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)

Accuracy can be fun

Many individuals believe the lies and see humor in many right wing commentators. I often fume when I catch an O'Reilly, Limbaugh and others in boldface lies in order to promote an agenda. They know the average devotee hasn't the patience, knowledge or desire to refute the lying liers. Franken had bright Harvard students at his disposal when he was a fellow at the college. Using his wit, intelligence and patriotism he has used well-researched refutations of lies and plain truth to tell "the HONEST side of the story." "Lies" is hillarious and a righteous antidote to the simplistic bombast of right wing liers. Our country needs MUCH more fine commentary like "Lies" as we enter an election year.

Al Franken - More Than Fair To An Unbalanced Right

Judging by the squeals of the little piggies who got caught in the crosshairs of Al Franken's laser sharp wit, he must be right on target in this excellent and very amusing listen!

His take down of Fox News "Liar" Bill O'Reilly is total and complete. What ever journalistic credibility this obvious tool of the right ever enjoyed should be effectively wiped out by the truly fair and balanced telling of his fraudulent on air claims as they are laid bare in this book.

This riotous read is loads of fun. It's straight up BURSTING with well researched facts, figures and substantive proofs to support his arguments for every "lie" he expertly exposes to the brilliant glare of truth and daylight. Thank God for Al Franken and this masterful expose of the culure lies which underpin the polemics of the Right-Wing Media.

What a breath of fresh air it is to finally hear the author put the lie to that old "Liberal Media" saw. As Franken builds his case, it become brutally apparent that the right wing has employed an organized agenda to "Reclaim" the airwaves.

The thing is, the media in America has traditionally played it right down the middle. Since the 1980's, the actions of the Right Wing Media, Franken shows us, have taken the overall tone of the national media from the center and moved it farther to the right than ever before in our nation's history.

As we continue to be mired by an oil company administration's failed policies at home and abroad... and our young men and women continue to be placed in harm's way in armed support of those failed policies... I think it is more important than ever to remain undaunted in our vigilance of "media lies" and the pernicious propaganda they could represent. In it's worst employment it may be intended to sway us into the darker destruction of unending WAR.

A Tour de Force!

Let's get this straight - whether you're liberal or conservative, you've got to have a sense of humor to appreciate Al Franken. You've got to be able to appreciate when he's being sarcastic and when he's being straight. You see, in order to be "Fair & Balanced," Al has to overstate the case for the left in order to "balance" the lies he exposes of the right. Therefore, you're not going to hear a "balanced" explication of the "left," you'll hear a committed, intelligent liberal explain how life looks through the eyes of a committed, intelligent liberal, with no apologies. What you'll also get are facts - PLENTY OF THEM! Team Franken DID the research and painstakingly excoriates the lies of the right, point by point. Let me put this clearly - you will not hear the folks on the right take Franken on over his criticism of their lies, because they can't. He's nailed them dead-to-rights. You'll also get Al's fantastic reading of his own material, which is the way it ought to be received. Al sounds as if he's speaking without notes, from memory. His narration communicates more than the printed page every could, by itself.

So - listen to Al report the lies, and then YOU decide - while you're having a great time!

A laugh at the sad truth.

This book really makes you wonder how so many people in this country can be in such a state of denial about the current state of affairs of our government. It tells the sad truth about right wing media bias and the lies they spin or cover up. The humor of the book keeps you from falling into a major state of depression over the facts provided. Wake up America becuase you, your kids and their kids are being robbed of their future in broad daylight while you stare straight at the thieves on your TV set. I wish everyone would take the time to listen to the truth this book offers. As presented, the truth doesn't hurt quite as much. Thank you Al for going out on a limb and speaking out on these issues.

Read this book if you hate America

I never liked Al much on SNL, but he's hit his stride here: funny, articulate, well-researched, and pretty darn even-handed. BTW, for you Rush and Ann fans, the title of this review is "ironic". Being a middle-of-the-roader, fiscally/militarily conservative and socially liberal, I've listened to people from both sides, and I've grown to detest factually challenged emotional rantings and meanness posing as political discourse. Al does rant, and does get emotional on occasion, but his facts check out and, unlike Rush, he doesn't feel the need to go after someone's kid to make a point.

The book translates well to audio format, and Al's timing and delivery is superb. You don't have to agree with Al to enjoy this book, but you do have to have a sense of humor and a shred of tolerance for ideas that may differ from yours.

Truth Hurts!

Should be read (or heard) by all. Mr. Franken carefully dissects many of misleading statements made by folks serving their own agendas. He does what we all should do - not accept statements made via the media as factual just because they are repeated. Instead he demonstrates how situations are often taken out of context in order to mislead. This book shows us how gullible we can be! As is shown by some of the other review comments made - the truth hurts!

Hilarious

I hated it to end -- and I found it very interesting too.

Brilliant, hilarious, biting, and brutally honest

This well researched, documented, and thoughtful critique of the right is far more than a simple, humor title. It should be read and will be relished by all of us who are suffering in policy hell under the brutal and boorish (second) Bush regime and the administration's pack of self-serving friends.

I didn't want to stop listening

Al Franken calls out Ann Coulter, Bill O'Riley, Dubya and others for the lies they have knowingly told to the public to futher their right-wing agenda. It is amazing that these people do what they do, and get away with it! I reccommend this book to any American who will vote in the 2004 election.

A thorough delight

Franken is smart, funny, and on target. Hearing this book in his own voice made the experience so much richer. I highly recommend it.