David Brock (1) (1961–)

This very short E-Book (100 pages) does a nice job of summarizing, and thoroughly debunking, the numerous conspiracy theories about the Benghazi attack in 2012 that have bubbled up from the anti-Obama, anti-Hillary crowd on the right.

And - listen up mainstream media - it does this in a unique and highly effective way. That is, by citing fact and evidence! Go figure!

On a more serious note though, besides wasting everyone's time with these ridiculous theories, the focus on them has done a show more disservice to the folks who were killed in Benghazi trying to accomplish something good. The sacrifice they made has gone completely unnoticed since the day Mitt Romney decided he could use this tragedy as a political weapon.

I'm also afraid it is going to have the effect of discouraging highly qualified and committed folks from entering into government service if they think they will be used as a political football for doing their jobs.

Lastly, if you have a crazy uncle or Father-in-Law (we all do) who is constantly emailing you the latest whacked out right-wing theory about Benghazi, this book provides you with the facts to rebut them.

And it has arrived just in time for that inevitable and uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner table political argument you have every year with your crazy relatives! show less

The author wasn't just an insider in the Republican noise machine he critiques, but he was a major player, one of the chief attackers of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings. To make amends, though, he has written a brilliant book that takes the reader back to when Goldwater lost in a landslide and the Republican Party vowed to take over the media and did so by using classic propaganda techniques pioneered by Edward Bernays. One of their first moves was to brand the network news show more media as "liberal" though without ever having produced a study to support their findings other than a book that made bogus claims. Yet the networks fell for it, as did the public, and it has brought us to where we are now, with degraded news media. show less

I have to disclose that I have been crying for Fox News, or as I often refer to them, "MockNews", to drop the "Fair and Balanced" tag for a long time or at least do what Vince McMahon did and embrace the lie as entertainment, so I read this book with an admitted bias. I'm glad there is Media Matters to watch these guys and call their BS. Oh, I do think they (Media Matters) can be a bit zealous at times...and nitpicking, but one has to admire the people who crawl into the cesspool that is Fox show more News every day and hopefully retain a bit of optimism.

That said, Brock puts together a cogent and well cited indictment of Roger Ailes and his political machine masquerading as a "news" organization. Fans of Fox won't see the unedited clips, or the critical analyses in the links for what they are, but that's to be expected of the sheeple. Media Matters does catch the other outlets, but Fox is like the proverbial fish in a barrel. The book presents the observations clearly, and with little inflammatory editorializing. At least, I saw little. But then, I probably wouldn't. Anti-sheeple.

The people who need to read this book won't. And the people who really need to read it wouldn't understand. More's the pity. Be afraid. Be very afraid of Ailes and crew. show less

There's not much in general terms I didn't know about Fox's antics with Ailes at the head, but this book documents page after page of unethical and immoral practices that should be illegal in a civilised society, a civilised society being a world where reporting news and reporting truth are one and the same. The more I read of it the angrier I got - I don't know how this organisation continues to exist, but it does, and at the top.

I've given this book a 4/5 rating only because at points the show more writing wasn't as smooth as I thought it should be. There are times it stumbled slightly (only slightly), and the introduction and epilogue could have been better written. That said, it's a minor criticism, but absent that I thought the book was over the top worth the read, I finished it in less than a day, only stopping to sleep for a few hours and go to a meeting.

This book should be required reading for anyone who has any desire to vote - the alternative is a society in which a majority of voters have been lied to, misinformed and deceived, all in an effort to manipulate public opinions for the benefit of a very small minority of people in the country. Oh wait, that describes not only the US but many or most or all other "democracies" in the "free world."

Read this book, we'll all continue to suffer the consequences if you don't. show less