in the 60's and 70's. Mr. Douglas was such a nice, decent man, and thus my surprised that he would have someone like Mr. Ailes around.
   
   Of no surprise to me was Mr. Ailes connection to conservative Republican types. And I am glad the author writes about how Fox News under Mr. Ailes rule has become the only real biased 'news' channel on television.
   
   As the author notes, Fox says 'we report you decide', so in essence they report what they want, in a biased way and then its up to the viewer to decide what's fact and what isn't.
   
   I will note that Fox News is still a young network and like any new idea, after 15-20 years viewers change and the pendulum swings the other way.
   
   And with those under the age of 40 and/or those who are high tech lovers being drawn to the Internet for their news, or to shows like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have, Fox News will become less of a force.