Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them

A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right

By: Al Franken

Narrated by: Al Franken

Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Al Franken, "one of our savviest satirists" ( People), takes on the issues, the politicians, and the pundits in one of the most anticipated books of the year.

Once again, the author of Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations trains his subversive wit directly on the contemporary political scene, leaving the powers-that-be in tatters and his audience in hysterics. Al Franken thrives on being in the opposition, and now that the Republican party controls both the Oval Office and Congress, the gloves are off and the satire is fast and furious.

Franken's specialty is using his targets' own words to make comedic and political points. Finding logical inconsistencies, factual errors, and doublespeak wherever he looks, Franken takes on and destroys the myth of liberal bias in the media, hoists the Bush White House on its own rhetorical petard, and punctures the mean-spirited sanctimony of such media darlings as Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, and host of post-Limbaugh talk-radio gasbags. Timely, provocative, unfailingly honest, and always uproarious, Lies is sure to raise hackles and spark hilarity inside the Beltway and from sea to shining sea.

Listen to Al Franken talk about Lies on Fresh Air from September 3, 2003.

©2003 AL Franken (P)2003 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

• Grammy Award Winner, Best Spoken Word Album, 2003

"In the kicking, spitting spirit of all-star political discourse, Al Franken gives as good as he gets." (New York Times)
"Riotous...provocative reading for everyone.... Franken's sardonic critique of our culture of political disinformation is serious business." (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
"Memo to Fox: Hire Al Franken." (Business Week)

Insight

If you could sum up Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them in three words, what would they be?

truth lies humor

What does Al Franken bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His humor and voice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Love Al Franken's humor and his in depth research when he contradicts the Liars.

Lefty Liberals Rejoice

Cronyism, thy name is RNC. Great book, sheds a lot of light on the things that go on behind closed doors in the three branches of government and the fourth- the media

Thank Goodness for Al Franken!

I read this book years ago and had forgotten how much I loved it. It was even better listening to him narrate it-I laughed out loud more than a few times while driving and listening to it. I have always been a HUGE fan and he makes being a liberal democrat in a RED state just a little bit more bearable. I doubt that any conservatives would enjoy it however.

A thoroughly enjoyable

As what appears to be the first review of this audio book from a non-US reader, I have 4 things to say about "Lies...": 1) it is incredibly refreshing to get a perspective of US political discourse from an American author who can use both humour and intelligence to illustrate some of the clearly hypocritical and downright dishonest statements being published not only by the conservative media but also by the supposed mainstream media; 2) it is very unlikely that a rebuttal that Franken has lied in this book (see a few of the other reviews here) will ever be convincing as the very random review I made of his facts easily held up to my scrutiny; 3) I laughed out loud a lot while I listened to this book, which occasionally embarrassed me as it was sometimes in public and others looked at me strangely but which I take as a rounding endorsement of this book; 4) I found (and I swear that neither I nor anyone in my acquaintance is any way related to Audible nor am I benefiting in any way by saying this) that listening to the Audible version of this book was in all ways superior to the written version entirely due to the incredible way Franken is able to use inflection and accent to enhance the spoken version --- to add to this the Audible version of this book has actual audio excerpts of the Wellstone memorial service that made me extremely emotional.

Buy this book unless you are absolutely determined to be a closed minded conservative. If you are positively determined to be closed minded, then write some stupid comment in your review, and give this book only one star.

Bang on!

I would not generally consider myself a liberal, but I was thoroughly entertained by Franken's book. He is very funny.

It's important to listen to people who set the record straight. Falsehoods should not be allowed on any side of the political spectrum.

Fair and thankfully not balanced

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them

Al Franken's book should be required reading for every voter in the next presidential election. Can't quote it? Can't pull the lever!

I enjoyed this book tremendously. The other thought I had about this audio book is that Al Franken has most successfully evolved a new performance media. This audio book is actually the best media in which to hear Franken's words. If you only read the print, you miss a great deal of the value of the audio book. If it was a video performance tape, I couldn't possibly site through it. But as the audio format is perfect!

A must buy for anyone interested in politics

Whatever your political leanings may be, you need to listen to this audiobook. I consider myself a conservative, but have grown increasingly disillusioned with conservative news and talk shows. I believe they have sacrificed truth for a Machiavelian ideological approach. Franken takes them to task for this very thing again and again. While there is no question where he stands (liberal, anti-Bush), he presents a very well researched and supported case. At times, you do get the impression that Al has some personal scores to settle, but overall, his attacks appear well justified -- if only because his targets have themselves been so vicious and self-righteous that they have virtually (and in at least one case, literally) invited such criticism. The book is also consistently humorous and entertaining. Al mixes facts and figures with wit and sarcasm into a surprisingly palatable concoction. His reading of his own material, furthermore, greatly increases the impact. A brief review of the other reviews reveals, not surprisingly, a wide gulf of opinion on this book. Most are either five stars or one. I believe this represents the fact that most people want to hear someone confirm what they already believe. I promise you, however, that if you approach this book with an open mind, you will learn something and be very entertained. Also, if you have even a passing familiarity with some of Al's targets (for instance, if you have ever watched Fox News or read anything by Ann Coulter), your entertainment and appreciation will be increased exponentially. In short, if you have an interest in politics and an open mind, BUY THIS AUDIOBOOK. You won't be disappointed.

Al Franken is just plain fun

I'm not sure what I enjoyed more, the witty remarks and comments of Al Franken or the way he delivered them. However, I do know that this book is the best political comedy I've read so far.
Of course, as many comedy books, by the time you reach the end, the comedic edge has been worn off to a certain degree. However, the first three-quarters make greatly up for this.

Easy Listening  Thank You Al!

I enjoyed this book very much.
Very funny, and eye opening. I found the research that went into this book to sound credible. Franken does a fine job at combining the facts (the kind you can check yourself) with humor to explain how the mass media manipulates the true facts and news to increase ratings and sales.

I suggest that this book is worth it for both conservatives and liberal listeners.

Best,
Sigma Pi FSC

Hysterical and Sharp

A great listen. Hard to put down. I had no idea who most of the people in the book were, including the author, before listening, but I do now. Although his points are informative and funny at the same time, his one fault is that he does not admit that his side of the political spectrum, has problems of their own. He seems to think that Democrats are perfect, which unfortunately is not true, and praises them at every opportunity. It's so dang good though at making me laugh (and cry) that I will probably listen to it again soon.