Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #471520 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 327 pages

Synopsis
Examines the shaping of political discourse in the United States as it has become increasingly hostile and more trivial, describing how the media's liberal bias has villianized the conservative right and obscured the true issues.

Customer Reviews

Witty and Entertaining
Ann Coulter a conservative commentator and author that argues that liberals control the mainstream media and use it to demonize conservatives and conservative values. Coulter identifies a "liberal catechism" that includes "a hatred of Christmas, guns, the profit motive," and free speech. The some of the language in this bestseller is strong. Her writing is also witty and factual. If you are an American voter, you should read this. Judge the book after you read

A slog in places but informative and entertaining in the end
'Slander' is an interesting book containing a great deal of information. It is a tad difficult to follow some of the details if you are not very familiar with the workings of the US media and political systems but it is well referenced and provides enough information to let you find out more if you wish to. 'Slander' is not so very different in style to the books of Michale Moore with the exception that it grounds all of its comment on referenced evidence: about fifteen percent of the text are devoted to references. To get the most from this book you may want to do some further reading but even without it 'Slander' helpfully illuminates the areas under discussion. The style of writing is repetitive at times and can be a little tiresome through its constant aggression towards the slanderers and Coulter's obvious lack of sympathy for the other side. It is worth persevering to see all Coulter has to say on the subject and it's good if you want to hear a different side of the argument.

Liberals' worst nightmare come true
What really bothers liberals about this book is the fact that they basically wrote it themselves. Ann Coulter holds a mirror of truth in the face of liberalism and forces its practitioners to see themselves as they really are. Quite understandably, liberals do not like what they see. Any liberals who have actually read this book (and I doubt a single one of them has) obviously did not learn anything from the experience because they vociferously attack Coulter in the boisterous, hypocritical, childish manner Coulter herself is taking them to task for in these pages. This is a book every Republican - nay, every honest American - should read; even I found it more eye-opening than I anticipated. Knowing how pervasive the liberal bias in media is, I try to avoid the most galling of liberal demagogues, depending primarily on news sources that at least try to give the impression of impartiality. Thus, I was not fully aware of the degree of vitriol and unabashed truth evasion taking place in major media outlets. If Coulter seems a little bitter at times and goes a little too far in the tone of her criticisms (and I have to admit that she does upon occasion), it is perfectly understandable. Any self-respecting American who willfully subjects himself or herself to a detailed study of such sources as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, major television network news broadcasts, and the like deserves a medal of valor. Coulter supplies quote after quote after damning quote from these unabashedly liberal sources, and it is difficult not to be angry at the liberals in this country who behave in such laughably childish and hateful ways.

Coulter brilliantly analyses the liberal means of communication and debate in America; basically, she argues, liberals do not debate because they cannot do so. The only core belief they have to fall back on is their assertion that conservatives are evil incarnate. Thus, they endlessly resort to name-calling, labels (conservatives are "stupid" and "dumb"), hissy fits, and invective of all sorts. Their only burden of proof is the endless repetition of their claims. They invent non-existent groups such as "the religious right" and then blame them for everything they don't like (yet can never actually explain just who these groups actually are). In between diatribes on the alleged hatefulness and divisiveness of conservatives, they attack their foes in the most hateful of fashions; if you disagree with liberals, you are dismissed as a Nazi, storm trooper, goose-stepper, woman-hater, racist, sanctimonious Christian, right-wing nut, etc. This sort of invective is all you hear from liberals when a conservative actually offers to debate them, and the proof is right here in Slander.

According to liberals, the religious right are a bunch of dumb, ugly, uneducated hicks, yet these poor and stupid sheep somehow manage to enforce their will on America with huge sums of money. The Christian Coalition is supposedly the most pervasive and dangerous lobbying influence in Washington, yet the facts show that liberal PACs put religious right lobbying amounts to shame. For years, liberals were able to make up facts and pursue their arguments with impunity, knowing that no one in the media would try to check their accuracy and would certainly never dare to point out any errors. The Internet and radio have changed that. Coulter mined these new sources to great effect, pulling out quote after quote from liberals over the years that shows the hypocrisy and utter disdain they have for the American people (whom they hate for not voting Democrat in sufficient numbers). Their hypocrisies and constant reversals are laid out for all to see in Slander. They cannot fight back against Coulter because not only do they no longer have any ammunition, the ammunition they used to rely upon is exactly what Coulter is using to attack them in this book. Watching liberals react to Coulter would be comical if it were not so shameful and pathetic.

Ann Coulter's Slander is not going to help civilize the attacks one constantly sees in the realm of politics, but that is not the point here, really. She is exposing liberal tactics for what they really are, truths that are made even more evident to Americans in the tone of liberals now pulling their hair out over having been forced to look at themselves as they really are. Conservatives should be outraged at the material filling this book, for the material Coulter collects from such "prestigious" media outlets as the New York Times is nothing short of outrageous, offensive, and unbelievably audacious (as well as oftentimes inherently false, as recent events at the paper have made abundantly clear). Anyone who respects the truth and serious discussion of the issues should be flabbergasted and deeply disturbed at the weight of the evidence Ann Coulter has supplied in this very important political monograph. Liberals will react to this book the way they always react to any sort of challenge, thus making Ann Coulter's point for her time and time again.