An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems |  | Author: Beck, Glenn
Publisher: Threshold Editions
Category: eBooks
This item is no longer available
Rating:  483 reviews
Sales Rank: 26851
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.92
ASIN: B000WJVLLG
Publication Date: November 20, 2007
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Product Description
FUNNY. OUTRAGEOUS. TRUE. Have you ever wondered why some of the biggest problems we face, from illegal immigration to global warming to poverty, never seem to get fixed? The reason is simple: the solutions just aren't very convenient. Fortunately, radio and television host Glenn Beck doesn't care much about convenience; he cares about common sense. Take the issue of poverty, for example. Over the last forty years, America's ten poorest cities all had one simple thing in common, but self-serving politicians will never tell you what that is (or explain how easy it would be to change): Glenn Beck will (see chapter 20). Global warming is another issue that's ripe with lies and distortion. How many times have you heard that carbon dioxide is responsible for huge natural disasters that have killed millions of people? The truth is, it's actually the other way around: as CO2 has increased, deaths from extreme weather have decreased. Bet you'll never see that in an Al Gore slide show. An Inconvenient Book contains hundreds of these same "why have I never heard that before?" types of facts that will leave you wondering how political correctness, special interests, and outright stupidity have gotten us so far away from the commonsense solutions this country was built on. As the host of a nationally syndicated radio show, The Glenn Beck Program, and a prime-time television show on CNN Headline News, Glenn Beck combines a refreshing level of honesty with a biting sense of humor and a lot of research to find solutions that will open your eyes while entertaining you along the way.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 483
 Entertaining and Informative December 1, 2007
S. Peek (Rocky Mountains, USA)
60 out of 86 found this review helpful
Glenn Beck has written a book that is scary, funny, informative, and even trivial. It is a great combination of being important as well as hilarious.
Mr. Beck covers issues ranging from global warming and illegal immigration to body image and blind dating. It is hard to conceive how he includes such diverse topics in a single volume, but he manages to do it very well.
I'll touch on some of the areas covered:
The scary
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The politically incorrect movement and how it enables radical Islam to establish strong footholds in the U.S. prison system and elsewhere in the nation. Must read chapters.
America's oil dependence - For those who are concerned about gasoline at $3.00/gallon, it is only going to get worse. This is not all negative though; the author has some good solutions.
Illegal immigration - This is not about racism or keeping people from bettering themselves. Beck does a great job of putting this into perspective and has some great ideas.
The Funny
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The chapter on blind dating is hilarious. It helps to lighten up some weighty subjects in other parts of the book.
The Informative
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Most of the book falls into this category. There are some of these parts that deserve special mention. For example, Beck's chapter on the minimum wage is really simplified to help anyone be able to understand it. So many people seem to not understand the basic economics of this issue, but Glenn does a superb job on it. He has a very powerful visual to aid readers on page 218.
Radical Islam is another area that he covers very well. This section is packed full of information. He summarizes it very well: "It's about politics, not religion." This part is very well done.
Marriage and Divorce - Not only does he put the statistics into perspective, he makes it very clear what the risk factors are and how couples can avoid divorce. He backs it up with data.
Global Warming - This is another must read chapter. The author does a great job of documenting much of the nonsense around the hysteria on this subject. As one could tell from the title of the book, this is a key point in the book.
One excellent thing that he does is document how the fearmongers in the media and elsewhere, have created an alternating cycle of scares about global cooling and global warming. He talks about the global cooling scare of the 1970s. He has great quotes on opposite ends of the spectrum from Newsweek in 1975 and The Washington Post in 2006. These quotes on in chapter one set the stage for the global warming lesson.
He goes on to say: 'But the global-cooling age was far from the first climate scare. The New York Times wrote scary articles about cooling in 1924, warming in 1935, back to cooling in 1975, and, of course, warming again today.' This part alone will help those who buy the media hysteria hook, line, and sinker. Those who are terrified of global warming should also read State of Fear by Michael Crichton. State of Fear
The Trivial
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Beck has a section on tipping that many will agree with, but this falls more into the category of a pet peeve than a serious issue.
This is really a great book. It informs and entertains at the same time. That is a real rarity. Do yourself a favor and buy it.
after actually READING the book November 21, 2007
C. H. Waldrip (Houston TX)
175 out of 255 found this review helpful
I noticed that some of the negative reveiws would say things such as "ive seen this all before", or the "one rotten egg" one (loved that one). I enjoyed the book because Beck backs up his assertions and doesnt just make accusations and then drop the subject. I personally enjoyed the book, and learned much. I then decided that I had better check the facts...and found out that Beck was right (and while funny, some of this is quite scary).
For the crowd that doesnt actually want to read the entire book, check the facts and become INFORMED on the realities here, I just wanted to comment that I find such uninformed musings to be tripe. :c)
Oh....as for the rotten eggs analogy some reviewer made....my wife raises chickens, and if you find a rotten egg in the coop, then throw it out...dont throw out all the eggs...or kill the chickens....or burn down the coop!
Thanks for reading!
Glenn shines with a few sick freak caveats, but great job! November 24, 2007
Montgomery Scott (Philadelphia, PA USA)
245 out of 360 found this review helpful
I just finished reading this great book by Glenn Beck. I'll try to write a thorough review, so a few criticisms will be here, but I love Glenn (we go way back, though he doesn't even know me!), and the book was a delight to read.
As I sat down and poured myself a Coke Zero (thanks Glenn, I'm hooked), I prepared to read. First, I was impressed just by picking it up. Glossy pages! Smells of new print (like a new textbook)! High production quality! This is a serious book for only $15! Glenn has said multiple times that he tempers his ADD by surrounding himself with good people, and this book is no exception. Kevin Balfe shines through (even gets 2nd billing as an author). Stu and Dan obviously helped, with a few new names (who I'm guessing must be the liberals he mentioned having to hire).
The book covers just about everything, with 1 chapter covering the main bullet points on Global Warming. Anybody with a small amount of an investigative mind sees the agenda behind the current scare, and Glenn hits most points right on. There are better books if you want the science, free from Big Corn (agribusiness), tax raisers, and big/global government types--this is just an introduction. There's only 23 pages on that, because he quickly moves to Marriage and Porn. The next chapters cover Islam, Body Image, Blind Dating, Income Gap, Oil Dependence, Liberal Universities, Political Games, Movie Rentals, Media Bias, Political Correctness, Tipping, Child Molesters (skip this one, it's disturbing), the UN (connected to the previous chapter), Remembering Names, Minimum Wage, Aging, Opinion Polls (GREAT CHAPTER), Poverty, Parenting, and Illegal Immigration. Just enough to get you a quick intro to Glenn's world view, with tons of funny ADD bubbles, hysterical cartoons, and entertaining graphics.
I buy and read just about every new conservative book that is published. This is not an Ann Coulter book with extensive footnotes and insight. Not a Sean Hannity book of repetition. Not a Michael Savage book with mindless vitriole (except 2 comments on Rosie's weight, and some comparison between Nancy Pelosi and Lindsay Lohan that I can't understand). Most of these books you have to sit down and focus on to read, and many get boring after 50 pages. Put it another way--you've never read a "political" book like this, because it's not really political. It is the fusion of entertainment and enlightenment (don't sue me...). It also beats the socks off the "real america", which was rather boring to read (I think Glenn wrote it himself...). It's not about left and right, but right and wrong, and Glenn really does say what those of us who aren't thinking, are thinking.
Those of you who write negative reviews without even reading the book have no clue who Glenn really is as a person. He's not as witty as Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh (and does not claim to be), but he's entertaining and REAL. If you listen to his show long enough, you will realize that he is a complete amateur, and that most of his famous Media Matters gaffes are just him being completely bumbling and not expressing himself right. He is the most paranoid optimist you'll ever hear on the future of the American people, which is why I love listening to him.
A few small comments. First, if you are a freak, and a fan of the show, most of this is nothing you haven't heard before. As a matter of fact, I think some of the photos (the gay Glenn photo for sure), and some of the text is lifted right out of his Fusion magazine. I can't blame him--Fusion has a fairly limited circulation, so I'd imagine 95% of the readers haven't seen this before. Second, there are a few small mistakes. Blame it on Glenn's ADD. Which, if you had to suffer through the boring week on the radio when he took Ritalin, you should be grateful for (he talked to callers for longer than 2 minutes and actually listened to them... it was a snooze). I must point out, that last I checked, the governor of Washington State was ChrisTINE Gregoire, who is most definitely not a "he" (page 151). Also, I think the Merriam-Webster TIP definition is apocryphal--at least it wasn't in my edition (page 164). In Glenn's defense, the book is full of references to his ADD and inability to remember facts and names, so it is internally consistent.
One more thing--I stand firmly against the Public Affairs Act of 1975, and Glenn is a hatemonger for supporting it. All of you should call your senators and tell them not to let Bush and his cronies at Halliburton get away with supporting Big Oil with the continuation of the Public Affairs Act of 1975 (page 236).
Way to go, Glenn! Can't wait to see what your next big project might be (you've made some references on your show.....)
What every illegal should have to read before crossing the border!!!!! November 21, 2007
Mike (PA, United States)
50 out of 73 found this review helpful
The book should come with duct tape for every liberal who reads it. Cut and dry common sence as my grandfather (legal alien) would have put it. Should be required reading at every American from pre-school to every liberal arts college in the country.
At least someone stated what needed to be stated, with a large enough voice that the liberals can't shout you down...Thank you!!! and may God Bless you.
Tears--not blood--shooting from my eyes December 3, 2007
Brenda Brice
12 out of 17 found this review helpful
Okay, there is proof those couple dozen bad reviews of this book are bogus. No one could read Glenn's self deprecating humor (especially in the blind dating chapter) and not laugh so hard that they cry. He's brilliant. Regardless of whether you are left, right, moderate, or out in the fringes, any one reading this book would have to admit to enjoying the humor, even if they completely disagree with Beck politically.
I love you, Gina!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 483
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