Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right

Honestly, Franken offers some great insight, some interesting ideas and is generally pretty funny. Though I know Franken has poked fun at the democrats and liberals in the past, this book is definitely written for liberals, so realize what you're getting. Conservatives and liberals have been calling one another liars for centuries. Chances are, if you're a conservative Republican, this book will just piss you off. If you're a liberal Democrat, this book will make you cheer and laugh out loud. Liberals enjoy! Conservatives enter with an open mind and light heart or look else where for your entertainment.

I've been a Franken fan for years. With this one (although there are many enjoyable parts) the language and irreverance got to me. Suppose one must be a little thick-skinned (and certainly leaning left) to fully appreciate his humor, but I'm not a big fan of vulgar language so I couldn't rank this one any higher than 3 stars.

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.

I am a 30ish caucasian male. I am a husband and father. I own a home. I am military veteran. I am a small business owner. I hate paying taxes. I am, in other words, at the bullseye of the demographic target for Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and their ilk. As a member of that demographic, I state categorically that I love this book!

Al Franken is the voice of moderation, reason, and sanity in a media universe populated by cynical mouthpieces for the RNC and timerous mainstream editors and publishers who won't stand up to them, or stand up for the truth.

Unlike Limbaugh's cheap-spot left-wing doppelganger Michael Moore, Franken actually is "fair and balanced." His only agenda is truth and decency in reporting. You will revel in his witty destruction of the new media of slander, distortion, and intimidation led by Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Coulter, and Hannity.

Audible members: listen to this book and let the scales fall from your eyes!

The perfect combination: Well research information with a talented author/reader informed me and kept me laughing - and crying for our country.

I was really surprised with this work. Franken's previous major release ("Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot") was the most hilarious audiobook I've ever had the pleasure of hearing, and I was expecting the same type of comedic parody. Not the case with "Lies". This book starts by dissecting each member of the conservative media and how they've lied or misled their consumers. And by dissecting, I mean really dissecting. For example, he takes you through Ann Coulters, pointing out statistical errors, misleading statements using footnotes/endnotes, and outright lies. The humor is still there, but the point of the book is more about providing clear evidence that there are members of the conservative media that are intentionally misleading the public. The book then leads into Bush's administration, focusing on people in his administration like Rove and Ashcroft. When I finished the book, I was reminded of Paul Harvey's tagline: "...and now you know the rest of the story."

I can honestly say that I completed this book with more factual information about the last four years in politics than I did with any other book, including more serious contemporary works like George Stephanopoulos' biography. It was truly that informative. I have no doubt that Franken's future in politics will be successful. I don't know any politicians that can educate me *AND* make me laugh at the same time.

This is one of the best audio programs I have ever heard, from any source. Al Franken's work really is essential for any thinking person - at least any person who is thinking of voting in the upcoming elections. The substance of his presentation is first-rate. Let's face it, Al Franken is a comedian. Yes, he is a very intelligent person, but he's a comedian. However, the quality of his presentation, the thoroughness of his research, the logic and cogency of his arguments, all put this work on a level above the vapid scrawling of his right-wing subjects. Oh, and he's hilarious! This really is funny!
Furthermore, this program is an audio program, not a mere reading of the book. Franken produced this presentation for audio and he performs the work himself. There is an excellent use of original audio from the Wellstone memorial service that makes his point beautifully. This is a superior presentation than the original book. Even if you don't agree with Franken's politics, you'll find this book entertaining.

Okay, that's probably not true. You probably won't care for it quite so much if you're fond of those whom he skewers, but give it a try anyway.

Not only was this book funny, and well written, but it is also a great well of knowledge. Fair and balanced--Yes! Scathing--Yes! Truth--you bet. Do the fact checking yourself...there is no spin here!

Enjoyed the book very much but also felt that he brushed over certain facts about Clinton that could have offered a more balanced view, I understand he is a democrat, but to not point out obvious flaws of Clinton's leaves a little to be desired. I would have given him more credit if he had.
In all the book was very good at exposing the spin of politics, only wish journalists would hold politicans "at the time" accountable for their blantant lies rather than 2-6months after.

I don't agree with Al's politics (he's a bit too liberal for my tastes) but I'm impressed by the thoroughness of his research and the presentation. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in politics, and I only hope that someone on the right comes up with a similar book based on honesty rather than lies.