You don't have to be a Democrat to appreciate this book

books:

	• The Assault on Reason Al Gore Penguin (Non-Classics), 2008 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 342 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Call to Action

Though this book does have its flaws, I felt that, simply put, this is a very important book that has come at a pivotal time in the history of the United States. I also wonder if the repetition is purposeful device used by a man who is accustomed to making speeches. However I look at it, though, the repetition cannot detract from the central arguments of the book, arguments that are of the utmost importance to each and every American--and indeed to each and every person the world over--whatever their political affiliation.

Gore comes across as highly educated and it is obvious that he has a very firm grasp of his subject matter. He seeks not merely to scare the pants off everyone who reads his book, even if that is one of its side effects. Rather, his aim is to rouse people from the seeming stupor they've been in for almost eight years and to inspire them to finally do something about what is happening to their country. Even though the book does afford him to chance to eviscerate his political opponent, I firmly believe that Gore is a concerned citizen sounding the alarm for his fellow citizens, plenty of whom seem to have fallen into a state of utter and dangerous complacency in the face of some of the worst civil and human rights violations this country has ever witnessed. As Gore argues with both vehemence and eloquence, how can the U.S. lay claim to moral authority when the leader of our country and his closest advisors trounce all over the Constitution and the Geneva Convention at will? How can anyone not fear the disregard for the will of the people, the deception, and the failures displayed by this current administration?

As Gore points out, the U.S. came into being because a group of idealists decided they wanted to live in a nation whose leader was elected by the people, who was accountable to the people, and whose power would be checked by that of the other two branches. The entire basis of our form of government is built around the philosophy that no leader should possess absolute power and that no leader should be able to act with impunity. George W. Bush has taken that philosophy and ground it into the dirt with his heel. By kowtowing to special interests and ignoring the needs and wants of his constituents, by outright lying to his constitutents in order to instigate a war that he wanted even though it was not necessary to the security of this country, and by committing what are essentially war crimes by sanctioning the torture of prisoners and stripping them of due process, Bush has made a mockery of everything for which America stands. It is easy to sometimes chalk the flaws of the American political system up to partisanship but Bush doesn't even care what those members of his own party think, as evidenced by his disregard for the anti-torture legislation drafted by his fellow Republicans.

What I think Gore does best in this book is to not just show us what a mockery is being made of our democracy but to show us how we as Americans have allowed much of it to happen to us. While our leaders must be held accountable for the lies they have told, we as Americans must also be held accountable for not taking an active interest in our political process and for not demanding that our leaders be made responsible for the choices they have made and the laws they have violated. Whatever Al Gore's intent, I am glad that there are citizens like him who will question the actions of our leaders and who will demand that our leaders adhere to the Constitution that we hold so sacred.

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Why's Habermas in here?

Overall, this is a very good book. Partisanship aside, it deserves four-stars. Gore deals with a number of important issues that have shaped public discourse over the past few decades.

The main complication, however, comes a few pages into the introduction when Gore mentions Jürgen Habermas. Gore gives an explication of his ideas so inorganic that the reader is left to wonder if the account was added ex post facto, by an editor who had not read the intervening pages, merely in order to make the text appear more 'intellectual.' Throughout the text, Gore seems uncomfortable discussing the 're-feudalization of the public sphere,' and he inexorably muddles any account of the relationship of this idea to the book overall.

The lack of materials on this subject may rightly push this book's rating up to five stars, simply by its presence and status as fairly good. The infelicities and pure showmanship involved in Gore's account of Habermas, however, should stop any reasonable reviewer from awarding this book all five stars. When an author has to struggle so much to add intellectual legitimacy to his/her book, it reveals a more critical fissure in the argument.

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A stunning indictment of our Politics

I must admit, I am an admirer of Al Gore's intellect, for a politician that is. I read Earth in the Balance and watched an Inconvenient Trust with interest because of the enormous amount of research that obviously went into those works. This book is well researched as well, but very different, in that it reveals Gore's inner being in a way the other works do not. One can feel his longing for a time when politics were civil and when positions were argued from verifiable rather than made up facts and gingoistic slogans. On one hand it is an indictment of the Bush administration, but less of Bush himself, and more of his administration and its take no prisoners, achieve power at any cost, style. But, still more, it is a warning of the darkest days yet to come if we do not divest the media of control by a few media giants, and move determinately toward public finance of elections so as to eliminate the iron grip of big business upon our political system. The book is really food for thought, and should be read by anyone with real concerns about the direction of our democracy.

Although Mr. Gore touched on the unprecedented divide between the 'have's' and the 'have little's' in our society, and upon the inherent unfairness in tax trends since Eisenhower, I was disappointed to see that he never ventured outside the box in his thinking on that subject, at least as one can judge from the book.

My book, soon to be published and available at Amazon, "Tax Back America, the 2% Solution. How to Lower Your Taxes and Pay Off the National Debt" will address what I mean in detail.

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You don't have to be a Democrat to appreciate this book

You don't have to be a Democrat to appreciate Assault on Reason. Just recognizing the value of open debate and respect for opposing views is enough to thoroughly enjoy this book.

Al Gore has done a splendid job of illustrating a serious threat to our democracy. One in which slick marketing and deception has replaced reasoned debate of public issues. Of course there are some unflattering characterizations of the Bush administration, as there should be. But the larger warnings postulated in this book reach across all party lines and speak directly to you (us), the individual voter.

For me, the first 20-30 pages were somewhat slow going as Gore lays a foundation on the psychological underpinnings that make us vulnerable to deception. But don't give up, the remainder of the book is extremely well written and is a testament to "reasoned debate" and analysis of issues. I don't necessarily agree with all of Mr. Gore's political views but I do believe he is intelligent, honest and fair.

Read this book before the next presidential election! If you are at all open-minded and have a true concern for the state of our democracy you will likely enjoy this book. And then let's all try and hold our elected official's feet to the fire and demand a higher level of public discourse. Educate yourself on the issues; refuse to let officials speak in sound bites; demand to hear the opposition and make your voting decisions based on being a member of a "well-informed citizenry."

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An Assault on Reason

The book is a wealth of information on how things are done in government. Al Gore is a man who inspires respect and admiration for his dedication to the pursuit of knowledge coupled with the action that should follow knowledge. The book isn't easy to read, Al Gore is a very educated man who uses a sophisticated vocabulary and an unsual form of expression. However, what he has to say is important enough for us to make it worth the effort. We, the people of this wonderful country, should unplug the TV for a while and begin reading books like this.

reviews: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, page 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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