Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I finished reading COMMON NONSENSE about a week ago, shortly before Glenn Beck had his encounter with actor James Gandolfini (HBO's Tony Soprano) at a New York theater. In Beck's own words: "I said, 'Hey Jim, we have a mutual friend' and I told him and I shook his hand," Beck said. "And he said, 'What is Satan doing here?' I have my 5-year-old in my arms. I didn't shoot back: 'Why are you glorifying killing, mobsters, whoredom.' None of that ... Leave my kids out of it. Leave people's families out of it." Upon hearing this, I had mixed emotions... I'm certainly no Beck fan, but perhaps Gandolfini could have moderated his comment a bit. Then again, I thought it was rather ironic that Beck would be "gushing" over the idea of meeting the TV star, and the moment Gandolfini indicated that the respect wasn't mutual, Beck tears the man down for the portrayal of his Tony Soprano character. You can't have it both ways Glenn. You either like the guy or you don't. Don't feign love for the actor until he tells you, essentially, to p*** off, and THEN start off on a tirade of what an awful person the actor is because of the character he his famous for. But I shouldn't have been surprised, having read Zaitchik's in-depth examination of Beck. The man is a total contradiction, a buffoon, a bully, and a thug. With a criminal record no less, and a self-described (and lengthy) history of alcohol and drug abuse. And BOY do the Tea-baggers love him! One of the more stunning stories Zaitchik relates was when Beck called the wife of a radio competitor very shortly after she had suffered a miscarriage. LIVE on the air during his program, he rings the woman up and says "We hear you had a miscarriage!" When the woman acknowledges that she had, he then proceeds to joke that her husband (Beck's competitor), "couldn't do anything right." Needless to say, when I heard the Gandolfini story and how WOUNDED Beck was that Gandolfini had the audacity to say "What is Satan doing here" in front of Beck's 5-year-old, I couldn't help but recall the miscarriage story. And then today, another story broke. Again, no surprise here, but Beck has gone on the record to "apologize" for spending several minutes on his show making fun of Malia Obama, the 11-year-old daughter of the president. (Not only did he make use of a demeaning and racist "voice," but he also went on to imply how stupid Obama's daughters were.) Hey Glenn... I thought we're supposed to keep families --and especially the children, "out of it." I guess this shows the true character of the man. The book reveals much more... read it, and be surprised by nothing that gushes out of Beck's mouth. - Jonathan Sabin