An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems | 
 enlarge | Author: Glenn Beck
Publisher: Threshold Editions
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy Used: $7.46
You Save: $18.54 (71%)
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Rating:  438 reviews
Sales Rank: 1298
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 1416552197
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.92
EAN: 9781416552192
Publication Date: November 20, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The world is a mess. It seems that every time you turn around, there's another problem:
Iran is developing nuclear capabilities. Public schools actually seem to be making our kids dumber. Charlie Sheen has a hit sitcom. Obesity is a national epidemic.
The divorce rates is rising faster than gas prices. Did you hear me--Charlie Sheen has a hit sitcom!
This just barely scratches the surface. Sadly, there's no shortage of problems what we need now are solutions. If only there was a man who could simplify things, cut through the rhetoric and fix everything? Then, if he was just able to put all of that insight into a book that people could buy...in a store and online say, for like $24.99? Man, that would be great...
Wait a minute!
"Inconvenient Book: The Real Story Behind The Biggest Problems In The World!" is that very book the one source for the Real Story behind the problems that seemed too big and complicated to solve (until now) plus their common sense solutions. Think of it as a Hints From Heloise that's less "getting red wine out of your carpet" and more "keeping illegal aliens out of your country"...
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| Customer Reviews: Read 433 more reviews...
 Glenn shines with a few sick freak caveats, but great job! November 24, 2007
Montgomery Scott (Philadelphia, PA USA)
253 out of 369 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.....)
Honest and Humble, and the game is on. November 20, 2007
Sivakumar Nadarajah
232 out of 335 found this review helpful
Rank all conservative correspondents by honesty and humility, Glenn Beck will come first. There is something down to earth about Glenn that makes him "watchable" on TV. He is not arrogant ( even when talking to folks from ACLU). He gets his points across, and he always gives a few seconds to his guests to "talk". That's a huge difference. And in my opinion, that is what makes him stand out.
One thing that definitely sent my eyebrows north was that deaths from extreme weather have actually decreased as CO2 increased in the atmosphere. Glenn claims that Al Gore conveniently avoids this fact in his slide shows. This topic alone will make this book controversial and Glenn will have a busy time when he goes on tour.
There are hundreds of these same "why have I never heard that before?" types of facts that Glenn has peppered all over the book that will leave you wondering, "Holy Cow!"
Along the way, Glenn touches on John Edwards, Child Molestation, Oil, Political Correctness, UN, Don Imus, Illegal Immigration and, yes, Al Gore.
Glenn, (or may be his publisher) has given an intelligently catchy title for this book. And that itself speaks a lot about Glenn's primary target. It's none other than Al Gore and Co. It's "Inconvenient Truth ... Vs. Inconvenient Book". The game is on, and there couldn't be a better holiday gift for conservatives and moderates who love this man.
N.Sivakumar
Author of:
America Misunderstood: What a Second Bush Victory Meant to the Rest of the World
The Inner Workings Of A Conservative Mind April 7, 2008
Robert I. Hedges
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
I greatly enjoyed "An Inconvenient Book" by Glenn Beck. The book is full of his trademark wry humor, and is printed on very heavy glossy paper stock, making this a book that is built to last. In the book Glenn covers what he sees as the biggest problems confronting the country today (and a few of his personal pet peeves). The book has color on most every page and a bevy of amusing and interesting insets with quotes, graphs, and funny illustrations.
Probably the best chapter in the book is the first, "Global Warming, Storming, and Conforming". This chapter not only refutes much of the scaremongering from the left on the subject, but takes to task the left's unwillingness to even discuss data contradicting the collectivist opinion. For more on this issue I recommend "Cool It" highly.
Other standout chapters are on the UN (the quotes from UN delegates are sobering, alarming, and illuminating); the real state of poverty in America; the flaws in the US educational system; and the final chapter, "Illegal Immigration: Behind the Lies". In the chapter on illegal immigration Glenn parts ways on the topic of the North American Union with brilliant conservative Michael Medved. I am normally allied with Medved's thoughts, but on this issue, I agree with Glenn, and after reading his rationale I think most honest thinkers will too.
Some of the topics Glenn takes on are petty compared to the rest (the chapters on tipping and how to remember names were particularly annoying for me), but overall I found this to be a funny and well argued book; in fact the only real areas I disagree with Glenn on are the evils of Wal-Mart and cats. Not too bad for a book that's a weighty 295 page behemoth. "An Inconvenient Book" is both serious and funny, and people who truly want to think about the issues from any political viewpoint should be open-minded to it. I recommend it highly.
Entertaining and Informative December 1, 2007
S. Peek (Rocky Mountains, USA)
43 out of 59 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.
Glenn Beck has the courage to tell the truth November 27, 2007
lettylynton
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
I'm not a liberal and I'm not a conservative. I'm just living out the American Dream and I just realized that nothing is what it seems...
If you want common sense answers to some of society's biggest problems read this book! Glenn Beck has the courage to tell the truth! Comment | Permalink
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