Arguing with Idiots

How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government

By: Glenn Beck

Narrated by: Glenn Beck, Pat Gray, Steve "Stu" Burguiere

Length: 9 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

It happens to all of us: You're minding your own business, when some idiot informs you that guns are evil, the Prius will save the planet, or the rich have to finally start paying their fair share of taxes.

Just go away! you think to yourself -- but they only become more obnoxious. Your heart rate quickens. You start to sweat. You can't get away. Your only hope is this book.

Glenn Beck, author of the number-one New York Times best sellers An Inconvenient Book and Glenn Beck's Common Sense, has stumbled upon the secret formula to winning arguments against people with big mouths but small minds: knowing the facts. And this book is full of them.

The next time your idiot friends tell you how gun control prevents gun violence, you'll tell them all about England's handgun ban. When they tell you that we should copy the UK's health care system, you'll recount the horrifying facts you heard here. And the next time an idiot tells you that vegetable prices will skyrocket without illegal workers, you'll stop saying "No, they won't" and you'll start saying, "actually, eliminating all illegal labor will cause us to spend just $8 a year more on produce."

Idiots can't be identified through voting records, they can be found only by looking for people who hide behind stereotypes, embrace partisanship, and believe that bumper-sticker slogans are a substitute for common sense. If you know someone who fits the bill, then Arguing with Idiots will help you silence them once and for all with the ultimate weapon: the truth.

©2009 Glenn Beck (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Super annoying

The annoying voices and unneeded back and forth commentary is hard fo listen to. Stopped after two chapters

Silly Voices Doesn't Make You Right

I approached this audio book with "open ears" as it were, and a notepad. I was not going to allow an ad hominem fallacy to override what may be valid reasoning. I jotted down many of the points he makes and looked them up later, using a variety of resources. He has a tendency to distort the truth, and sometimes his historical facts are incorrect (case in point: his example with Insoll is factually wrong, historically on a number of items). There is also a large amount of what, to be fair, is really a kind of ignorance: he doesn't know that (for example) the taxation of software is complicated because legislators and even the general public, do not really understand how it is written or distributed. The point being that laws are often complex, not to confuse, but because the issues involved are complex. As Adam Smith made clear it is "division and specialization of labor" that drives the wealth of nations and this is precisely what makes the modern world complex. He dismisses these notions and naysayers as "idiots", taking on a voice that is as much Homer Simpson as it is Huckleberry Hound. This is unfair, and inaccurate as his "idiot" views are not well-reasoned nor are they the views of his detractors. Instead, he fashions a straw man of a simpleton progressive that is not accurate: his position of argument is weak because he is not arguing any real points. At the end, this is pure polemics and is primarily entertainment, don't be fooled. It would be useful for humanity and for his fans, if instead they had an intellect bordering on Noam Chomsky levels of discourse, but the National Review crowd (as much as I may disagree with them) is not in charge of Conservatives anymore. Instead, populist humorists like Beck serve to build the foundation of ignorance that is being used to argue against progressivism.

AWESOME!!!

Very Happy with the content!

Arguing with Idiots

The material was good but Glen Beck's animated voice of "the idiot" was sooooo obnoxious that I could not finish the book. His attempt to try to be cute was a total turn off. He looses the impact of the supporting information because he acts so juvenile. This is the type of book that makes conservatives look like IDIOTS! Loved the material hated the presentation.

Buyer beware

The book presents interesting premise and sets out to present "facts" about various issues. However, the author carefully crafts half truths or clear bias. What the author considers "facts" are often just personal opinions not backed by any data. I found myself constantly scratching my head, going "did he just say that without considering cases x. y, z"? There be no facts to be found in this book. Only weak opinions and unfounded delusions. At least the author is a self proclaimed idiot. Save you money, go and buy
Freakonomics or something more interesting by Malcolm Gladwell or Richard Dawkings.

I was expecting more from the author and title

Why on Earth did he need to have 3 narrators, this was a mistake. He didn't use this method in his other books. I didn't think this one was anywhere near as good as his first book title "An Inconvenient Book" which was more informative and funnier. But, the "ADD moments" get really annoying and the 3 narrators don't do this book any favours. The acutally content of the book is informative but it stretches in parts. And again Beck is openly a pure-blood conservative.
Not bad, but not as good as I was hoping.

Annoying "idiot voice"

Be warned:
Whether you agree or disagree with Glenn Beck's political leanings (I had no idea who he was until I started to listen to this book.) the falsetto voice he puts on for the "idiot" is too annoying to listen to for more than 2 minutes. It's way over the top and takes away from the content.
I can not listen to one more minute of this recording.
Maybe the book would be better. It's too late for me though. If I tried to read the book, I think I would hear his voice. (shudder)
Mr. Beck, it worked for Pee-Wee Herman. It doesn't work for you.

Wow, does it get anymore annoying than this?

I can't believe I paid for this. Such a bunch of rambling nonsense. I kept waiting for the point but there was none. Uncomfortably long with no payoff in the end. Save your money/credits there are better choices on this site.