Winter Break Reading Review: Arguing with Idiots By Glenn Beck

If you are a libertarian, this book is for you. And while that can be used to both sides, Glenn Beck attempts to use factual data to convince friends and colleagues that something is actually wrong with America, whether you're Democrat or Republican. Before we begin let's be clear about our audience. I am not a die hard fan for Glenn Beck. Despite the fact that the last time I actually sat down to watch the news was him, that was over a year ago. It's hard for me to find the time and find the reason to watch FOX or CNN or any other news channel. Like sports, it takes a lot of time and effort to truly enjoy and most people do not have that kind of time. So let's begin.

Arguing with Idiots is an audiobook read by Glenn Beck and his co-workers about the implosion of America. While some of it is wildly dramatic and contains cheesy jokes and anecdotes, Glenn Beck does touch on several subjects such as Education, Housing, Capitalism, and Gun control that I actually believe are decent arguments. Yet, I am a somewhat radical libertarian (objectivist) so it's hard for me to actually know who all would take this book seriously or not.

This audiobook is pretty narrow, but also knows its audience well. Odds are you bought this book because you love Glenn Beck, or because you got it for Christmas and have nothing to do on a road trip. This also means that people will hardly read it if they despise Glenn Beck or their friends despise Glenn Beck, which makes you wonder how Glenn Beck will change anything while writing this. I suppose Beck can only hope that some middle man will pick it up on their way out of Half Price and give it a listen. Political works are difficult because it automatically presents a selected audience before it is even released, just on writer alone. It becomes obvious within the first twenty minutes that Beck read Atlas Shrugged and feels like America's destruction is coming soon. For some you can either take this seriously (me) or you can laughingly throw it away (?), but in my opinion his arguments are clean and reasonable.

This book is tough to get through sometimes particularly when Glenn Beck is reading. In this audiobook, it's a sort of fantasized argument between an idiot (which Glenn Beck reads horribly on purpose) and well informed libertarians (which his co-workers read stoically and wonderfully). Although the argument is obviously fake to promote certain points that Beck wishes to talk about, some points really do feel real. I could actually imagine someone using that while I would be attending the University of North Texas.

Glenn Beck makes it perfectly clear how he feels about each of the topics he addresses. His points are clear, so odds are you will either understand and adhere to his principles, or understand and reject the entire audiobook. I would give this a 4/5 mainly because although I like it, I can see people becoming annoyed or not even buying the book. Most people think he's an entertainer first and newsman second, but even with that angle he really is trying to do something good.