Customer Reviews

Rick Mercer Report: The Book

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was sceptical at first. I love the Rick Mercer Report, and think the rants in particular are far and away the best political satire on Canadian tv. Those rants seem so spontaneous and essentially verbal that I couldn't imagine they would make great reading. But actually they work well on the page - just as funny, and at the same time the seriousness that informs them comes through even more clearly. This book is altogether a surprisingly satisfying read. And it's not all rants, either (though the bulk of them appear to have ben included. There are also excerpts from skits and interviews, new pieces updating certain topics (the material is arranged into into themed sections), blog entries and journalism, including one classic, hilarious piece called From the teleprompter of Michael Ignatieff. Lots of great photographs too.

Rick Mercer has shoved fun at politicians and social issues for years. Some I have watched personally on tv. Now someone has prudently spurred the genius to get all this solid bunch of verbal entertainment onto the pages of a book, The Book. The weird fling about it all, is that not only are these groupings of political satires more entertaining on paper but they seem to take on an even more realistic ambience of serious entertainment. Ones that really stimulate the mind as one reads and rereads at one's own pace, over and over, again. This is an excellent book! A MUST buy a great book of solid laughter to cherish for a life time

Some other great books: "Fluctuating Life" by Canadian, author, teacher and poet, Joshua Spencer and "Quest for a Dream - A Life Committed to Progress" by Joyce Buchanan

Mercer's latest collection of political wit and satire disarmingly takes dead aim at some big names in the Canadian establishment. To discover and then exploit those hard-to-find foibles behind the armour of a typical Canadian public figures like Rona Ambrose,Bob Rae, Paul Martin, Stephen Harper and Jack Layton, Mercer spends considerable time hobnobbing with them. These national figures get to showcase their private and more human side on their own terms, which Mercer then takes and matches with what he knows about them in public life. The result is a treasury of light-hearted, but truly wicked satirical moments emerging from the many glaring inconsistencies between the two lifestyles. In this book, a faux pas or gaff is measured by how forgetful politicians are in remembering how quick the public is pick up on the great gap between what they say and what they do. When the two sides of the human condition (private and public) are not in sync, or, in other words, we forget to walk the talk, we immediately, like the rest of those wretched politicians, fall victim to the rapier wit of that loveable yet mischievous satirist named Rick. It seems that he is gifted in finding out the deepest, dark secrets that motivate most of us to want to seek power and, once we have it, pretend that we're everyone's friend. Well worth the read just for the laugh.

This is a book written especially for those people whose favourite part of The Rick Mercer Report is The Rant. There is no doubt that nobody does The Rant as well as Rick. We all have our favourite Rant, and you'll find them all in this book. The book is clever, funny, literate, and highly readable.

Satarists always hit the right nerve for me. Whether it's Stephen Colbert's "I am America" Jon Stewart's "Picture of Naked People," or McCrae's "Katzenjammer," I love to laugh and see the world though another's eyes. Mercer doesn't shy away from hot topics or hot buttons and his keen wit and good looks only make the pill that more easy to swallow. He is truly one of Canada's treasures and should be treated as such. This book will remain on the bestseller list for some time to come, as it should.

Rick is Canada's greatest political satirist. The book is a review of a the lighter side of Canadian political personalities beginning from 2004 when The Rick Mercer Report first aired. My sixteen year old loved the book too - great reading for Civics class.

(This review has also been posted on LibraryThing)

There aren't many political satirists to choose from here in Canada but Rick Mercer is one of our best. This book is a collection of his best signature rants (from his tv show) and blog posts from the first four seasons of his show. At first, I kept comparing it to Stewart/Colbert and found it unsatisfying because, let's face it, compared to the US our politics are pretty lame and dull. But Mercer is truly funny and is so spot-on with his commentary that I ended up thoroughly enjoying the book and trying to sneak bits of it in wherever I could get a few minutes to spare. Overall: a quick, pretty light, and entertaining read.

I just happen to like Rick Mercer and his wit. A book will never replace the energy of his full persona but it does give you the meat of his intelligence. Mercer takes what we are all thinking, writes it down and duly embrasses the foolish actions of the politicians, leaders and the newsworthy who give him the material to mould into humourous rant.

Wonderfully funny book with Rick Mercer, satirist and comedian, "ranting" on about all aspects of Canadian life. Most of the rants are political satire, so a knowledge of Canadian politics and current events is needed. Think of trying to watch Jon Stewart with no knowledge of American culture or politics and you'll understand.

If you had doubts about your understanding of Canadian politics, don't look further. This book will tell you all you wanted to know about Canadian politics, but were afraid to ask, using a satirical tone.

Rick Mercer is one of canadian TV's finest satirical journalist, whom, with his weekly show on CBC, gives you an overview of the political events in the country.

This book is a compilation of his best rants from the show, and to be fair, try to give equal time to all the parties. Everybody gets laughed at, and everything is suddenly more clear.

Very entertaining.