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Arianna Huffington – Fanatics and Fools | Review

Title: Fanatics and Fools

Author: Arianna Huffington

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 372

Rating: 3.5/5

Arianna Huffington – Fanatics and Fools

I have mixed feelings about this book, and when I first started it I wasn’t enjoying it to the point at which I almost gave up on it. I was filming an unhaul video for my BookTube channel when I happened to notice that my copy of this was signed by Huffington herself. That made me think that I might as well keep it.

It’s basically a big long book about the 2004 presidential election, outlining Huffington’s theories on what a democratic candidate would need to successfully unseat George Bush. Obviously it didn’t quite turn out that way, but it’s strange because a lot of what she says about this new leader that they need could be describing Barack Obama.

Huffington also has an interesting take on things because she’s no stranger to politics. She ran against Arnold Schwarzenegger for the role of governor of California, and she has some interesting things to say about his brand of politics — and indeed of Republican politics in general.

Arianna Huffington

One of the main themes in this book is the way in which corporate America basically makes a mockery of democracy, with politics for sale to the highest bidder. Huffington clearly knows her stuff and I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a dossier on her computer to this day detailing all of the sleazy, sketchy stuff that politicians get up to, not just in America but around the world.

Sure, it’s sometimes a little slow going, and I did have to read this twenty pages at a time as my bedtime book, but I am still glad that I picked it up even if it’s out of date by now and no longer really relevant. I also found Huffington’s writing style a little abrasive to begin with just because of how sarcastic she can get, but after a while I was able to overcome it.

All in all, I liked what she had to say here and if she was running for office somewhere that meant I could vote for her, I probably would. And most of the policy ideas she shared were spot on.

Arianna Huffington Quote

Click here to buy Fanatics and Fools.

Michael Moore – Stupid White Men | Review

Title: Stupid White Men

Author: Michael Moore

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 296

Rating: 8/10

Michael Moore – Stupid White Men

Stupid White Men is an interesting read, although it is a little bit outdated right now. You might know Michael Moore as the film-maker who was behind Bowling for Columbine, as well as a bunch of other documentaries – often considered to be controversial, he’s a sort of pushy, left-wing type. A bit like I am.

People often say that Moore is annoying, and I guess I can see why when it comes to his documentaries – it’s just the way that he is, he believes in his belief and he has a passion for communicating them. That passion is still here, but it’s a little easier to absorb in the book – in fact, it’s almost a comedy book, rather than a political book, and there’s a good mixture of both right here.

As you can imagine from the title, it focuses on the stupid (rich) white men that rule America, from Bush and his cronies to the previous administration and the people that swung the vote. According to Moore, at least, Bush didn’t actually win the election – in fact, he broke the law to make it look as though he did.

The nuances of that, and what it implies, are too much to go into here, and so if you want to find out more then you ought to read the book. Even though my edition was printed not long after 9/11, it was still pretty interesting, and it’s not hard to see how the lessons here could be applied to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named‘s bid for the presidency. It’s kind of scary, come to think of it – a lot of this is common sense, and people haven’t listened.