title: brainless: the lies and lunacy of ann coulterauthor: joe maguire
purpose: fun
copyright: 2006
pages: 181
chapters: 9
review: for those of you reading this who have no idea who ann coulter is, here is a very brief introduction. she is a republican right-wing columnist who hates the new york times and all liberals. she says very controversial things and has written numerous books on how liberals and left-wing individuals are basically moronic. joe maguire obviously has some issues with her, hence, brainless.
mr. maguire gives us 9 chapters on why ann is someone we shouldn't listen to. he focuses on not only her politics, but the way she delivers her message. he points out that she is full of contradictions, inaccuracies, and even accuses her of plagiarism. these are all very good issues and reasons for why american citizens should stop listening to what she has to say. however, numerous times throughout this book, the narrative switches from informing facts to a sarcasm-riddled rant about coulter. here, maguire attacks coulter's confidence in her looks [she's tall, skinny, and blonde and lets everyone know it] and her love life. he does so in a sly way because he always brings the message back to the fact that coulter is unqualified to broadcast her opinion on politics to the world, but the fact remains that many times while reading this book, you find yourself questioning why you're just reading someone's rant about someone you already know is irrational and unbelievable.
i think this book would be more interesting if maguire had focused more on how someone like ann coulter repeatedly appears in the media when both left and right wing politicians and commentators are shocked by her words and opinions. or if maguire had addressed that coulter exists in our media as shock value. or why it's dangerous to allow someone so ill informed with such set in stone opinions to be commenting on politics. because let's face it, if you're reading this book, you probably know who coulter is and already think "idiot" is a polite term for the woman. maguire should have been appealing to the people who feel that what coulter has to say actually matters, or worse yet, let her opinions form their own. with brainless, he is simply preaching to the choir.
rating: 2/5
