Okay, I know this book really doesn't belong in the Humour category but it's funny in a horrible sort of way. Like many I enjoy a good mockery of George W Bush, although the author emphasises that it is more than "a blast of easy satire,meanly motivated".

"Even if our President were the cheery cretin that such satire makes him out to be, it wouldn't make our plight a comic one; for he has a highly seasoned, wholly ruthless and, for that matter deeply humorless cabal of rightist operatives around him - and that's no joke".

This book looks entertaining, funny but scary! Full of gems from George Bush which are generally left in context. It also contains some essays, interviews with Bush by various people and of course his famous gaffes.

I've decided to make this into a bookray rather than ring!Enjoy.....
Order of participants:

dolphin-au
puppymummy
catsalive
AS105008
??????

Received in the mail before the weekend. Looking forward to reading this. Thanks goodthinkingmax!

It is more scary than funny, the blatant disregard for decency and intelligance Bush shows. You have to wonder what sort of society deserves a leader like this, but I guess the same could be said about Australia, although Little Johnny is not as blatanly anti-intellectual as GWB.
The only problems with this book are that it is so obviously one-sided and that it repeats itself too often. I doubt it would convince any Republican.
It also is a bit dated, as it does not include the world post-911 or Bush's reelection. The world has changed a bit since then, and it would be interesting to see the author's analysis of that.

I'm a little worried by the effect reading this is going to have - it took me a couple of minutes to work out what was wrong with 'They misunderestimated me' on the front cover! Hopefully this is a temporary aberration caused by a stuffy head and by the time I get to read this (two in front) my cold will be gone and my brain will be working again.
Thanks for the opportunity to read it!

It is definitely a shame that this is now outdated, it kind of ruins an entire chapter where the author is discussing the Florida events and that there was no fifty percent vote when you know that he was re-elected.
The book was absolutely excellent, but I did have a lot of trouble reading it as it was heavy going and a lot of the people mentioned I am unfamiliar with (not the older presidents, but their cohorts, and some of the current cohorts also). I was also unsure about exactly what point the author was trying to make, apart from the obvious - I decided it was a depressing commentary on the media in the end, but there was a lot more covered and some excellent points.
It would be nice if this sort of message could be delivered in the mainstream media rather than a book read by the already converted, but then he definitely made the point that media is not helping is to choose wisely and in fact emphasising aspects that shouldn't really be considered positives.
If only the electorate could be trusted to make wise choices! :)

I have another ring going to catsalive which has been hijacked by my Dad temporarily, when this comes back to me I will send them off together. Should be very soon.
Thanks for the opportunity to read this!

Will be in the post tomorrow.

This book arrived today in a great, big bag of books from puppymummy. Thankyou.

Yes, it's a pity it's so dated, but what was true then is still true now. There's nothing funny about it, it really is scary stuff, and our little johnny will have us following those footsteps if he can. Sadly, it seems that he can. Nothing in this book surprised me but I'm still thoroughly depressed by its contents. I can only hope that where there is one voice there may come many. Junior is supposedly the leader of the "free" world - I don't know that we really deserve this, do we? Have I been so bad in my previous lives?

I'll see if AS105008 wants to read it & I think my father wants to read it also. After that, I'll see what happens. Thanks goodthinkingmax.

Bookray instructions:
1. SIGN UP for this bookray by sending me a Private Message. Order of participants will be juggled between geography and date of request. Late additions may be added to the end of the list.
2. When the person before you on the list finishes reading the book, they will send you a Private Message for your postal address. If you are experiencing an RBC (Reading Backlog Crisis) or no longer wish to read it, let them (and me!) know and I will move you down/off the list.
3. WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE BOOK please make a journal entry so everyone knows it has safely arrived.
4. WHEN YOU FINISH THE BOOK, make another journal entry telling us what you thought - did you like it? Did you think it was well-written?
5. CONTINUE THE BOOKRAY by sending a Private Message to the person after you on the bookring list and request their postal address. Please check back here for the latest distribution list. If the person doesn't respond within 7-10 days, please PM the next person, and then me, so I can update the bookray list.
6. LAST PERSON may release as desired.

Participants - INT'L:
ladiibbug, USA (USA only)
Luintaurien, NE USA (pref USA)
kizmiaz, Portugal
felicia-fairy, QLD (AU only)
leeny37, VIC (pref AU)
... Last person may release as they wish

Posted to ladiibbug via surface mail this morning.

9/21/05 Rec'd book today ... will begin reading tonite :)

If that isn't the quickest surface mail delivery I've ever heard of! It must have stowed away on a plane. ENJOY!

9/22/05 Hello CatsAlive: No kidding! Actually, this book arrived at my post office box two days earlier than the day I journalled it as rec'd! I was under the weather and didn't make the daily trip to the post office.

The book arrived in Paradise, Calif., USA on Monday, 9/19/05, according to my post office's notation!

This is my first Int'l. book ring/ray book. It was so neat to see a pkg. from *Australia* arrive :)

I was wondering if you hopped a plane to the U.S. and mailed it from here *g*.
*****

10/1/05 I thought this book was a humorous look at his bizarre public statements, but it's really not. See previous B/C'rs comments. As one American keenly appalled that Geo. W. Bush got within 100 miles of the U.S. Presidency, this book makes me even more amazed that he could even be elected as dog catcher. I think it is a dismal, profoundly disappointing commentary on American politics...he can't even put together a coherent sentence!

I've long wondered how he would explain his association with dirty tricks master Lee Atwater (now deceased) to his Christian friends. I better stop here before I offend someone.

10/3/05 Mailing to Luintaurin, USA

Got it Saturday. Thank you. Will read and pass on ASAP.

Can't get into it so sending it on

RELEASE NOTES:

Just got it and I'm really curious about this one. Still have one to finish before I start but it won't take long.

This was a great read. It’s a serious book, deadly serious, even with all the funny rubbish that GWB utters (all the time).
I guess there are several ways to read into this book, you can go for the funny stuff, which in itself could make a book, you can go for the media (especially TV) analysis that the author offers, or you can go for the GOP conspiracy to install GWB in power (the author’s Afterword is very helpful).
Not being an American I’m not really into the patriot Let’s export freedom, but let’s do it with missiles act that the US government puts on all the time (Republicans and Democrats alike), and I have no difficulty believing the GOP conspiracy to favour the House of Bush. I was in the US last year and had the displeasure of listening to Rush Limbaugh’s radio show and I kept wondering how can this guy have air time? He’s a racist, homophobic, xenophobic and a right winger if there ever was one. And he wasn’t alone on the airwaves, there were a whole lot of them, and that’s scary. Freedom of speech is one thing but what these guys do is hatemongering.
What really bothers me, besides GWB that is, is the lack of quality in the media, and their lack of memory, always aiming for the Now. They’re the ones that turned a blind eye to a lot of what went down in the 2000 election [now you might say but the second time around he really won. Yeah, but the second time around there was an outside enemy to focus on (The Axis Of Evil) and GOP works well that way, and it looks like Iran will now make the Axis. Are they afraid of Hillary in the next election?] they are the ones that prefer to laugh at GWB’s illiteracy, thick accent and fake redneck ways than to listen to what he really says and what he stands for.
“They misunderestimated me” says the GWB quote on the cover, we sure did.
This problem with the media has been happening also in my country they no longer go for the truth and don’t care for the message just as long as the messenger is one of the boys.
It’s a dead end situation, all this filth in politics (have you noticed that what set political parties appart in the 70's/80's doesn't exist anymore?) and this perverted relation with the media and it gets harder for us to think for ourselves, with all the lines they keep feeding us. What can be done about it? I don’t know but I hope it gets done soon.
Will be sending it downunder today (20.04.2006), by surface mail.

Bookrings bookrings everywhere and not a moment to read.......

I will try to get to this soon! :)

Scary Scary stuff.
He'd be funny if it didn't have such a dramatic impact on the world.
PMíng Leeny37 now.
Cheers for sharing!

Received today, thank you! As I'm the last person on the ray, I hope it's okay if I take my time with it, I'm just swamped with bookrings/rays at the moment! I will be sure to pass it on when I'm finished, probably at a meet-up and share it with the Melbourne folk. Thanks again!

I thought this was a compilation of all the stupid things that Bush has said, but I guess, in a good way, it's more than that. Unfortunately, it's a bit too heavy-going for me so I'm not going to finish it. I know there will be others who will appreciate this so I'm bringing it to the Melbourne meet-up tonight where I'm sure it will find a new home to go to. Thanks to goodthinkingmax and catsalive for making this available!

RELEASE NOTES:

This will be accompanying me to meet-up tonight, hopefully it will be picked up by someone and head off to a new home!

Picked up at last night's Meetup.