The Monkey King's Used Primate Emporium and Book Reviews

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Norman Solomon and Reese Erlich, �Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn�t Tell You�

Started June 23 - Finished June 24, 2004; 200 pages. Posted 12 July 2004

It has to be daunting to release a book about Iraq at a time when the U.S. hasn�t actually invaded yet. I understand the point and the urgency behind it. Solomon and Erlich wanted to inform the general public about what they may not have heard from their two-minute nightly news report.

But really, if these are the people they intend to reach, and these people get their news from the evening news, did they really expect the hoi polloi to sit down and read a book?

Since the election of George W, we�ve put things in our display as you walk into the store that shows very clearly where our politics lie. Lots of books are arranged so as the first thing you see as you walk in are studies on the fixed election, biographies on the ineptitude of Bush and his cronies, expos�s on Enron, and things like Al Franken and Michael Moore.

Part of why we do this, to be honest, is because these books never sell unless it�s on people�s mind from the news clip they saw before they came in. The sad thing is I�m sure more than half of the people who do buy the book never get around to reading it. I had the same Bob Woodward Bush biography come through the store three times, and the top corners of the pages were still uncut. That means four people bought it, took it home, never opened it, and then brought it back to us.

Nobody wants to read a boring fact-filled analysis on the Middle East. The authors of this book know that. And so, presumably to try to actually make people read it, they did the most obvious example of pandering toward the masses that I�ve ever seen.

On the cover, each author is listed and there is a sentence after each name listing the position, giving the authors credibility. After this listing, there is a notation that the book includes an introduction by Howard Zinn, which is fine by me. Zinn is well known respected historian. It�s what happens after this blurb that�s so lame. Because underneath Zinn�s name, in big white letters, the book proudly informs you that it features an afterword by Sean Penn.

Which is good because when I�m worried about our government, foreign policy, eroding civil liberties and the rights and welfare of people around the world, I often stop and wonder what Madonna�s ex-husband and the star of Fast Times at Ridgemont High thinks.

Actually, Penn�s piece isn�t so bad. It�s just another example of a celebrity bleating �Four legs good! Two legs bad!� Whoops, I mean, �Peace is good! War is bad!� Still, it won�t surprise me if this is the only thing in the book that most people read, those who actually open the book anyway. As for the rest, if you really are that interested, you probably knew all the information that is in here already.


Rating: Worth working in a used bookstore and getting for cheap.

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