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- The title says it all...
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Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey
Chuck Palahniuk
Manufacturer: Doubleday
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0385517874
Release Date: 2007-05-01 |
Book Description
“Like most people I didn’t meet Rant Casey until after he was dead. That’s how it works for most celebrities: After they croak, their circle of friends just explodes.…”
Rant is the mind-bending new novel from Chuck Palahniuk, the literary provocateur responsible for such books as the generation-defining classic Fight Club and the pedal-to-the-metal horrorfest Haunted. It takes the form of an oral history of one Buster “Rant” Casey, who may or may not be the most efficient serial killer of our time.
“What ‘Typhoid Mary’ Mallon was to typhoid, what Gaetan Dugas was to AIDS, and Liu Jian-lun was to SARS, Buster Casey would become for rabies.”
A high school rebel who always wins (and a childhood murderer?), Rant Casey escapes from his small hometown of Middleton for the big city. He becomes the leader of an urban demolition derby called Party Crashing. On appointed nights participants recognize one another by such designated car markings as “Just Married” toothpaste graffiti and then stalk and crash into each other. Rant Casey will die a spectacular highway death, after which his friends gather testimony needed to build an oral history of his short, violent life. Their collected anecdotes explore the possibility that his saliva caused a silent urban plague of rabies and that he found a way to escape the prison house of linear time.…
“The future you have, tomorrow, won’t be the same future you had, yesterday.”
—Rant Casey
Expect hilarity, horror, and blazing insight into the desperate and surreal contemporary human condition as only Chuck Palahniuk can deliver it. He's the postmillennial Jonathan Swift, the visionary to watch to learn what's —uh-oh—coming next.
Customer Reviews:
Liked it!.......2007-09-22
I've read just about all of Chuck's stuff (I think Fight Club is my only exception as far as his novels go -- just have trouble reading a book once I've seen the film). I count Invisible Monsters as one of my all-time favorite books. I wasn't quite as big a fan of some of his books (Lullaby did nothing for me, Diary left me wanting too much more, and Haunted had its ups and down -- which I guess is to be expected from a bunch of connected short stories).
Rant ranks up there as one of my favorite Palahniuk novels. I thought I'd get tired of the "oral history" style, but it actually worked well with this piece. (That being said, I don't think I need to see Chuck or any other fiction authors immediately try the same format again -- it worked well for this story, but I'm not so sure that it would carry over to any book.) The characters were interesting (a few could have been a bit deeper), some of the situations (particularly before Rant leaves his hometown) were CLASSIC Palahniuk, and the ending was a total mind-****, which I like...
... though, as I admit in a discussion thread here on the Amazon listing, I'm not quite sure I *got* everything, thanks to this mind-****. That's not a complaint from my perspective, but if you're looking for a book that is 100% linear, easy to follow and requires no between-the-lines thinking, this might not be for you. If, however, you like other Palahniuk books and/or you like humor that's half-absurd/half-disturbing mixed with Mulholland Drive/Donnie Darko-style plotting, this book might be for you.
Upchuck.......2007-09-19
This book was tedious, unexciting, and unprovoking. Part of the story was bout Party Crashers, people who like to crash vehicles. This portion of the story is very intricate. The story is written as a documentary so hundreds of people are interviewed. Sometimes a interviewed person only has a couple of lines to say. The strangest people are interviewed and they reveal nothing significant about the subject, Rant Casey. By the end of the book, Rant Casey is still not indentifiable. All the reader knows is that he liked being bitten up by poisonous snakes and spiders. He liked spreading rabbies. He liked giving out old coins to people like if they were pennies. It's a pointless book. Everything that's said is useless.
Far out........2007-09-17
Well I have to thank reviewer Mark Emirite for clearing up what I just read. Until I read his reveiw I was clueless. Even though I didn't figure out the destination , the ride there was awesome. Once again, chuck sucks us in to a unique world and leaves us speechless and sometimes dumbstruck when it's all over. Thanks Palahniuk, it's always a treat to leave this world behind for a few hours and live in yours!
The title says it all..........2007-09-16
This was an enjoyable book. I feel that the ending was slightly anti-climatic, and the plot was mildly confusing. But, as an oral biography, it was expected to run into these issues to some degree.
Worth a read, but as far as buying it goes, it's hard to reccomend without some reservations.
BORE...BORe...BOre...Bore...bore..........2007-09-03
The worst sin of any artist is to be boring. Reruns are boring. Recycled subplots are boring. Chuck needs to spend more time writing and re-writing and less time pumping the "Cult" and thinking about films that may or may not be completed.
Book Description
More provocative business thinking from the bestselling author of Purple Cow and All Marketers Are Liars
As one of today's most influential business thinkers, Seth Godin helps his army of fans stay focused, stay connected, and stay dissatisfied with the status quo, the ordinary, the boring. His books, blog posts, magazine articles, and speeches have inspired countless entrepreneurs, marketing people, innovators, and managers around the world.
Now, for the first time, Godin has collected the most provocative short pieces from his pioneering blog—ranked #70 by Feedster (out of millions published) in worldwide readership. This book also includes his most popular columns from Fast Company magazine, and several of the short e-books he has written in the last few years.
A sample:
• Bon Jovi And The Pirates
• Christmas Card Spam
• Clinging To Your Job Title?
• How Much Would You Pay to Be on Oprah's Show?
• The Persistence of Really Bad Ideas
• The Seduction of “Good Enough”
• What Happens When It's All on Tape?
• Would You Buy Life Insurance at a Rock Concert?
Small is the New Big is a huge bowl of inspiration that you can gobble in one sitting or dip into at any time. As Godin writes in his introduction: “I guarantee that you'll find some ideas that don't work for you. But I'm certain that you're smart enough to see the stuff you've always wanted to do, buried deep inside one of these riffs. And I'm betting that once inspired, you'll actually make something happen.”
Customer Reviews:
Another winner- big time!.......2007-09-10
I think that Seth's books are getting better. But this is not a book book, its a collection of articles, newsletters and blog posts. But it is real, quality, and very useful. Such useful ideas as, " The best marketers, of course, use the needle and the vise at them same time:. They don't assault, they don't demand, instead they earn attention. And they apply their marketing pressure so consistently and in such a measured and relentless way that sooner or later, they profit from it. " A great book if you want it in small lumps or more, It would be a good plane ride book, but bring a highlighter! I love this one
"I. Humans tend to work on a problem until they get a good enough solution, not a solution that's right.
2. The marketplace often rewards solutions that are cheaper and good enough, instead of investing in the solution that promises to lead to the right answer."
A Shot in the Arm.......2007-08-24
Whether you're an internet entrepreneur, a New Economy worker, or a creative-type, you'll find something of value in Godin's riffs. Written with a dose of humor, and short enough to be devoured in a trip to the bathroom, these think pieces are just what the doctor ordered to stir things up and give you a new perspective on the business of business.
I have reviewed business books for years and can smell BS a mile away. Godin is one of the few "experts" who really get it. Highly recommended. Buy a copy because you'll want to read it again and again.
For the marketing- minded and money- making only ... .......2007-08-20
Seth Godin is a supersalesman of the NetAge, a wonderblogwhiz successful to the manymillions. He puts in print for us here eight years of his previous postings packaging it anew for paperback bucks. He hypes and rehypes a number of key formulas for making the reader a riskier retailer of his own personal product. He gives us a variant of E.M.Schumacher's 'Small is Beautiful" and tells us 'Small is the New Big" He explores endless examples with small stories which show us how to better be the respectful, rightthinking managers of our own mental means.
He teaches us how to live and think faster and better, and make it all work for us.
However between his message and my execution of it falls the abyss. NO KLUTZES WANTED HERE this book seems to say, and all I can do is go round and round and round with my own worried words never able to sell them not one single little bit. (Dig-a-bit?)
In any case if you are of another mind, more practical, realistic, technically competent, marketing mindful- this work can provide plenty of fodder for the moo.
Get a Great Creativity Boost.......2007-08-07
Reading this book was like hooking up to a battery charger for business creativity. The book doesn't read like a typical "how to." There are just short bursts of genious that jump off the page and make you think about how and why you do what you do. I keep the book at my desk at the office and I often refer back to it when I'm trying to solve a marketing or operational challenge.
Seth is a red rubber ball.......2007-07-19
As I read this book, I thought "Seth Godin is like a red rubber ball." You know, you throw a ball against a concrete wall and it just bounces off. It looks pretty and makes a nifty noise. But the wall doesn't move.
And that's Seth Godin. A lot of action, but no real impact. This book is a big idea without a next step. A complaint without a solution. Seth is the guy who stands up to start a standing ovation, but does it so awkwardly that no-one joins him. This book is a celebration of everything Seth abhors about marketing and business and management, written with the luxurious smugness of someone who cannot suggest a practical alternative.
I can understand why Seth's rant seems to be "everyone is afraid of change". That's what my rant would be if I had a lot of ideas, but couldn't actually convince anyone to follow my suggestions. I'd think "it's them! They're all stuck in the status quo!"
To illustrate the point, Seth recalls a time a salesperson tried to pin an executive down to make a yes or no decision. The exec was non-committal, and then showed the pushy salesperson the door when she asked the exec to sign a document giving her permission to take the offer to a competitor. Seth uses this as evidence that some people are afraid to make a decision. I say, if a salesperson tried to force me to make a decision on the spot, they'd get shown the door too. But this just proves the point. An inability to influence is somehow the other guy's fault.
Actually, I think it's Seth who is stuck. His book "Small is the New Big" reads like it was written by a 14 year old boy - where everything is black and white (you change or you die) and he's discovering things other marketers have known for a long time (it's not about needs, it's about wants).
Yawn.
On the positive side, Seth has some creative ideas and a lively writing style. He's obviously an observer and a collector of little marketing nuggets. But after reading about 50 pages it all became very monotone and self-aggrandizing.
Judging from the reviews on Amazon, it looks like Seth has touched some people's lives for the better. So there must be something there. But for me, this is like listening to a first-year MBA student fumbling through a bad business plan. Bounce, bounce, boing, boing.
Book Description
The Rant Limited Edition
is specially packaged in a one-piece preprinted case, printed black, with the title created in spot gloss; a 4-color slipcase that matches the original jacket of the trade book; a 1/8" ribbon marker; a signed tip-in sheet, speckled edges; and an exclusive 1300-word "Automotive Afterword" entitled "Recipes for Disasters" which is not available in print anywhere but only in this limited edition.
“Like most people I didn’t meet Rant Casey until after he was dead. That’s how it works for most celebrities: After they croak, their circle of friends just explodes…”
Rant is the mind-bending new novel from Chuck Palahniuk, the literary provocateur responsible for such books as the generation-defining classic Fight Club and the pedal-to-the-metal horrorfest Haunted. It takes the form of an oral history of one Buster “Rant” Casey, who may or may not be the most efficient serial killer of our time.
“What ‘Typhoid Mary’ Mallon was to typhoid, what Gaetan Dugas was to AIDS, and Liu Jian Lun was to SARS, Buster Casey would become for rabies.”
A high-school rebel who always wins (and a childhood murderer?), Rant Casey escapes from his small hometown of Middleton for the big city. He becomes the leader of an urban demolition derby called Party Crashing. On appointed nights participants recognize each other by such designated car markings as “Just Married” toothpaste graffiti and then stalk and crash into each other. Rant Casey will die a spectacular highway death after which his friends gather testimony needed to build an oral history of his short, violent life. Their collected anecdotes explore the possibility that his saliva caused a silent urban plague of rabies and that he found a way to escape the prison house of linear time…
“The future you have, tomorrow, won’t be the same future you had, yesterday.”
–Rant Casey
Expect hilarity, horror, and blazing insight into the desperate and surreal contemporary human condition as only Chuck Palahniuk can deliver it. He's the postmillennial Jonathan Swift, the visionary to watch to learn what's–uh-oh–coming next.
Customer Reviews:
A Beautiful Addition to Your Palahniuk Library.......2007-07-06
I'm going to assume that you've already read and/or own the regular edition of RANT. The printing job on this special edition is phenomenal--the pages are very tight and crisp, and the cover is gorgeous. Every copy is signed by Chuck Palahniuk, and includes a special "afterward" available exclusively in this edition. No, it's not a cheap edition--but get your pennies together, because it's worth every one of 'em.
Book Description
The Emotional Impact Series... Anger can be a powerful and frightening emotion for children to see in others and experience in themselves. In this book, Dr. Moser explains the causes of anger and offers methods that can help children reduce the amount of anger they feel. He also gives effective techniques to help young people control their behavior, even when they are angry. This book will delight both children and adults. It's informative and it's bun because Dr. Moser examines the complex feelings of human anger with the proper blend of sensitivity and humor. And David Melton's colorful illustrations are bright and witty.
Counselors, teachers, parents and children who have read and used Dr. Moser's previous books are sure to welcome Don't Rant & Rave on Wednesdays!
Customer Reviews:
I would neither rant nor rave about this okay book.......2007-09-15
What it is: This is a short (61 pages), easy-to-read book, with lots of colorful drawings, that is aimed at helping children, ages four to eight, deal with anger. Each page features a few sentences and drawings to fit the text. It starts by describing anger and its possible consequences, depending upon how it is expressed. The book then helps "normalize" the feeling by talking about how everyone gets angry at times. It moves on to give some ideas of what to do, and what not to do, to deal with anger in better ways.
What it does well: This book does a good job of portraying anger as a normal emotion, and that will resistant or defensive ("I am not mad! Stop saying that!") children acknowledge their own anger. It also opens the discussions on what the experience of anger is, and the possible consequences of expressing anger in aggressive or destructive ways. To a lesser extent, it also opens the door on discussing what are constructive things to do when angry. The best idea in the what-to-do mode relates to describing healthy ways to use the energy associated with being angry. The kids will like the illustrations, as they are colorful and they clearly relate to the ideas of the accompanying text. That makes this a good read-along book.
What it does not-so-well: After opening the door on discussing several important topics, the follow-through is often weak. When describing the experience of anger, the book mentions a little about common thoughts, and about how thoughts, feelings, and physical responses are interconnected, but then it just moves on, too quickly. Much more could have been done with this area, with only a few more sentences, a few more pages, and a few more drawings. The thinking associated with anger is just touched upon, and needed more discussion, especially related to pairing up new thoughts with new activities, to try to deflate the anger. This is mentioned, but glossed over. Then count-to-ten method is mentioned, but this often does not work, as it is started too late in the anger-escalation process. That is why the early signs of anger needed more description in the book, as that would create the opportunity to prevent escalation. Another area that is introduced, but then glossed over, is how no one can make another person angry. By just mentioning this, without explaining it, the book opens the door for the child to cite numerous examples to dispute the idea (e.g., "But my sister always kicks me when no one is looking!"). More discussion of the distinction between provoking behavior from others, versus angry responses to such behavior, would have made the book better. Another lost opportunity!
How to best use this tool: This book is a good "launching pad" for discussing anger with children. An adult could read it to a four-year-old (with the child following the pictures); an adult and a six-year-old could read it together, and an eight-year-old could read it to the adult. An eight-year-old will need ancillary enriching discussion, or the child might dismiss the book as being for little kids, depending upon his or her reading level. I would suggest that a parent or therapist have a good plan of how to add on to what the book says, before reading it with a child. In that way, the adult could use the book to introduce the basic concepts, and then move into a constructive discussion. A good way to prepare for such a discussion is for that would be for the adult to first read either The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children or Transforming the Difficult Child.
Chris McCallister, Ph.D., Child Psychologist
Just what I was looking for.......2007-06-27
This book is just right for children who struggle with controlling their anger. My 5 year old son is so engaged with the book, he carries it around and asks everyone to read it with him. I think it's reassuring to him that he is not the only one who struggles with anger. We also bought "Don't feed the monster on Tuesdays" He really enjoys that book as well, he is a little perfectionist and the book helps him to have a more relaxed approach to things going wrong and making mistakes. I love the books and can see me ordering the others soon.
Children's Anger-Control Book.......2007-01-16
Great book! Well written. Helps kids "get it". Recommended.
Don't Rant and Rave.......2003-02-23
I'm a therapist in private practice. I send this book home with elementary school age children and they love it so much that they don't want to bring it back! They are relieved to know that they are not the only ones who get angry. The book gives them great tips on how to calm down. Moser knows children and has a sense of humor. Enjoyable pictures.
Good One..........2002-11-16
I'm a school counselor and use this one with my middle elementary aged kids (3-4 grade). They enjoy it and it's easier for them to understand. I really recommend this one.
Book Description
Once again there's good news for those of us who rage at the evening news, shake our heads at Washington's business-as-usual, or watch as politicians carom helplessly between political crises and sex scandals: Dennis Miller is back with his third installment of hilarious observations,
I Rant, Therefore I Am.
Dennis Miller first gained national acclaim as the wise-guy anchor of "Weekend Update" on "Saturday Night Live." When HBO premiered his weekly talk show in April 1994, both critics and fans enthusiastically agreed: "Dennis Miller Live" was the most refreshing talk show on television.
The accolades have continued to pour in. In September 1994, Dennis and his staff won an Emmy Award for writing and have been regularly nominated since. When he takes the stage, the audience demands, "The rants, the rants, the rants," and once again, Dennis Miller delivers the goods. Fans of his smart, quirky, irreverent style of humor are in for another treat-this set of rants is even funnier than the last two rounds.
Dennis Miller keeps on ranting in
I Rant, Therefore I Am, and speaks his mind on topics like:
MODELS-"How ironic that the most exquisite-looking people in the world should end up choosing the profession that requires them to spend all day by the phone waiting for the most hideous people to call them."
COLLEGE-"I don't think you should have to pay back college loans unless you get a job in your field. Put some pressure on the school. If I can't pay my bills, I'm not paying yours."
CONSUMERS-"You know how to tell when you've got a shopping problem? When the lights in the department store momentarily dim after they slide your credit card through the thing."
FAITH-"I envy people who can just let go and totally commit. I, on the other hand, can't even hear the title of the show 'Touched by an Angel' without thinking that a professional baseball player is being sued for sexual harassment."
ASTRONAUTS-"Anybody who would strap themselves onto a giant deodorant spray can, set off a series of explosions under their ass until they've been blasted into the icy vacuum of deep space, and then step outside to take a walk must have more balls than a twenty-four-hour Tokyo driving range."
Download Description
The third installment of Miller's hilarious observations, now in paperback, is hot on the heels of his bestselling The Rants and Ranting Again!
Customer Reviews:
Don't waste your dollars !!!.......2005-09-13
Dennis Miller is a hypocrite and an angry comedian as well as an awful television show host that turned politician. He uses a sensational pseudo-conservative style of venomous insults and loud belligerence to make a buck. He has aligned himself with the right people, in order to advance his limited and uneventful career. He is being used by the media executives to advance their corporate political agenda.
His writers have done a good job launching a below average comedian and making him a political "idiot savant."
Comedians should stick to comedy.
Save your money!!
Dennis Miller says what other people are afraid to..........2004-09-02
** This refers to the Audio Download **
Dennis Miller is ranting again. This time he discusses topics like "The Need For Reason" and "The End of Accountability" with musings on "Talk Shows" and "Pets." It's classic Miller with his deadpan delivery and usage of similes. One of the best moments is when Miller admits, "Sorry, I'm officially out of similes."
Stephanie's Review:
Not everybody gets or likes Dennis Miller. To enjoy his subtle and clever humor, one needs to really think and be aware of our society and culture. It's a refreshing change from the lowbrow humor found so often today. And your brain needs to work as fast as Miller's. Otherwise, you'll find yourself *getting* what was said in a previous rant when he's well into the next one.
If you get the print edition, you'll supposedly get extra rants. But I recommend the audio book version because Miller narrates it. However, I advise listening to the entire book in one setting--even though it's only a little over two hours long. You'll savor more of Miller's brilliance that way. I listened to this straight through during a trip to New York. When it was finished, I needed about two hours worth of silence to clear my mind, and to digest what was said.
It's a shame that Dennis Miller is so underrated as he appears to be because "I Rant, Therefore I Am" is a definite keeper.
Fun Rants From A Pre-Politically Awakened Miller.......2004-07-18
I think Dennis Miller is a smart and funny guy, and enjoy watching his show. He is one of the more perceptive interviewers out there, and even when I disagree with him, I am always interested in what he has to say, and what the diverse group of panelists he has on says as well.
This book, which was written before Dennis had his political awakening on September 11, 2001, is more center-left politically than he currently is. I think Miller has matured and become a realist since 9/11, and find it interesting comparing some of his rants in this book to his more highly evolved positions today.
The best rants in this book, though, are the apolitical rants, my favorite of which is titled "Fear of Flying." Dennis Miller hates flying, and his insights are extremely entertaining to me, a professional airline pilot. What is interesting here is that except for the actual fear of being airborne, I totally agree with him on the subject of modern airline travel. My favorite line from this particular rant sums up his position perfectly: "Once you've nestled into your seat, which was last cleaned by the Earth-bound third Wright Brother, Noodles, and you've arranged your miniscule stinky synthetic car wash shammy [sic] of a blanket and your Stay Free pillow pad that's the size and softness of a geltab multivitamin, and adjusted to the jet cold, tuberculosis-microbe-laden recirculated air that's blowing right down your spine, you've now achieved the comfort level of a North Korean POW with an ingrown toenail and no premium cable." What can I say? He's right. This is why on my days off you will see me as far away from the airport as is humanly possible.
I would give the book five stars, except the frequently needless adult language really restricts the audience of people with whom I can share this brilliant work. Dennis thanks for setting the world straight.
A Winner!.......2004-06-07
The book is 208 pages long and is divided into 52 different commentaries or "Rants" as Miller (The former host of Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update") calls them. Each rant is devoted to a particular topic. The rants (all of which are recycled from Miller's show) all begin with Miller saying, "Now I don't want to get off on a rant here" and conclude with "Of course that's just my opinion. I could be wrong".
The rants cover a wide range of topics from The Oscars to College Life to The War On Drugs and Country Music. Miller delivers them in a style that works just as well on the page as it does on a stage in front of an audience. Often when stand-up comics try to transfer their routines to book form, the attempt falls flat (IE: George Carlin's "Napalm And Silly Putty"). Miller's commentaries wouldn't be out of place in a Dave Barry/Tony Kornheiser column.
What's especially good about Miller is that while comedy is his trademark, a lot of times he offers up some words of wisdom. Here are a few examples:
"Maybe the reason Republicans are so pro-gun is because they need them to constantly shoot themselves in the foot".
"Compared to Clinton, eels are Velcro. But as reprehensible as he is, we love him".
A couple political samples there. Another good one is his commentary on The War On Drugs where he sets out to be funny and succeeds, while at the same time making a strong case for a commonly held viewpoint among many that the drug war is bogus.
The humor is, for the most part, consistently funny throughout the book. There are a few moments where Miller starts to go overboard with (...) jokes and (...) references. But the majority of the humor is dirty funny, not dirty and stale.
The only real drawback that I can think of about I Rant Therefore I Am is the fact that some of the more overly topical references now seem somewhat dated. Does anyone out there really care about the 1998/1999 Oscars anymore? Did they even care about them in the beginning?
I Rant, Therefore I Am is a good light read that's just the right length. If you want to see sacred cows become hamburger, pick up a copy of it. Another Amazon quick-pick recommendation is a fun novel called THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez
lost in space.......2003-12-26
What happened to this guy? He used to be funny
but no more. It seems that comedy has been replaced
by thinly cloaked hostility. Maybe he'll experience
an attack of conscience and retire.
Book Description
Now, I don't want to get off on a rant here
The New York Times called Dennis Miller's The Rants "a pleasing mix of profanity and wit...that will make fans of his irreverent liberal angst laugh out loud." Readers across the nation clearly agreed, because the book stayed on the Times hardcover bestseller list for months, with more than 130,000 copies in print. Now, an even broader audience can discover Miller's stinging wit in paperback.
Dennis Miller respects no boundaries. Whether the subject is dope-addled baseball players who can no longer swing their bats, do-nothing politicians who devote their careers to creating meaningful sound bites, or the nation's resigned acceptance of violence as a way of American life, these thematically arranged monologues are funny and angry. More significantly, they shatter the conventions of comedy by simultaneously making us laugh, think, and seethe.
When Miller takes the stage, the audience demands, "the rants, the rants, the rants." Here is the collection of his invigorating and thought-provoking monologues that showcase his singular point of view.
Customer Reviews:
A thinking man's comedian........2006-10-28
Dennis Miller is one of the best in the business of cutting humor today.I don't know if he writes all his own material;but I am inclined to think he does.He claims to be neither a Democrat nor a Republican and it really doesn't matter.I think he has decided the whole bunch of them are fair game.He comes up with one great line after another and he has an ability to put his thoughts forward that take you by surprise and leave you gasping for air from laughing.Youl'll say to yourself;Yeah,he's hit the nail right on the head,but I never thought of it that way.
On Liberals..."They are running around like an organically fed,free-range chicken with its head cut off.No wonder they fight so hard for the spotted owl- they're right behind them on the endangered species list."
Recently, Miller has been showing up on FOX with Hannity and Colmes and he had the pair of them doubled up with laughter .
This book was first published in 1996.Miller's rants in this book are already 10 years old.However;the more things change,the more they stay the same.
"Now I don't want to get off on a rant here,but"..
I wish that he would put a lid on his use of the F-word. It's not that this is too harsh for my sensitivities, having spent my teen years in the local Pool Rooms,and later 5 years in college with engineers and 7 years in the Army. So,with all that,vulgarity is'nt anything new to me.However; when you are a good humorist with good material and timing,you don't need vulgarity to get attention.In fact,I think it detracts from his talent. It may be alright for a Drill Instructor, but the great humorists like Mark Twain,Myron Cohen,Red Buttons,Red Skelton,Bill Cosby and such,did not lower themselves to its use.I particularly feel this way with female performers. What I'm really trying to say is that it detracts rather than enhanches the persona of a good entertainer. Miller is too good to have to resort to foul language and his humor would be better off without it.I feel the same about George Carlin.
"Of course,that's just my opinion.I could be wrong."
The Art Of Shouting Your Mind.......2005-09-24
Dennis Miller's rants combine hilarity and brutal honesty and with his gift of insight, his intellect, and his candor, Miller toes the line between coolness and utter jerkdom as he yells his views on topics that range from politics to popular culture. Miller is surprisingly patriotic, deeply cynical, individualistic, and often mildly insulting. I found his trademark obscure cultural references charming at first but they do grow old after a while. (Not that Miller cares.) The thing that won me over here is that unlike so many other motormouths in the entertainment business, Dennis Miller truly has something thoughtful to say and the points he makes are generally worth thinking over.
Some of Dennis Millers best rants.......2005-04-13
This book was very hilarious, filled to the brim with some of Dennis' best rants from his acclaimed HBO show Dennis Miller Live, leaving you nostalgic for those wild and crazy 1990s. If you remember and miss Dennis from his times as the news anchor on SNL or from his hit HBO show Dennis Miller Live and want to relive some of his witty remarks and prodigious monologues, I highly recommend you purchase this book.
Rant On, Dennis!.......2004-03-26
This collection of rants from Dennis Miller is generally excellent and topical social commentary. Written long before 9/11 and his coming of age as a more conservative voice, this is a fairly libertarian, rational, and practical look at life in the United States. There are a few areas that I disagree with him on, but I am not recommending that anyone think a certain way, just that people hear different concepts with an open mind and make their own decisions. In this book you can see the seeds of Miller's conservatism, although it is clear that he has been awakened and revitalized by the events of 9/11 and is thus more conservative now than when this book was written.
Overall, this is a neat summary of Miller's world view as it existed in 1996. His gift of satire is preeminent in the world today, and while probably everyone will find something in this book to provoke or annoy them, at least it insists on the reader thinking for themselves. I would have given this book five stars except for the fairly frequent profanity. I know this is adapted from some of his HBO material, but the book could be used for a much younger audience to excellent effect if not for the language. Excellent job overall: highly recommended for people of any political leaning.
Searching for the soul of Dennis Miller.......2003-08-17
Since I've been alternately lambasting and lauding Dennis Miller on my new website, "An Open Letter to Dennis Miller", and since I've written a few poems about him, it's only fair I backtrack and learn more about the guy I used to admire, but hadn't fully appreciated.
So I bought a couple of books, borrowed others from the library, and listened to "The Off-White Album". I'll limit this review to "The Rants", which I have both on audiocassette and hardcover. Dennis, please, please, find that person you once were! In the first rant, "Liberalism", he recognizes that liberalism is probably dead as a political party, but needs to stay alive as a spiritual force. In other rants, I find genuine chunks of wisdom mixed in with snide or too-clever comments. Sometimes I giggle or smile, and sometimes I'm out-loud guffawing. And the F-word and other obscenities aren't as frequent as I expected (though certainly frequent enough!).
I find the Dennis Miller of old clever, cocky, a little annoying, sometimes embarrassing, and overall enjoyable. I find the Dennis Miller of early 2003 hateful, intellectually lazy, pandering, sucking up to the hilt--and only occasionally funny. Will the real Dennis Miller please come back?
Average customer rating:
- Duncan leaves me speachless...
- Self-indulgent nonsense
- Stereotypical, obvious, pompus
- Henry Bugbee
- My Story As Told By Water
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My Story as Told by Water: Confessions, Druidic Rants, Reflections, Bird-Watchings, Fish-Stalkings, Visions, Songs and Prayers Refracting Light, from Living Rivers, in the Age of the Industrial Dark
David James Duncan
Manufacturer: Sierra Club Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1578050839 |
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
When David James Duncan was growing up in suburban Portland, Oregon, he had no river to call his own, so he would routinely create one by flooding his mother's garden with a hose. He would then revel in his creation until he received the inevitable scolding. The poor kid couldn't help himself: "Running water ... felt as necessary to me as food, sleep, parents, and air," he explains. In time, he exchanged his nozzle for a fly rod and went in search of grander gardens, eventually developing an "interior coho compass" which he has traveled by ever since.
As any reader of The River Why knows, Duncan is a master of the art of writing about fishing--which is also to say life, since the two for him are indelibly linked. But these essays deal with far more than leaky waders and rising trout. Part memoir, part activist treatise, My Story As Told by Water is Duncan's love song to wild places and the creatures which inhabit them. The book's highlight is his powerfully convincing essay "A Prayer for the Salmon's Second Coming," in which he argues that saving salmon is crucial to both man and fish alike: "A 'modern Northwest' that cannot support salmon is unlikely to support 'modern Northwesterners' for long," he writes. In this elegant demand for the removal of four Snake River dams (out of 221 on the Snake/Columbia system), Duncan declares the wild salmon "a holiness, a divine gift," a role model rather than a resource: "Salmon are a light darting not just through water, but through the human mind and heart. Salmon help shield us from fear of death by showing us how to follow our course without fear, and how to give ourselves for the sake of things greater than ourselves."
He also ruminates on the true meanings of "place" and "home"; offers a fable on the 1872 Mining Act, "the most anachronistic and devastating piece of 'corporate welfare' in the world"; and details how Montanans rallied to prevent a giant mining company from extracting gold near the Blackfoot River, the setting of the Norman Maclean classic A River Runs Through It. All in all, My Story As Told by Water is a moving collection by an exquisite writer endowed with wit, compassion, and the rare ability to appeal to both emotion and reason in equal measures. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
In this remarkable collection of essays, David James Duncan, award-winning author of The River Why, braids his contemplative, activist, and rhapsodic voices together into a potently distinctive whole, speaking with power and urgency about the vital connections between our water-filled bodies and this water-covered planet.
The twenty-two essays in this collection swirl and eddy around the author's early-forged bond with the rivers of the Pacific Northwest and their endangered native salmon. With a bracing blend of story, logic, science, and humor, Duncan relates mystical, life-changing fishing adventures; draws incisive portraits of the humans and wild creatures who shaped his destiny; attacks the corporate greed and political folly that have brought whole ecosystems to ruin; and meditates on the spiritual and practical necessity of acknowledging our dependence on water in its primal state.
Customer Reviews:
Duncan leaves me speachless..........2006-02-26
The conflicted fiction and non-fiction writer delivers a masterpiece. Thank you David.
Self-indulgent nonsense.......2005-08-12
Duncan is a masterful wordsmith; this no one can reasonably dispute. But over the years, he has become so full of himself, so pretentious and self-important, that to me he is almost unreadable.
I give the book two stars because of a little bit of excellent fly fishing content, and because of Duncan's undeniable writing ability. But before you buy it, you should read Donald Miller's hilarious send-up of Duncan (whom he labels Trendy Writer) in "Blue Like Jazz." Don Miller -- now there's a guy who has something significant to say on metaphysical themes. Duncan is merely showing off; Khwaja Khadir indeed!
Stereotypical, obvious, pompus.......2004-04-03
Duncan's textbook rants are so predictable I found myself mouthing the next sentence before I read it. As someone who's work and life is submerged in environmental, water use, and preservation issues I find this type of stereotypical ranting more detrimental to the issues that concern me than most G.W. policies. Duncan preaches to the choir, but his preaching is so over the top it is a turn-off. While I agree with virtually every theme and policy he promotes, his pompus diatribes push me in the other direction. If this book were written 40 years ago it might strike a radical tone and inspire action. In these times it is merely a rehash of the new-age mumbo-jumbo that is so easy for the opposition to tear down.
This book will apeal to two audiences: new-age sheep, and right-wingers looking to bash environmentalists. The rest will find it harder to wade through than Columbia.
Henry Bugbee.......2004-03-06
For those who are interested in the life and teaching of Henry Bugbee, Duncan's account of Henry's last days makes this book worth reading.
My Story As Told By Water.......2003-11-06
My Story As Told By Water by David James Duncan was a confusing and overly political way to express the author's love for water. HIs diliverey is good, but he should keep in mind that his readers are reading for entertainment, not to hear about our government's poor decisions.
Book Description
Smoke This! The Warblings, Rants, Philosophies, and Musings from the Singer of Deep Purple, is a feast of information, pontifications, and visual representation of legendary
Deep Purple vocalist
Ian Gillan that takes you on a fascinating journey through the heyday of rock n' roll and lends uncensored insight into those halcyon days. With more than 200 photos documenting Ian's travels and travails, Smoke This! is a visual and educational treat for old and new Ian Gillan, Deep Purple, and rock n'roll fans alike. It's a gorgeous coffee table book splashed in color and awash in stories about Deep Purple, life on the road, songwriting, and the day to day life of a rock star. Ian also includes the lyrics to his songs including classics like Smoke on the Water, Perfect Strangers, No laughing in Heaven, Trashed and more. He talks candidly about writing and recording this music with the other members of Deep Purple and adds his own Gillanesque take on the whole bloody mess!
Features:
- Beautifully Landscaped 8 1/2 x 11 book containing 120 pages
- Contains lyrics to numerous Deep Purple classics as well as Black Sabbath and solo material
- The stories behind the classic songs
- Poems from the pen of Ian Gillan
- Ian's thoughts and musings
- Question & Answer section
- Tour 2006 section with stunning color shots
- Over 150 color and B&W pix tracing Ian's musical and personal history from a teenager to the present
Customer Reviews:
It was as the title suggested.......2007-03-26
Most of this book I found interesting. I would have liked more of the section that discussed certain songs and the story around them and less of his poetry (?).
The intro explains that this project was should have included CD and DVD and that would have been nice. He goes on in the into to say that if you have a coffee table, use this book to balance the shorter leg. Although I don't agree in total, I give it 3 stars because of the pure joy and entertainment IG has given me since the mid 60s and the fact that some of the read was a hoot. He has lived (and is living) a great life and would have enjoyed hearing more about it.
Book Description
In this fourth installment of his acclaimed Rants series, bestselling author, Emmy Award-winning talk-show host, and wisecracking analyst for ABC's Monday Night Football Dennis Miller makes hamburger meat out of society's most sacred cows as only he can, with the kinds of allusions that require high SAT scores -- or at least a smart crib sheet.
This time around, Miller takes on child stars with rap sheets, women with bigger muscles than his own, herbs you don't smoke, God, and football. As always, nothing is out-of-bounds.
Customer Reviews:
disappointing.......2006-01-28
I don't know if it's age or recent political "reconversions", but this latest "rant" entry is neither as biting or funny as his previous releases. On his most recent appearance on Leno (January 20, 2006), he showed when he isn't lauding Dubya or the war, he still shows signs of humor ("As a nation we're getting fat...if you're built like a tank, don't wear the top").
But in this book, even the non-political rants don't have the bite as they did in "I Rant, Therefore I Am" or "Ranting Again".
Perhaps, if he writes another "rant" book, he could do one on his experiences on "Saturday Night Live", since he was noticably absent from the "Live From New York" book. If Jay Mohr can do it, Dennis can...and he may just recapure my respect.
Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
Solid, unique comedy writing..........2005-02-06
...and he goes after anyone and everything, despite what some of the bitter, angry, neurotic, self-styled liberal reviewers here would have you believe. I think it was Mark Twain who wrote something like "sacred cow makes the best hamburger"; Miller understands and embodies this.
Stick With Cable-TV.......2004-05-19
Miller has now delved into movies, network television, and print. Virtually all of those endeavors have produced nothing but embarrassing additions to his body of work. Three strikes and you're out Dennis. Do a favor for your potential fans and stick with what you're good at -- monologues on cable-TV. This book is vulgar, not the least bit entertaining, and gives the impression that it was thrown together in a very short time. In fact, it is so bad that I wouldn't be surprised if Miller did nothing more than allow his name to be associated with this sham of an effort.
cheaper than toilet paper at 48 cents.......2004-03-25
It's nice to see that this book has found it's price point. Dennis Miller is about as funny as colon cancer. Someone outta put a rubberband around this guys head so it'll shrivel up and fall off.
Dennis Is Going With What's Popular, But He's Behind.......2003-09-01
Ok Ok. Maybe my first review of Dennis Miller's book was harsh, so I rewrote it. But what do you expect when reviewing a book from a person who talks complete nonsense?!! Dennis TRIES to be funny, but he fails miserably. Dennis is at his best, when he avoids leaning to the left or to the right. When he could praise and criticized BOTH sides when they deserved it, is when he shined. These days, Dennis has gone from common sense to a complete right-winger. I guess it because these days it's popular to bash Democrats and be a conservative. But I guarantee you, the time of the extreme left is dead and the extreme right will be dead in a few years. There's no place for either in the near future. I suspect that Dennis knows this, which explains why he is trying to seek office. LOL. He missed the boat 9 years ago to be an extreme conservative. Moderates are the ones who will control the political landscape in the future. Perhaps then, Dennis will get it right and become moderate once again. This book is basically him trying to cash in with the time.
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