WORST. NARRATOR. EVER

I generally enjoy Michael Moore. His extreme left viewpoints are a refreshing balance to the extreme right opinions I see and hear every day. I appreciate the fact that he criticizes with humor, and though I do not agree with him on everything, I think he has some good points to make.

The problem with this book, however, it that they could not have hired a more mudane, boring, over enunciating narrator. I swear every joke and clever quip loses every ounce of humor with this guy reading it. Michael should have read it himself.

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3 people found this helpful

Makes one think

I really enjoyed this for about the first 3 hours. Then, it just got a bit boring and I found myself drifting mentally and physically. I did get all the way through it but you really have to like listening to Mr. Moores philosophy to get there in one . . . read?

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Dude, when's this audiobook going to end?

"Dude, Where's my Country?" is Michael Moore's clever new catch phrase, which jokingly invokes the name of that Ashton Kutcher stoner flick that you probably set on auto-ignore three years ago. Here, the phrase is presented in the form of a kind of indignant rallying cry, murmured sweetly into your ear by another one of those darn-happy-to-know-you narrators. This one sounds a bit like Michael Moore but cannot hope to summon up the amount of sarcastic outrage required here. As if the director forgot to supply him with his motivation, he squeaks on and on about, among other things, the war in Iraq (these are agonizingly long, vitriolic chapters despite the squeaking), greedy corporate executives (ironically, Moore's bread-and-butter) and later on -- speaking of bread-and-butter -- holier-than-thou vegetarians.

Moore's book is mainly about getting rid of Bush, but he explores other topics, too -- like the reason why you'll never, EVER be rich, or why your employer wouldn't mind it if you died. Here, his words take on the angry tone of a late-night drunken debate, but, actually, it's the best part of the book. Moore seems to enjoy bashing the rich, and he's quite good at it, maybe even the best; of course the rich ARE an easy target -- especially when one considers his audience

As critics have noted, Moore does tend to rant, but when occasionally he manages to touch the right nerve, "Dude, Where's my Country?" works really well. His use of profanity from time to time actually livens things up instead of feeling forced, even though the narrator sounds about as natural using the F-word as Dan Rather enunciating "bling-bling" on the evening news. Expect a lot of boring statistics near the end as he provides mountains of evidence that prove once and for all that America is really a liberal country. Do NOT expect to laugh very much. Despite its title, this book is surprisingly mundane.

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13 people found this helpful

A Solid Read, but with an Amatuer Feel

Not nearly as good as "Stupid White Men," this is still an entertaining, insightful, and thought-provoking listen. At times, Moore's writing-style feels amatuerish; his sentence-structure is at times awkward to listen to, but perhaps that is also part the Narrator's fault, whose recycled, passionate-less, and unvaried tones almost suggest a lack of intelligence.

But I digress... If you're into political books, this should definitely be on your reading list. Witty, Classic Michael Moore. And, to disagree with another one of the reviews on this page, Moore does, actually, give a venerable plethora of suggestions on how one can go out and do his or her part to change what is a less-than-satisfactory status quo.

Enjoy!

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8 people found this helpful

Good, but take with a grain of salt!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm forever grateful for Michael Moore's existence. His body of work (perhaps with the exception of the TV Nation episodes that devolved into mindless shock-jockery) is always thought-provoking, unflinching, subversive and disturbing.

That said, 'Dude, Where's My Country' is not nearly as good as 'Stupid White Men'. Much of Mr. Moore's invective still strikes home and awakens in the reader a sense that all is not well in America's halls of power. Nonetheless, the book often feels like an under-researched, albeit passionately felt, diatribe.

I got the sense, as I listened, that Moore wanted to get the book out in a hurry so he could use his readers as a large focus group for his next film.

All in all an entertaining, incisive listen whose "facts" should not necessarily be taken as gospel.

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2 people found this helpful

Dude, where's Arte Johnson?

I absolutely LOVED the reading Arte Johnson gave to SWM. The bloodless narration of this book, however, has made it difficult for me to keep from drooling and slipping into a coma! I am still slogging through it, and I bought it in NOVEMBER! I am determined to finish it! I may just have to go to the library instead and borrow it! This is so frustrating! Is it possible for an audio book to be re-released with a different narrator?

I truly enjoy Mr. Moore's work, which is full of life. Not deadpan.

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Good book. (And push Bush out the door in 2004.)

I gathered some insights from Moore's newest book, but I did grow a little tired of what seemed to me that some of his arguments seemed to get dragged out. You may not get the same impression, though. I do recommend listening to the book. However, I think his Stupid White Men book is far superior. Get that one first before this one. And be sure not to miss Al Franken's "Lies..." book as well. Also, be sure not to miss Moore's Bowling for Columbine movie. Highly entertaining, whether you share his views or not. If anything, I give Moore a lot of credit, because unlike the most of us, he's got the balls to do and say the things he does. For that, I give him 5 stars as a crusader.

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Entertaining at first, then repetitive

After enjoying considerably 'Lying Liars', I was looking forward to Moore's book. My first disapointment was the fact that it is not read by Moore. Surely, I could have caught that when I read the book's description, but given Moore's documentarian background, I assumed it as a given. Initial negative impression aside, I did enjoy the first half quite a bit. However at some point after that, Moore derails in his rhetoric and instead of providing examples for his criticism, he just criticises. Somehow, I found the latter not nearly as enjoyable as the former.
In the end, I'm still glad to have bought the book, but it wasn't as good as I expected it to be.

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3 people found this helpful

Patriotism and the little thing called

I have always wondered what a dissenting opinion about the The US government would sound like. Yet, It always seems like EVERY news channel asks the same questions....come to find out, they're all affiliated with the Government. I have always been a "patriotic," I too don't like to condemn "our" decisions to go to war...but hey, when we're there, we may as well delve in and find out more. Moore is witty, and uncovers some things that you wouldn't believe, and it had me questioning everything from our "reasons" for going to war to "How in the Heck did Bush ever get to be president, when he knowingly was business affiliates with the Bin Ladens?" I must say, this book is a very interesting piece and will bring out the "doubt" in you and make you question our democracy. No doubt, Moore uses alot of personal opinions but he makes great points and can realy stir up controversy with his fact finding mission. I'm not a political fanatic at all....I just enjoy reading things by people who aren't afraid to "let the truth be known."

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1 person found this helpful

Funny but deadly serious

It is not often that something that makes you laugh out loud also makes you think. I am not sure whether I agree with it all, but I am very glad I listened.

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3 people found this helpful