Detailed item info | Synopsis | Observations on contemporary events from the well-known Texas journalist. Ivins, whose Fort Worth Star-Telegram column is syndicated across the country, brings her leftism to bear on every subject from militias to multiculturalism.
| | Size | | Length: | 244 pages | | Height: | 10.0 in. | | Width: | 6.8 in. | | Thickness: | 1.2 in. | | Weight: | 17.6 oz. |
| | Publisher's Note | Its been five years since Molly Ivinss last book, which is probably too long a time in the opinion of her many fans. But the intervening years have given the bestselling author and syndicated columnist some of the best raw material a political writer could ask for. The Republicans staged a revolution, Clinton was reelected, welfare "deform" swept the country, and the militia movement came out of the bunker: in short, its been a banner time for Mollys brand of shoot-from-the-hip commentary and uproarious anecdotes. You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You brings together a first-class collection of smart, spirited, and fiercely funny writings. From the wild and woolly politics of her native Texas to the waffling in the Oval Office, Molly exposes the fatuous and hypocritical at all levels of public life. Whether shes writing about the 1996 presidential candidates ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too much milk might be bad for us. The check from the dairy lobby must have been late that week"), conspiracy theorists ("Twenty-five years in the newspaper bidness have given me a fairly strong faith in the proposition that if you havent read about it in The Daily Disappointment or seen it on the network news, its probably not true"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specialized in latte and barbecue. Barbecue and latte. I came home immediately"), Molly takes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit. "I can think of few causes more important than keeping free voices alive in a world of corporate media," Molly writes. She is one of those voices and a national treasure; as the Los Angeles Times put it, she is "H. L. Mencken without the cruelty, Will Rogers with an agenda." Whatever your political persuasion, you're bound to agree that Molly Ivins is one of the sharpest and most original commentators on the American scene today.
You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You brings together a first-class collection of smart, spirited, and fiercely funny writings. From the wild and woolly politics of her native Texas to the waffling in the Oval Office, Molly Ivins exposes the fatuous and hypocritical at all levels of public life. Whether she's writing about the 1996 presidential candidates ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too much milk might be bad for us. The check from the dairy lobby must have been late that week"), conspiracy theorists ("Twenty-five years in the newspaper bidness have given me a fairly strong faith in the proposition that if you haven't read about it in The Daily Disappointment or seen it on the network news, it's probably not true"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specialized in latte and barbecue. Barbecue and latte. I came home immediately"), Molly takes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit.
| | Industry reviews | Fans of Lone Star State politics--for example, 'The inexpressibly goofy trio of Texans--Armey, DeLay, and Archer--(who) stand behind (the "profoundly silly" Newt Gingrich) like Huey, Dewey, and Louie,' or Governor George W. Bush (Ivins calls him 'Shrub')--will enjoy Ivins' Texas-focused columns. But she also writes from other datelines (Alaska, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, California, etc.), and politics inside the Beltway is inevitably the object of many of her pointed screeds. Especially powerful in this eclectic gathering are Ivins' 'Tributes to Souls Passing,' with farewells to, among others, Morris Udall, Richard Nixon, Barbara Jordan, Jessica Mitford, Ralph Yarborough, and Ivins' own mother.
Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company.
Carroll
Fans of nationally syndicated columnist Ivins (Nothin' but Good Times Ahead, 1994) will welcome this latest collection of pieces. . . . In her customarily funny, offbeat, and biting Texas patios, Ivins dissects numerous political misadventures of the last four years, wreaking particular vengeance on conservative politics. A substantial publicity tour is planned, so public libraries should prepare for the demand.
Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company.
Harrison
The first collection of columns in four years from witty political commentator Ivins. Note the 15-city author tour.
Moore
Ivins (Nothin' but Good Times Ahead) is what a good newspaper columnist should be opinionated, funny, preachy, sympathetic, temperamental, right, wrong and, above all, immensely entertaining. This latest sampling of magazine articles and newspaper columns taken mostly from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram finds the unabashed liberal rounding up the usual suspects for target practice. Everyone from Newt Gingrich to "Shiite Republicans" gets poked, but Ivins's crusade is political campaign financing, which she calls "The source of everything that is wrong with our political life." A first-rate muckraker, she is also a reporter who does her homework; arguably, few other journalists work the often dreary topic of campaign finance reform with as much style and insight. She must also be one of the bravest writers in Texas, consistently taking on that state's "blue-bellied, wall-eyed, lithium-deprived Texas lunatics" with her trademark mix of folksy irreverence and scathing commentary. This collection solidifies Ivins's ranking as among the cleverest humorists of the day. (Mar.)
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