This is a very entertaining, very quick (I read it in one sitting) book, written by Bill Maher, American comedian, tv presenter, writer and social campaigner.

Maher hosts a HBO television show called Real Time with Bill Maher, and New Rules is a segment on that show, in which he comes up with ideas for new rules to help make society run more easily. This book is a collection of those rules. Most of them are flippant and funny (one of his new rules involves the idea of Bob Dylan being the 'voice of a generation'; Maher makes the observation that if a generation could choose a voice, it would pick a better one than Dylan's - and that is the kind of tone which runs through most of the book).

However, being a stauch campaigner for the Democratic party - although he did support independent Ralph Nader in the 2004 election - there are a smattering of rules which reflect Maher's opinion on certain topical issues - stem cell research and same sex marriage, are two examples. On these matters, Maher drops the flippancy somewhat, and talks passionately about what he believes.

Overall though, this is a funny and light hearted book - with plenty of "He's absolutely right!" moments. ( )

I am a huge fan of Bill Maher and of his late-night HBO series "Real Time". The biggest gem in "Real Time" is his closing segment, "New Rules" which has the ability to always turn me into a hysterical quivering wreck. Part of the humour is the way he tells the New Rule - the look on his face, the tone of his voice and the hysterical laughter coming from his panelists and audience.

Which is why this book partly falls down (and why I decided not to give it the full five stars). This book is extremely funny and I loved every page. However, part of the humour is lost by not hearing Maher say it and not having that HBO studio audience atmosphere.

Also the book, while it is 240 pages long, doesn't contain as much material as you think. A lot of pages have perhaps two rules at the most (sometimes only one), one black-and-white photo to go with the rule (but not with every rule) and a lot of pages are BLANK! It looks as if they really tried to stretch out the material as far as it would go by leaving a lot of spaces in between.

As I said, the material itself is top-class and you WILL laugh with the tears rolling down your face. But when you end up finishing the book in record-time (I finished it in 90 minutes!), you'll wish there was a little more to read.

Plus if you watch Real Time, you'll know all the rules already. There's nothing new here - it's just the rules from his previous shows. ( )

Television humorist pokes fun at modern culture, politics, and fads. These are from his HBO TV series where he does a segment called "New Rules". Targets include advertising, cell phones, Starbucks, homeland security, and the movies. There is strong language in this book. It is funny, but is much better when he tells them live. He is not always right, he is cruel, but he is thoughtful in his rants. But if you cannot see him perform live, and can get past the lewd language, the rants are topical and humorist. ( )

Maher is definitely polarizing, and I say this as a person who is politically on the same side. Although, after reading this book, I am a little confused as to what that side would be, exactly. Not for republicans. Or people in the flyover states. Or, possibly, Americans. Be prepared to be annoyed, regardless of your political bent. ( )

Week after week, these are fun to read online, as I'm sure they're great to hear - if you have HBO.
A whole collection of them, however, makes them seem quite repetitive.
Which doesn't mean the jokes are bad, but the format gets old. Not to mention the titles.
If I wanted a collection of blow-jobs and pot smoking anecdotes with silly titles, I'd date Sir Elton John. (See?) ( )