The Tyranny of Clichés

How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas

By: Jonah Goldberg

Narrated by: Jonah Goldberg

Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

“We are only as free as the least free among us.” Is that really true, or is it the kind of statement most people will nod at without actually thinking about? Best-selling conservative author Jonah Goldberg calls it a liberal cliché—fundamentally wrong and potentially very dangerous.

According to Goldberg, if the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist, the greatest trick liberals ever pulled was convincing themselves they’re not ideological. Today “objective” journalists and academics and “moderate” politicians peddle some of the most radical arguments by hiding them in homespun aphorisms. Barack Obama casts himself as a disciple of reason and sticks to one refrain above all others: he’s a pragmatist, opposed to the ideology and dogma of the right, solely concerned with “what works.” And today’s liberals follow his lead, spouting countless clichés.

Goldberg exposes the truth behind many of these clichés, including “the living constitution,” “social justice,” and even simple words like “inquisition”/ With humor and passion, he dismantles these Trojan horses to show how our thinking is profoundly shaped by deeply ideological concepts and convenient myths that most of us accept uncritically—to our great detriment.

You’ll learn the real history of dangerous liberal clichés, such as:

“Better ten guilty men go free than one innocent man be put behind bars.”

“One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”

“Violence never solves anything.”

“Diversity is strength.”

“We need complete separation of church and state.”

From Gandhi to Marie Antoinette to Madonna, Goldberg explores the context of clichés in our culture and shows how often we rely on them at the expense of serious thinking.

©2012 Jonah Goldberg (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Straw man down! In the PC prison yard of accepted political thought, Jonah Goldberg has just shivved progressivism. Bold, brilliant, and bursting with humor, every page of The Tyranny of Clichés is right on the money. If you thought Liberal Fascism was good, wait till you read The Tyranny of Clichés—it is fantastic!” (Brad Thor, New York Times best-selling author)

“What can one say to the self-proclaimed ‘independent’ who never has nor ever will vote other than Democratic; or to the wise soul suggesting, of any conflict at all, ‘the truth must lie somewhere in between?’ Mr. Goldberg reminds us that one must stand up and demand of the muddled and supine either an absolute declaration of their principles and acknowledgment of the results of actions having flowed therefrom or a straightforward admission of their intransigence in refusing a concise reply.” (David Mamet, New York Times best-selling author)

“Everyone says ‘think for yourself’ but very few people do. In The Tyranny of Clichés, Jonah Goldberg reveals how we’ve become trapped by ideas we think we understand but don’t. A must-read.” (Vince Vaughn, actor and producer)

Great

Intelligent, well written, and funny. A must for anyone interested in political, social, cultural, or economic sedate. A great guide book to the conservative understanding of the world.

The Best

One of my favorite books my Mr. Goldberg... Everyone should read it. Don't travel back in time, it might unravel the universe.

I enjoyed it...and I'm a Democrat!!

What made the experience of listening to The Tyranny of Clichés the most enjoyable?

I found the author's voice to work extremely well in reading his audiobook. (Unfortunately, there are a few authors that have given such poor readings that I couldn't help but wish a professional audio narrator read it instead.)

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Tyranny of Clichés?

I enjoyed the fact that there were times Goldberg had natural laughter as he shared his opinion. Makes you feel like you're a part of the "conversation."

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

His warmth and excitement about this material - there were many times that it felt like I was in a classroom listening to this.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

I absolutely hated his last book, "Liberal Fascism," but he has completely redeemed himself with this book. It helps not to count an author out - check out other audio productions of their books. You might wind up very surprised.

Thought provoking and funny

Jonah Goldberg reads his own book that takes the reader on a masterfully reasoned deconstruction of common liberal ideas and arguments. Not only does the book present numerous well formed and presented arguments against liberal sentiments commonly (and incorrectly) held to be true, but he also provides tons of history and academic papers backing up his argument. Also, Goldberg weaves in quite a bit of humor and geeky movie references to keep things entertaining in the midst of all the serious arguments.

If you lean hard left, you will probably hate this book. Goldberg absolutely shreds some liberal positions, sometimes several times over. This will either frustrate you or you will totally disagree at such a fundamental level that the book will not be at all enjoyable.

The Highly Underrated

Jonah always attaches the preface "my highly underrated second book" to any reference to The Tyranny of Clichés, and upon listening it is certainly deserving of that preface. Jonah is at his best when he is shedding light upon lost and intentionally forgotten, obfuscated, or ignored intellectual history, as is the main project of this book.

Great read

Great read for both the conservative and the liberal. I highly recommend it to anyone who finds the rhetoric behind politics interesting.

Terrific book with perfect narration.

The Tyranny Of Cliches artfully tears down many of the straight off the teleprompter no thinking necessary talking points of the institutional left. Some of my favorite chapters were one "Social Justice" and the "Living Constitution". Goldberg skillfully does something that many other talented conservative writers and talkers can't seem to get right, point out the idiocy of progressive ideas and the mediocrity of the results of said ideas without coming across hateful or screechy. The narration of the book truly canot be overstated, as a long time listener of audiobooks a bad narrator really ruins the whole thing. Since the author is reading the book the ideas with in it come as across very conversational and easy to listen to. I wholly endorse this book for both long time critical thinkers and new comers to the world of political ideologies.

An enjoyable thinking book

I really like nonfiction books that cause me to think and laugh at the same time. No matter your political leanings, Jonah Goldberg provides many cliches to think about, and done wit for a chuckle.

Worthwhile for both liberals and conservatives

If you are a regular reader of Jonah Goldberg's work for National Review (as I am), there isn't a lot in here that you've never heard before. But it is all collected in one place and nicely bound up with a bow.

I wouldn't call it an anti-liberal screed, which some books by conservative authors have an unfortunate tendency to become, so I feel comfortable recommending it to non-conservatives as well as true believers. If you're a liberal and take this author's comments to heart, even if they don't convert you to The Right Side of History (TM) you'll at least be able to give a better argument than just spouting a cliche and thinking you've won the College Bowl of argumentation.

As a narrator, Jonah did a good job, with only one problem - when he's giving an aside, he drops his voice to a nearly inaudible murmur - so when driving, those parts get lost. Fix that and I'd give him 5 stars for narration.

Outstanding Book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

. Recommended this book to many friends, because it is informative and really funny

Which character – as performed by Jonah Goldberg – was your favorite?

Reminds me of good college lectures.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

References to Monty Python. (Yes, I know the words to “I’m a Lumberjack.”)