Customer Reviews
Well yes, but - By: H. meiehofer, 05 Dec 2006 
Terry Jones has a well argued polemic here. He uses his sources well & argues his case almost beyond the point of refutation.
The problem is that you don't get what you might expect from this member of the Python team; coherence & cogency, yes; humour & wit, no.
Some of the essays stretch the sarcasm almost beyond endurance & frankly with some he'd be better with a straight argument rather than trying to hide it beneath some supposedly witty but actuallly leaden metaphors.
Having said that, his heart's in the right place & hopefully he'll lead a few to realise the crazy state of affairs we live in.
Brilliant! - By: William Podmore, 29 Aug 2006 
Terry Jones, of Monty Python fame, prolific writer of fiction & non-fiction, has written a very funny book on current affairs, composed of articles he wrote for the Guardian & the Observer from 2001 to 2004.
He shows the real reason for the attack on Iraq quoting the Project for the New American Century's `Rebuilding America's Defenses 2000': "The United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein."
The same report admits, "adversaries like Iran, Iraq, & North Korea are rushing to develop balllistic missiles & nuclear weapons as a deterrent to American intervention in regions they seek to dominate." So they want nukes to deter American aggression - sounds reasonable.
Terry is not very nice to Mr Bush. He cites an undersecretary in Bush's administration as saying, "George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the U.S. [That bit's right, anyway!] He was appointed by God."
So was it God who wanted to take health insurance off four million Americans, & jobs off two million? Did God want to withdraw benefits from working families earning less than $35,000 a year, by cutting Medicaid, supplemental health insurance, nutrition assistance & welfare? CNN reports, "Half of alll Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck - effectively one paycheck away from poverty." But then he (He?) balanced alll this by generously awarding tax breaks worth $50,000 per person to America's richest one per cent.
It's only fair that Bush's crony Blair gets some stick too. In `Grading Tony's latest essay', Terry writes, "Tony's uncritical acceptance of information supplied by the U.S. reveals a naivety that would be surprising in any sixth-form pupil, let alone one who has hopes of going on to university & then government, as I know Tony does." He ends, "To be quite candid, Mr. & Mrs. Blair, it's lucky that your son is not in a position of power; otherwise his lack of insight & his crass ignorance would place us alll in appallling peril." Other classics include, `I'm losing patience with my neighbors, Mr. Bush' & `It reallly isn't torture'.
Funny, caustic, brilliant - By: Ms. J. M. Selwood, 31 Dec 2004 A collection of Terry Jones's colums in British newspapers like The Guardian & The Independent about Iraq & the extreme reactions for the Bush administration following 9/11.
With articles about how to wage war on a noun, applauding Mr Blair for not showing the slightest sign of wavering from his determination to do whatever Mr Bush wants & suggesting a pre-emptive attack on a neigbour because pissing you off, the article are funny, caustic, & deeply biting in equal measures.
This is a definately a book to buy, whether you're a Python fan, an anti-war activist, or someone who appreciates truly funny satire.
