Molly Ivins – författare

Whether she''s writing about redneck politics in her native Texas or the discreet charms of Bushwazee, Molly Ivins in never less than devastatingly honest—and hilarious.  Our toughest, funniest, and savviest columnist delivers the goods on:-Texas politics: "Well, our attorney general is under indictment.  He ran as ''the people''s lawyer''; now we call him ''the people''s felon.''"-The flag burning debate: "Bush''s last birthday cake was in the form of the American flag, and he ate it—stars, stripes, and all.  Think about where that flag wound up—I call that desecration."-Beign a woman in Texas: "There are several strains of Texas culture: They are all rotten for women... One not infrequently sees cars or trucks sporting the bumper sticker "Have fun—beat the hell out of someone you love."

From the Trade Paperback edition.

She''s back.  Molly Ivins, our most perceptive, outrageously funny political commentator, has given us an uproarious new book.In Nothin'' But Good Times Ahead, Ivins proved that no one has a steadier gaze or a quicker trigger finger, as she hits the bull''s-eye in such targets as George Bush, Bill Clinton, Camille Paglia, the Clarence Thomas hearings, and the ethics-twisting, English-slaughtering pols of her beloved Texas.  Here''s Molly on: The 1992 Republican Convention: "Many people did not care for Pat Buchanan''s speech; it probably sounded better in the original German."Texas politics: "Better than the zoo, better than the circus, rougher than football, and even more aesthetically satisfying than baseball."Gibber Lewis, former House Speaker of the Texas State Legislature: "He once announced, ''This is unparalyzed in the state''s history." Another Gibberism: "It could have bad ramifistations in the hilterlands." 

From the Trade Paperback edition.

In her long-awaited new collection, the Colt Peacekeeper of American politicalhumor draws a bead on targets that range from the Libido-in-Chief to NewtGingrich, campaign funny-money to the legislative lunacy of her native Texas--andhits a bull''s-eye every time.Whether she''s writing about Bill Clinton ("The Rodney Dangerfield ofpresidents"), Bob Dole ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the yearwith his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too muchmilk might be bad for us.  The check from the dairy lobby must have been latethat week"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specializedin latte and barbecue.  Barbecue and latte.  I came home immediately"), Mollytakes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit.From the Trade Paperback edition.

When it comes to reporting on politics, nobody does it smarter or funnier than bestselling author Molly Ivins. In Shrub, Ivins focuses her Texas-size smarts on the biggest politician in her home state: George Walker Bush, or "Shrub," as Ivins has nicknamed Bush the Younger.         A candidate of vague speeches and an ambiguous platform, Bush leads the pack of GOP 2000 presidential hopefuls; "Dubya" could very well be our next president. What voters need now is an original, smart, and accessible analysis of Bush--one that leaves the "youthful indiscretions" to the tabloids and gets to the heart of his policies and motivations. Ivins is the perfect woman for the job.         With her trademark wit and down-home wisdom, Molly Ivins shares three pieces of advice on judging a politician: "The first is to look at the record. The second is to look at the record. And third, look at the record." In this book, Ivins takes a good, hard look at the record of the man who could be the leader of the free world. Beginning with his post-college military career, Ivins tracks Dubya''s winding, sometimes unlikely path from a failed congressional bid to a two-term governorship. Bush has made plenty of friends and supporters along the way, including Texas oil barons, evangelist Billy Graham, and co-investors in the Texas Rangers baseball team. "You would have to work at it to dislike the man," she writes. But for all of Bush''s likeability, Ivins points to a disconcerting lack of political passion from this ascending presidential candidate. In her words, "If you think his daddy had trouble with ''the vision thing,'' wait till you meet this one."         Witty, trenchant, and on target, Ivins gives a singularly perceptive and entertaining analysis of George W. Bush. To head to the voting booth without it would be downright un-American.From Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush"        The past is prologue in politics. If a politician is left, right, weak, strong, given to the waffle or the flip-flop, or, as sometimes happens, an able soul who performs well under pressure, all that will be in the record." ¸         Bush''s welfare record: "Texas pols like to ''git tuff'' on crime, welfare, commies, and other bad stuff. Bush proposed to git tuff on welfare recipients by ending the allowance for each additional child--which in Texas is $38 a month." ¸         Bush and the Christian right: "Bush has learned to dance with the Christian right. It has been interesting and amusing to watch the process. Interesting because it''s sometimes hard to tell who''s leading and who''s following; amusing because when a scion of Old Yankee money gets together with a televangelist with too much Elvis, the result is swell entertainment." ¸         Bush''s environmental record: Since Governor Bush''s election, Texas air quality has been rated the worst in the nation, leading all fifty states in overall toxic releases, recognized carcinogens in the air, cancer risk, and ten other categories of pollutants. ¸         Bush''s military career: "Bush was promoted as the Texas Air National Guard''s anti-drug poster boy, one of life''s little ironies given the difficulty he has had answering cocaine questions all these years later. ''George Walker Bush is one member of the younger generation who doesn''t get his kicks from pot or hashish or speed,'' reads a Guard press release of 1970. ''Oh, he gets high, all right, but not from narcotics.''"

A simultaneously rollicking and sobering indictment of the policies of President George W. Bush, Bushwhacked chronicles the destructive impact of the Bush administration on the very people who put him in the White House in the first place. Here are the ties that connected Bush to Enron, yes, but here, too, is the story of the woman who walks six miles to the unemployment office daily, wondering what happened to the economic security Bush promised. Here are reports on failed nation-building missions in Kabul and Baghdad. Here, too, the story of a rancher who has fallen prey to a Bush-Cheney interior department that is perhaps a wee bit too cozy with the oil industry. Bushwhacked is highly original and entirely thought-provoking—essential reading for anyone living in George W. Bush''s America.From the Trade Paperback edition.

The dazzling, inimitable Molly Ivins is back, with her own personal Hall of Fame of America’s most amazing and outlandish politicians–the wicked, the wise, the witty, and the witless–drawn from more than twenty years of reporting on the folks who attempt to run our government (in some cases, into the ground).Who Let the Dogs In? takes us on a wild ride through two decades of political life, from Ronald Reagan, through Big George and Bill Clinton, to our current top dog, known to Ivins readers simply as Dubya. But those are just a few of the political animals who are honored and skewered for our amusement. Ivins also writes hilariously, perceptively, and at times witheringly of John Ashcroft, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, H. Ross Perot, Tom DeLay, Ann Richards, Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, and the current governor of Texas, who is known as Rick “Goodhair” Perry.Following close on the heels of her phenomenally successful Bushwhacked and containing an up-to-the-minute Introduction for the campaign season, Who Let the Dogs In? is political writing at its best.From the Hardcover edition.