Fanatics and Fools: The Game Plan for Winning Back America by Arianna Huffington, Arianna Huffington (Reader)

Product Details

Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Ariana Huffington takes another sweeping look at how right wing zealots have taken charge of the Republican Party and the government--and the American leadership who let it happen. Huffington reveals everything we need to know about the dirty game of Washington politics, asking key questions such as how did self-righteous Republicans gain control of our government? Why have they been allowed to redefine the right and betray true American democratic values?

Huffington takes a long view of our political history and leadership and to remind us that at one time America's leaders were people of daring, passion, and intelligence. By contrast, today's leaders are "dangerous fanatics", and she offers a blueprint for returning power to this country's rightful owners--the people.

Publishers Weekly

Huffington's latest (after the bestselling Pigs at the Trough) gets off to a rocky start with a scattershot attack on the GOP that reads more like a disjointed assemblage of her syndicated columns than a sustained argument. Though she is capable of biting humor, this material all too often emphasizes weak attempts at humor over facts (most of which have already been covered in myriad other anti-Bush books). She takes several cheap shots, at Rush Limbaugh's drug addiction, for instance, and makes a tasteless crack about inducing premature births so the infants can count as campaign donors. As she shifts into discussing her short-lived candidacy in California's gubernatorial recall, however, Huffington gradually acquires gravitas and cohesiveness to such a degree that the second half of the book feels like a different work. Her detailed analysis of a Democratic leadership "in complete denial" is strong, and this is surely one of the few potentially bestselling political critiques this season to grapple with political philosophers like John Rawls and Leo Strauss. With an impassioned call for all Americans to give more than lip service to charitable impulses, and invoking the spirit of Robert Kennedy, Huffington assembles a multi-issue platform on which she hopes liberals and progressives can unite to unseat Bush in November. Capping a decade-long transformation from classic conservative to social progressive, Huffington effectively mounts an assault on both ruling parties and firmly rebukes any who would still challenge the seriousness of her political ambitions. Agent, Carlton Sedgeley. (Apr.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Biography

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of many books including Fanatics and Fools and How to Overthrow the Government. She holds a master's degree in economics from Cambridge University. Her column appears in newspapers across the country, including The Los Angeles Times and New York Daily News. She has made guest appearances on numerous television shows including The O'Reilly Factor, Larry King Live, Oprah, and The Today Show. She lives in Los Angeles.

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of many books including Fanatics and Fools and How to Overthrow the Government. She holds a master's degree in economics from Cambridge University. Her column appears in newspapers across the country, including The Los Angeles Times and New York Daily News. She has made guest appearances on numerous television shows including The O'Reilly Factor, Larry King Live, Oprah, and The Today Show. She lives in Los Angeles.