Slashdot Mirror
Newt Gingrich's Amazon Book Reviews
lee1 writes "Newt Gingrich has written 156 book reviews on Amazon, at one point becoming ranked in the site's top 500 list. Most of the books are cheesy political thrillers, but
the newly announced presidential candidate is also trying to learn about quantum physics, and shows good taste, 'strongly recommending' Richard Feynman's QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter." Gingrich is an early joiner; I'd like to see the books on the shelves of the other likely presidential candidates, too.
http://www.allyngibson.net/?p=2169
http://www.amazon.com/1945-Newt-Gingrich/dp/0671877399
http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=74249
It would be nice to read the sequels, Newtster.
"I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
Between running for president, commenting on Fox News shows, and cheating on his wife, how does he have time to read so much?
pay someone to write those things for PR.
Bukowski said it. I believe it. That settles it.
Aren't troll's usually much larger than humans?
Good point, a midget troll then. It wasn't long ago, before Obama's election that he was writing about segregation on humanevents.com, TROLL.
Hey buddy, can i bum a karma? ~}CinderellaManson{~
http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A27WFYW9ZJ5DN1
For some reason the Washington Post did not include it.
Their what? Their cars are. Their houses obviously are.
Their socks aren't, though they rarely wear them.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Not that he's written any book reviews that I'm aware of, but I'm sure a lot of the books on this list that he didn't write are on his shelves: Ron Paul on Amazon.com
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
Are we really basing our opinions of Newt Gingrich on the fact that his Amazon account has "recommended" a book by Feynman?
By that measurement, my recommendation of Barry Cooper's biography of Beethoven qualifies me to conduct the Chicago Symphony and to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
But I'm a bit suspicious of Gingrich's recommendations ever since in an interview on Fox News he said he read Plato in the original Latin.
Personally, I'm glad Gingrich is running for president. It should be good for some lulz. If he were to win, do you realize he'd be only our second divorced president? Ronald Reagan was the first. Though, to be fair, even St Ronnie didn't have the balls to kick a wife to the curb for getting cancer. You know, when I first heard that, I thought "That's probably just political mud-slinging. It was probably just coincidental that Gingrich's wife was diagnosed with cancer around the time of the breakup of their marriage". Until I looked into it a little further and read some interviews and articles and lo and behold, Newt actually did kick his wife to the curb for getting cancer and was already banging his next wife while that one was getting chemo. Further, it appears that he kicked a subsequent wife to the curb for getting multiple sclerosis. As Gingrich put it in a rare moment of blunt honesty: "I can't deal with them sick bitches".
Clearly, he's got the right stuff to be a Republican front runner.
You are welcome on my lawn.
You spelled tool wrong.
The candidates the press is focusing on are really weak so far. The last important thing Gingrich did was resign in disgrace from office. Its cool that he likes to read and has shown a minimum level of skill with computers. At least he doesn't have his wife print out his email. (John McCain) ... But Gingrich has a slim chance of winning the primary.
I respect Gingrich for what he has done but I can't trust a man who betrays his family like he did. I also don't respect quitters and cable news personalities. (You too Sarah Palin)
Who's to say this isn't somebody employed by Newt to read these books, to make it seem like Newt is a well-read, intelligent, individual?
Hi, I Boris. Hear fix bear, yes?
For what it's worth.. there's a lot of rumor mongering in the political world about his ... out of the ordinary.. efforts to make his name relevant again in an effort to drum up support for a presidential run... he's established a handful of organizations (not all bearing his name) as ways to influence other organizations and what not in the last few years. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if it's not some intern writing these reviews to make him seem more well rounded and intelligent to the intellectual elite that don't typically vote Republican.
...mostly?
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
I was hoping these would be hilarious reviews of the Newt "I had a hard on for America so I fooled around" Gingrich's books. I'd love to see Amazon tags on his stuff like there is on Jonah Goldberg's execrable Liberal Fascism. Some of my favorites are "doughy pantload", "books written while high on cheeto dust", and "cheeto-erotic asphyxiation".
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
Honestly, I think his habit of divorcing his wife when she gets seriously sick goes more to character than his bookshelf. He's done it twice now. "In sickness and in health" my /dev/null.
If he dumps the women he "loves" over that, he sure as heck isn't going to think twice about dumping America for the benefit of the Party when the going gets rough.
Why oh why can't we have a good Republican candidate? Obama's not invincible, but he's not going to break a sweat against the current clowns. And yes, that includes the "man should be an island" Ron Paul.
Because it is awkard trying to explain two ex wifes (both seriously ill at the time of the divorce) and the criticism of Bill Clinton while newt was having an affair with a staff member. Cable TV makes a great job at informing people about what really matters.
Frankly the field of candidates at the GOP's disposal all look like various forms of trolls. I think the smart money is on Obama taking it again in 2012, so now's the GOP's chance to let the Tea Party fruitcakes and all those simpering cowardly Republicans who refuse to standup to the Libertarians and other even less sensible riff raff that have seized the party smash themselves against the electoral rocks next year. Once it's clear that the Tea Party won't be able to install a president, the GOP can again regain control of the situation, turn the Libertarian wing back into the useful idiots they have usually been and then find a candidate for 2016 who has a good chance of becoming President.
Maybe the Tea Party can split off, take over the Reform Party like everyone else has and all the semi-sentient 'tards that make up the movement can stop infecting mainstream politics with the racist moronic gibberish they've been spouting.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Palin won't have read many, but her shelves will have "important" books for the looks.
Ron Paul will have alot of economic and revisionist history stuff, pretty much anyone over from Lewrockwell.com that's written a book, he will have all their stuff.
Donald Trump will have books about himself, by himself.
Romney will have a good mix of Christian, Mormonism and pop history books.
It's amazing that when Bill Clinton was philandering before and after getting elected that the same level of Slashdot indignation wasn't heaped on him.
Why do you hate Guns and jesus?
I'm sorry but you're way out of line. Firstly, I'm not a Tea Party member, but I am a sympathizer. You must be getting all your news from CNN and NBC if you actually believe that all Tea Party members are racist or retarded. YOu have nothing constructive to say, just a long rant of insults. Let's hear a detailed list of the real policy issues you have with them, not more of the Bill Maher inspired ad hominem attacks.
I still cannot find the droids I am looking for...
Why do you hate Guns and jesus?
Their guitarist sucks, that's why. And then when you consider their son writing has fallen apart since the early 90s - plah-ease!
When the Tea Party actually has any policies beyond "Cut taxes and get that foreign Muslim-sounding Nigger out of office", you let me know.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
I think the killing of Osama bin Laden has basically bought Obama a second term. The GOP might as well use the opportunity to cleanse the party of the maniacs, bigots and blowhards who have infected the party.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Ugh, grammar fail. Well played sir.
Let's see, the last three Dem VP candidates:
1. Joe Lieberman quit the Democratic Party and was seriously considered as a running mate by John McCain
2. John Edwards cheated on his dying wife (ten-upping Gingrich), had a kid with his mistress, and then illegally used campaign funds to pay her hush money
3. Joe Biden - serial plagiarist going all the way back to college.
And these are the guys who actually made it on the ticket.
And God only wonders what you thought about Bill Clinton's infidelities - did you take the "it's only sex" wimp-out? Like so many who are quick to criticize Gingrich, did you give Slick Willie and his bent willie a pass?
"Ethel the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying"
QED does not have lots of pictures in it. Physics books for the layman tend to not have many pictures. Physics textbooks are much more equation-heavy than picture-heavy.
http://www.amazon.com/review/RJKX0KUG5773Z
Clark describes a pattern of destructive dishonesty that permeated the Clinton Administration. Clark could never count on candor from Shelton (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs), Secretary of Defense Cohen, or President Clinton. Contrast that with the fact that we have every reason to believe President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretaries Powell, and Rumsfeld. This administration will prove far more reliable and far more honorable.
Newt, as always, smart at narratives but really stupid at drawing a logical conclusion.
"Don't let fools fool you. They are the clever ones."
Let's see Sarah Palin's reviews. If you can't find any.
After the 2008 loss to Obama we get the 2010 elections with the Tea Party. A Republican losing in 2012 will only help the Tea Party.
He seems, at times, very smart - forward looking, creative, bold and while yes always (US-style) conservative someone who would likely drive America into the future in interesting (I mean that in the good sense) ways. No one can say it would be a boring presidency anyway! Open-minded, and creative about shaking the established order (anti-conservative in a sense we rarely see in any US politician). Reality-oriented and science knowledgeable/enthusiastic (among U.S. Republican politicians, very rare attributes indeed). Can be frank and open.
And at other times... a evil nut. Pushing the religionista's agenda Taleban-style. (Religious in the first place seems surprising if he really is the person described in my paragraph #1, but if he was religious wouldn't you expect a tolerant type?) Trying to undermine the administration without any regard to American's interests. Indeed, seems he'd _prefer_ the US to suffer so long as it hurts Obama's re-election prospects. Seemingly deeply corrupt. Transparently fickle and shallow. Naked, truly naked and unmitigated, greed for power trumping everything and anyone else.
I could never vote for him because the risks and likelihood of personality #2 outweigh the upside of #1. But I really don't get it, is this really one person? I see much to admire (and by US standards I'm extremely liberal(US meaning, i.e. left) ) yet how can this coherently exist with his awful attributes?!? An interesting human being, to be sure!
I don't think so, because whoever becomes the Republican candidate is going to, at least, publicly, smooth talk the Tea Party. They will, to a large extent, be the writers of the 2012 Republican Presidential narrative. This will be the Tea Party's big chance to show their stuff, to push the GOP candidate into the sort of manic hysteria they seem to approve of, and whoever that candidate is, that's exactly what he will do. Meanwhile, Obama will run another cool, potent campaign like he did in 2008, with the "No Drama" philosophy, and just let the Tea Party drive the Republican candidate into the rocks. The Tea Party seems to bring out the worst in even sensible candidates.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
slashdot turns from "news for nerds" to politics. Who freakin cares about Newt's Amazon book reviews? This is just another opportunity for an extremely liberal reader base to bash conservatives. If I wanted to read that, I'd go to MSNBC, CNN, ABC, AP, NPR...
Get back to nerdy news please!
You'd likely be wrong. Malign the guy as you will - lord knows the US press was all too eager to do so back in the 90's - but he's extremely intelligent. It's obvious if you listen to the guy speak for five minutes that he's very thoughtful and well read.
Why are you letting these clowns ruin our country?
Perhaps, but voters seem to have very short memories.
Recall that shortly after the initial "battle" of the Gulf War in January 1991, President George H. W. Bush had incredibly high popularity ratings (about 90% as I recall). Nevertheless, in November 1992, he was defeated by Bill Clinton (admittedly with the help of the spoiler Ross Perot).
Really, "it's the economy, stupid" (to quote Bill Clinton's campaign guru, James Carville).
Housing prices continue to decline in spite of Obama's efforts to "fix" them. Unemployment is still very high and not rebounding as many had hoped even a year ago. The Federal budget and the budgets of many large states are in serious trouble. Well, you get the idea...
Obama can't just run on "I got Osama",
The best thing Obama can hope for if the economy doesn't show strong signs of recovery by November 2012 is that the Republicans field a weak candidate (as they did in 2008 and as the Democrats did in 2004). BTW, Newt would likely be such a candidate.
Why is there an "insightful" mod and why isn't it "-1"? If I wanted insight, I wouldn't be reading
I agree with this. He's far from a cookie-cutter conservative. I'm only familiar with his ideas from his speeches, which contain lots of insight and good ideas, until he starts talking about god - then I tune out.
It's not the guns, it's the neanderthal GOP morons who tend to misuse them.
Same thing for Jesus. Jesus was a nice man who had a lot of good things to say - among them that greed was bad, taking care of the poor and infirm is good, and treating people with respect is a wonderful thing.
The GOP, meanwhile, are a hateful bunch of assholes who believe in rewarding greed and fucking the poor over at every turn. Not to mention their attitude on the elderly - two of these GOP scumbags on a local radio station were actually joking and laughing at the idea of holding an "Alpo Drive" to feed impoverished seniors recently.
drinkers who tell their kids not to drink
crippled motorcycle riders who tell their kids not to ride bikes.
smokers who tell their kids not to smoke
Etc... Clearly there is no merit whatsoever to the school of "do as I say, not as I do..." right?
Unfortunately, for politicians, it should matter, but doesn't. Modern American politics (and most others, I am sure) is about picking the lessor of many evils. No matter who you vote for, you won't get what you were promised. Maybe you can pick a "leaning toward", at best. And we don't even get that. Instead it boils down to personal attacks, rarely addressing the issues. Welcome to the cut-jump-edit digital, ADD, apethetic world.
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
Would be the one that has Turner Diaries in the amazon favorites.
He made the rounds in Silicon Valley around 2000 and stopped by the start-up where I was working. I got to shake hands with him and a couple of sidemen (whose names I can't recall ... probably for good reasons). I remember thinking that slime just oozed from the guy. Also, his questions to the local tech types showed a lot of ignorance. To be fair, he was probably ahead of many peers in that area.
OT: I'd met Jack Kemp at random several years before that. He might not be everyone's cup of tea politically, but in contrast to Gingrich he seemed like a nice, down-to-earth guy. It could be that his years in pro football (with people from lots of different backgrounds) seasoned him better than most politicians.
He is well trained.
I don't always use unix-like operating systems; but when I do, I prefer FreeBSD.
Aside from a mediocre "recovery" there are two other possibilities for the state of the economy in 2012.
1. Carter-like stagflation. This would explain the Republicans paying lip service to deficit reduction while watching commodities soar due to Federal Reserve policy. It's a proven Democratic one-termer scenario.
2. Depression. Counter-intuitively, I think this favors Obama. Since the Depression will have started under GWB, it can be argued that it's simply a continuation of a problem caused by the Republicans. It's a proven Democratic dynasty creater--hello FDR and 90% top marginal tax rates!
I think, regardless of what the Fed or either party does, we are more likely to depress than inflate. Any QE sufficient to fix the housing bubble drives oil too high, cutting off recovery as we have seen the last few months. Those who say we are in for hyperinflation are forgetting that QE is only happening in response to market crashes, which are deflationary events.
He has a lot of negatives, and I don't think he'll be a winning candidate, but he's not an empty suit. The guy is impressively intelligent; he would probably be the smartest president we've had in many decades. I'm a libertarian/conservative, though, and I'm not sure I would vote for him because of character issues.
Among the "mainstream" Republican candidates (if you can still count Gingrich as "mainstream"), Newt Gingrich is without a doubt the most educated, well-spoken, most recognized (for good or ill), and most coherent (as in philosophy). Especially against the field of sleazeballs (Romney) and nutters (Bachmann) that seem to be lining up for the bid, I think he's got a real shot at the nomination.
Disclaimer: I am not a Republican or a Gingrich supporter. I do really loathe Michelle Bachmann.
Hey, I finally got my first freak! Took you long enough!
Team Newt is driving hard to brand Newt as the "intellectual" candidate. I heard a GOP analyst discussing candidates on the radio when an obvious shill called in, repeating the analysts talking points on Newt verbatim. It was shameless...
The GOPs recent and continuing anti-science, anti-education stance is beyond appalling. Coming from the Party of Ignorance, he needs to tend to his own garden before he gets cred for recommending Feynman on Amazon.
This is where I get my recommended daily allowance of "Foot in Mouth."
His "impressive" intelligence is more than negated by his actions.
The drivel he spews on Fox News makes him a party-line hack, nothing more. The smartest guy in the room needs to lead by reason and logic, not repeat tired, inflammatory lies. When I saw a clip of him discussing the Citizens United case, I thought, "ok, your legal analysis is crap. I can excuse that because you are not a lawyer (despite being a legislator), but please stop repeating tired lies."
Anyrate, as smart as Newt may be, you'd be hard pressed to demonstrate that he's more intelligent than Obama. Ultimately, though, it doesn't matter. What matters is how good of a politician you are. George W, Regan, both idiots who were extremely successful at playing the political game.
This is where I get my recommended daily allowance of "Foot in Mouth."
Fox News: Not racist, but #1 with racists.
I don't know if Gingrich is the only conservative that came out openly to combat climate change, but he is certainly the most vocal. And he's being punished for it. I'm only mentioning this, as it looks that the GOP has been ever more turning against anybody suggesting there is a possibility for man-made climate change. I was very surprised to learn that there is an ultra-conserrvative that is completely counter this trend.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
He had a lot more credibility in the 1990s. Since then, he has flip-flopped and boomeranged on so many issues, the people who admired him as the tech-savvy alternative to the older conservatives have generally abandoned him. His personal history makes him unelectable, especially against a President whose personal life is beyond reproach, and whose commitment to his family is respected even by his opponents.
that at least some of these were written by a harem of unpaid interns
"Outdated business models" is code for "I don't like paying for things, but want them anyway"
Jerry Pournelle, generally well known rocket scientist, technologist and big name writer was science adviser to Congressman G. Jerry writes about getting a call from somebody "calling from congress." Turned out to be Newt, having read A Step Further Out, personally calling to recruit. That led to a long term staff gig and ears to whisper in. I don't tend to agree with Newt's latest directions, but I'm willing to listen to anyone willing to to give Jerry Pournelle a microphone and input into space and science policy.
Newts closeness to Jerry Pournell, one of the grave-diggers for BYTE
There are plenty of picture heavy physics books for lay people
http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=3283
I typically take it as a sign of a right-wing nutjob when they claim CNN is left-wing. I'd give you NBC, but seriously, man. Get out of your bubble. You need context.
Great Intellect...
To paraphrase "A Fish Called Wanda"
Otto: Apes don't read physics books.
Wanda: Yes they do Otto, they just don't understand them!
I want to shoot the messenger!
Hey, if you hate the guy, at least "know thy enemy". The guy is a pretty hefty intellectual in his own right.
Why are you letting these clowns ruin our country?
He talks about god for the same reason Obama does. You can't get elected President in this country (especially not by the Republican party) if you don't talk about your strong faith. Sad, I know, but the public is too mired in its superstitions for things to work otherwise.
Why are you letting these clowns ruin our country?
I don't know. Actually, I think that Newt was more of a damaged entity after the Clinton impeachment. Since then, he's reformed his image to a degree by staying out of elected office.
If Newt has kept his nose clean for the last ten years and expresses regret for his past family issues, the Republicans will give him a pass on his personal life.
Why are you letting these clowns ruin our country?
he's a joke, you can look it up, but he never received over 100k votes in any election he has run in. in populated areas, people running for mayor have gotten more votes than that and have lost.
obstruction of justice. He was never prosecuted for the sex.
As is usual in politics, it's the cover-up that gets you.
Ok I am impressed, envious even that he has time to read and comment on all these books while doing all the other stuff. His reading list, OTOH is as narrow and partisan as his politics. Of the few 3 stars he has given, one is for Bob Woodward's book. What did you expect. He is a fucking hack and deserves to be ignored.
I've listened to many of his speeches. No matter how intelligent he appears, I can't get past the incredible hypocrisy and racism. He brushes off the criticism with arrogance.
Developers: We can use your help.
Because jesus is too much of a pussy to handle an AR-50.
"And lo GOD did smite him.. in the face with a depleted uranium round from 1500 meters... The splatter seen through the spotting scopes made them rejoice in the face of the LORD." - Diesel 12:40
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Unless they are members of your own family. Jesus advised people to abandon their families and responsibilities and just follow him, because God's kingdom was just around the corner. Guess how that worked out for them? Jesus was a "nice man" in the sense that David Koresh was a "nice man".
90% of "Christians" do NOT follow Jesus's teachings.
Jesus's teachings are dead simple.... but that does not make people rich, so the Catholic church changed them to make things more lucrative... and the reformists kept those nice additions as it keeps the coffers full.
Remember kiddies, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24) Straight from the Christian bible. Their own Savior, the ones the rich embrace and claim as theirs tells them bluntly "Hey rich man, suck it in hell!"
The bible is littered with verses that condemn the Rich Republican types clamoring for ending welfare and "to hell with the poor" attitudes that are rampant in the Tea Party and Republican party right now. But that is the inconvenient part of the religion that need to be ignored.
Honestly, when you meet a Christian, most of the time you really don't meet a Christian but a person who is on Sundays from 9am to Noon when he/she can be seen in church.
And just like you I'll be modded down because I outed them for what they are, hypocrites . For some reason there is a Significant bias against anything negative against the GOP or Tea Party here today. I have no problems with a rich person, just the rich person that lies through his teeth.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
No what will buy Obama his second term is the GOP doing retarded things and pull out another Palin.
Palin is what lost the Republicans the last election. Why they chose that raving lunatic I'll never know.
Now all the candidates I see now are all also nut-jobs. They are screwing it up BAD... Come on, give us a real leader to at least hear some real educated and enlightening discussion and arguments out of.
If the Dems actually get the Blacks and Hispanics to vote.. the GOP is utterly screwed. They outnumber the rich old white person, the largest voting demographic, 30 to 1.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
WaPo copied Dave Weigel at Slate who wrote about this a day earlier.
Ceci n'est pas un sig.
[mild snark]So it's news now that a mainstream Republican candidate doesn't completely disparage the "intellectual elite" and actually reads books critically enough to write reviews?[/snark]
I'll root for Newt insofar as he'll bring at least a little intellectual criticism to the circus of the next presidential election. Maybe that's wishful thinking though. The Republican party has resisted any such change to their policies preferring instead to mold the man to the party. Hopefully they learned the lesson from McCain of trying to shoehorn moderate candidates into neocon stances. Who knows though.
...he was writing about segregation on humanevents.com, TROLL.
Don't these guys normally have staff to do that kind of thing for them? You know, PR specialists, writers, Novelists?
-- no sig today
I offer to your attention a film about six priorities of the generalized instruments of management by countries and people of Earth.
Six Principles of Global Manipulation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fF3TQ0lJnU
and:
Anti-Qur'an Strategy of the Bible Project Wheeler-Dealers
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1wXgXwj3MI
Yes, I am letting my detest for him cloud my judgement a bit. He has a PhD, so he can't be "stupid", but considering the fact that his PhD is in history and the policy positions he has supported have a history of turning nations into plutocracies, I can only come to the conclusion that he is a psychopath.
I don't always use unix-like operating systems; but when I do, I prefer FreeBSD.
Wish i could mod you up. Everything you said is do true.
I've met "Tea Party" members who are sensible.
But their leadership is batshit insane.
Since it's the leaders that the rest of us get stuck with, I'm afraid you'll have to forgive me if I say I'm scared to death of what the Tea Party could do to this country, regardless of how racist or retarded individual members may or may not be.