Stupid White Men ...and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation!

New York: Regan Books, 2002. First Edition. Hardcover. VG+/NF. Stupid White Men, Michael Moore's screed against "Thief-in-Chief" George Bu sh's power elite, hit No. 1 at within days of publication. Why? It's as fulminating and crammed with infuriating facts as any right-wing be stseller, as irreverent as The Onion, and as noisily entertaining as a wres tling smackdown. Moore offers a more interesting critique of the 2000 elect ion than Ralph Nader's Crashing the Party (he argued with Nader, his old bo ss, who sacked him), and he's serious when he advocates ousting Bush. But M oore's rage is outrageous, couched in shameless gags and madcap comedy: "Ol d white men wielding martinis and wearing dickies have occupied our nation' s capital.... Launch the SCUD missiles! Bring us the head of Antonin Scalia !... We are no longer [able] to hold free and fair elections. We need U.N. observers, U.N. troops." Moore's ideas range from on-the-money (Arafat shou ld beat Sharon with Gandhi's nonviolent shame tactics) to over-the-top: bla cks should put inflatable white dolls in their cars so racist cops will thi nk they're chauffeurs; the ever-more-Republicanesque Democratic Party shoul d be sued for fraud; "no contributions toward advancing our civilization ev er came out of the South [except Faulkner, Hellman, and R.J. Reynolds]," be cause it's too hot to think straight there; Korean dictator Kim Jong-il "ha s got to broaden himself beyond porn and John Wayne" by watching better mov ies, like Dude, Where's My Car? (which contains "all you need to know about America"). Whatever your politics, Stupid White Men should make you blow y our stack. --Tim Appelo.