| Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government | 
| Authors: Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe
Publisher: Threshold Editions
Category: Book
List Price: $29.99
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Seller: esquire120
Rating:  529 reviews
Sales Rank: 4,319
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Pages: 325
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 1416595015
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.932
EAN: 9781416595014
ASIN: 1416595015
Publication Date: September 22, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
FUNNY.FRIGHTENING. TRUE. It happens to all of us: You're minding your own business, when some idiot informs you that guns are evil, the Prius will save the planet, or the rich have to finally start paying their fair share of taxes. Just go away! you think to yourself -- but they only become more obnoxious. Your heart rate quickens. You start to sweat. You can't get away. Your only hope is...
...this book.Glenn Beck, author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers An Inconvenient Book and Glenn Beck's Common Sense, has stumbled upon the secret formula to winning arguments against people with big mouths but small minds: knowing the facts.
And this book is full of them.The next time your Idiot Friends tell you how gun control prevents gun violence, you'll tell them all about England's handgun ban (see page 53). When they tell you that we should copy the UK's health-care system, you'll recount the horrifying facts you read on page 244. And the next time an idiot tells you that vegetable prices will skyrocket without illegal workers, you'll stop saying "no, they won't" and you'll start saying, "actually, eliminating all illegal labor will cause us to spend just $8 a year more on produce." (See page 139.) Idiots can't be identified through voting records, they can be found only by looking for people who hide behind stereotypes, embrace partisanship, and believe that bumper sticker slogans are a substitute for common sense. If you know someone who fits the bill, then Arguing with Idiots will help you silence them once and for all with the ultimate weapon: the truth.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 529
 TIME magazine's "Mad Man" speaks out September 28, 2009
Frank J. Konopka (Shamokin, PA)
866 out of 1261 found this review helpful
During the Middle Ages, it was somewhat common for religious arguments to be presented in written form. This format usually involved two characters, each with a different point of view. There would be questions or statements by one character which were refuted by the other character, who was a stand-in for the author's belief. With this book, Glenn Beck has revived an old format for a new age.
The book is divided into ten chapters, each one covering a single topic, and there are questions which are responded to by Beck's character. In addition, there are also little side comments, sometimes called "A.D.D. Moments" and sometimes direct quotes by people Beck doesn't agree with, said quotes putting those people in the worst possilbe light.
Love him or hate him (there appears to be no middle ground) Beck wirtes cogently (if often humorously) and well. He states his point of view on one subject and then moves on to another. Beck claims that he is a Libertarian rather than either a Democrat or a Rebublican, but I'm sure liberal readers (if there are any who actually finish this book) will be coinvinced that Beck is just another member of the "vast right-wing conspiracy" to quote Hillary Clinton at the beginning of the Monica fiasco. I don't know what he is, because he takes almost as many shots at the GOP as he does at the Dems, so I'll take him at his word about his party leanings.
Beck is conservative in the sense that he opposes "big government" and what he calls the "Nanny State", which is one that hovers over just about every aspect of American life. He fears that we are going into that situation, and there are enough signs around (for those who want to recognise them) that he might (just might) be correct. I'm a big believer in the policy of "wait and see" so I don't make any judgments on his theories and opinions.
The book will infuriate some (liberals) and comfort others (conservatives and libertarians) but it certainly is not a boring read. For those who publish reviews on Amazon or elsewhere, please at least read the entire book before opining. It's the only fair way to do it!
This Book is for True Liberals October 14, 2009
K. Ako
219 out of 325 found this review helpful
I like this book only because it presents an alternate perspective that is extremely uncommon in media today. I consider myself a classical liberal that will listen to all perspectives and parse out the propaganda from the truth if possible. I LOVE THE LUXURY OF FREE SPEECH. Trashing others because they have a different opinion without proper debate exposes a narrow mind. Arguing with personal insults and slogans is NOT proper debate. I see this in previous reviews of this book. I'm especially irked by this because I am Chinese American & I've heard from my older relatives that this was what the Maoists did in the Cultural Revolution. This is a really dangerous way to go & I wish people would refrain from such barbaric behavior.
This book does coverage on political issues and does cite references that are difficult to find in the local newspapers or national magazines. In fact I've noticed that many of the news articles in my local newspaper (e.g. from AP, etc.) will omit key facts in news coverage. In my own independent spot checks on facts, this book is much more correct than it is incorrect! It's not because Glenn Beck is such a great journalist. Its because the news media is doing such a lousy job in journalism. Even amateurs are better than 'professional' journalists with an agenda to shape the political will of their readers. There is a difference between objective journalism & suave propaganda. Readers have to work to discern the difference.
It's unfortunate that books like Arguing With Idiots is needed just to get an alternate view for a balanced perspective. It takes a lot of discipline to be well informed today. Bottom line: Buy this book.
Good Arguments, Restated September 23, 2009
Bookish
462 out of 711 found this review helpful
Glenn Beck has a unique ability to irritate those on both the left and the right. Keith Olbermann accuses him of being a tool of the GOP. Mark Levin thinks he is a lightweight who's "afraid" to call himself a Conservative. Both men are wrong, because both men (unlike Beck) are deeply invested in the electoral success of their political parties. Beck, on the other hand, is deeply invested in the success of certain principles no matter who promotes them. Conservatives who think that Beck is hurting the cause by attacking the GOP might do well to remember that Republicans have not nominated a true conservative for the presidency in over 20 years, and they have paid a steep price as a result.
From the start, Beck makes clear that "Idiots" does not refer to Liberals. Idiocy, rather, is a state of mind, and it can affect both the left and the right. However, Beck is indeed a conservative who believes in the original intent of the constitution, so naturally progressives of all stripes are the primary targets."Idiots" is a good book, with clear arguments against all varieties of conventional wisdom. I would only advise that a lot of these arguments don't lend themselves to a basic overview. After putting this book down, pick up more in depth explorations of the economy and politics by Jonah Goldberg, Thomas Sowell, Thomas E. Woods, etc.
Incidentally, I am not persuaded by the claims that Beck steals the ideas of others and claims them as his own. Again, anyone who listens to Beck knows that he is very open about who he reads, and is frank about the fact that he has learned much from them. Stating conventional wisdom is not plagiarism. And, if he hasn't mentioned you, he probably hasn't read you.
Glenn Beck Continues to Morph From Paul Revere to Thomas Paine September 22, 2009
James R. Holland (Boston, MA)
309 out of 478 found this review helpful
Glenn Beck has been impersonating Paul Revere and William Dawes in order to warn the public of the approaching enemy. Now he is morphing from those Revolutionary War nightriders spreading the alarm to Thomas Paine the Revolution's Pamphleteer. His last book "Common Sense" was the embodiment of that change in character.
Glenn's greatest strength, unlike most of the media, is that he is able to see the whole picture. He doesn't just focus on a single tree he sees the whole forest. He isn't rushing to put out small brush fires flashing up all over the line of sight, he is seeing an overview of the "Big Burn," a giant, unstoppable firestorm that is roaring through the forest just over the nearby mountains and destroying everything in its path. His gift is seeing the whole picture by studying many individual pieces of the puzzle and mentally putting them together like a secret code breaker using logic combined with intuition rather than just looking for two single pieces of the whole picture that might fit together. It's a rare gift. He is guy who envisions the whole picture, plot, or conspiracy. The title of this book is similar to other books by both liberals and conservatives. Like some of those books, Beck's weapon of choice is facts, facts, indisputable facts to shatter good intentions and deliberate misinformation.
Another of Glenn's gifts is the ability to take the complicated puzzles he puts together and explain them to others. Any reader who has watched his television show know that Beck will use a blackboard and chalk, drawings, flow charts with pictures and any other kind of props he thinks will help him explain the point he is trying to make. His writing uses the same approach. He is smart enough to use some of "Rules for Radicals" founder Saul Alinsky's own rules against him. His weapon in this struggle is humor. Alinsky taught that making your enemies and opponents a laughing stock was more effective that his usual smear, extortion and confrontation tactics. While this reviewer doesn't consider himself to be a "useful idiot" he would still hate to argue with this laid-back genuinely comic satirist.
This book contains 12 chapters on subjects including "In Defense of Capitalism,
The Second Amendment, Education, America's Energy Future, Unions, Illegal Immigration, The Nanny State, Owning A Home, and others with the final chapter entitled "The U.S. Constitution." In his directions on how to use this book he says the reader will immediately notice that each chapter is formatted as an ongoing conversation between the idiot and me. In the book "'idiots' aren't defined by the way they vote, they're defined by the way they think. Sometimes that means a political activist with an agenda bigger than a brain, sometimes it means a well-intentioned person who's just a little misinformed, and sometimes it means the idiot is, well, me." He then goes on to explain how idiots can be anybody and has nothing to do with what political party they belong to.
Other gems of knowledge shared by Beck are: "The truth is that a minimum-wage worker in America is still one of the wealthiest people in the world:" Amtrak was created in 1970 and has lost money every single year since: "You Know You're Turning Socialist When the French president is less interested in redistributing wealth than the American one:" and throughout the book are illustrations and sections entitled "Who Said It?" Followed by some multiple-choice names. Those tests will make you think you are back test taking in school.
As fans of Glenn's radio, television and books are expecting, this tome is more of Beck at his best. It's impossible to convey much of his wisdom in a short testimonial/reader review, but the reader won't be disappointed, and even some of the idiots may start to doubt that they know the answers to any and all things. Beck tends to say things in such a seemingly outrageous manner that it both surprises and forces people to step back and try to see things from his overview of the whole picture. It's like his use of the term "Idiot." That's mostly to catch the reader's attention and fits right into his attention grabbing style. Keep on truckin Glenn! Make us all think, even if we disagree with some of what you say. Nobody wants to be an idiot!
Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds & Big Government August 4, 2010
Questor
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you are into political discussions and blogging on events, this is a must reference book packed full of facts, verified occurances, political blunders, and political history. It can be read as a whole book or a page at a time filled with antidotes and factual information and source material. This book contains information and data that will amaze people and shock them as it exposes behind the door decisions and back door moves that truly undermine our poltical process and contradicts much of the political spoken words and promises. It explains why America is upside-down as a country and why things do not seem to work. You will laugh, cry, be shocked, and be angry at what has happened and why things are happening, and what makes politics and events turn sour.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 529
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