Nyt Bestseller the Title of Book Review

What Beck and Balfe fail to recognize is the inconvenient truth of statistics showing that European countries are leagues ahead of the United States on basic but quantifiable quality of life factors ranging from measures like access to education and health care or income disparity. Beck and Balfe love to rant about the French and it becomes painfully obvious their tantrum is rooted in jealousy. The authors spew what many readers will recognize as a 1980s mentality: blind pursuit of the American Dream in spite of its failure to nurture a large portion of the nation's citizens. As predicted, Beck and Balfe rage against anything slightly resembling socialized medicine by waving the Communist banner.

Readers who can get beyond the amusing antics will still find tidbits of truth in the pages of an Inconvenient Book. The chapters cover every possible topic imaginable from child sex offenders and the harmful effect of pornography to the United Nations and global oil dependency to Islam and racism. Beck and Balfe are adamantly opposed to political correctness and their argument against it is sound, exhibiting not only the cry for freedom of speech but also of the negative consequences of self-censorship. Issues include those that are solely domestic such as those related to immigration, popular culture, and the imagined liberal media bias. Yet the authors also cover international issues too.

As Beck and Balfe suggest, the world is a mess and Americans play an important role in shaping it up. The authors use popular culture to address the issues, making the book immanently accessible. One of the greatest strengths of an Inconvenient Book is the humor imbedded in its pages. Beck's tone, and that of his co-author, is lighthearted. A well-written expose, the book is laden with sarcasm and so is more than just its sometimes spurious content: it is a fun addition to a bookshelf.