A Non Book Review

I’ve reviewed 150 business books on our website and will continue to do so as long as our readers continue to respond as they have thus far. I should point out that, among those many books, there has never been a single political title. I doubt very much that there ever will be.

However, I must admit that a new book with an obvious political theme recently caught my eye in a Baltimore airport book store. It attracted my attention for two reasons:

The title of the book struck a very responsive chord deep within me … one that has haunted me for quite some time now. I’ll explain further after sharing the book title. It’s a longer-than-usual title but one that really strikes the heart of the matter … Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right. Sub-title: How One Side Lost Its Mind and The Other Lost Its Nerve.
The author, Bernard Goldberg, is a number one New York Times bestselling author who has won eight Emmy Awards for his work at CBS News and HBO. In 2006, he won the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, the most prestigious of all broadcast journalism awards.

I’m only half way through the book but feel comfortable in recommending it. Again, I won’t be reviewing this book on our website. Our country is currently more politically divided than at any other time in my memory, and our goal is to inform rather than infuriate.

I suggest this book because I feel it supports my contention that we have fewer choices to lead our country today than ever before. It’s proven daily in every newspaper in the country. Why is it we have 50 choices for Miss America and only two for the highest office in the country? Why is it that more Americans voted for the American Idol than they did in the last two Presidential elections? Why would anyone spend millions of dollars to campaign for a job that pays only $400,000?

I struggle to believe a single word from the mouth of any politician, from any party, that truly believes their own party is 100% correct on every issue all the time while their opponents are 100% incorrect on every issue all the time. A child will tell you how wrong that is, and yet we hear it from both parties every day in every form of the media. This book speaks for the small voice within all of us who screams, “I’m mad as h— and I’m not going to take it anymore!”

Goldberg takes equal shots at both parties, pointing out the obvious and demanding answers to questions we all want to ask. If nothing else, he lets the reader know there are others who share the same frustration every four years. He also reminds us that politicians are like diapers. They both need to be changed, a lot, and for the same reason. This, of course, is unfair. Diapers serve a useful purpose!

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of motivational speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services.