Profiles in Ignorance: How America's Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber
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- Create Date：2022-09-09 18:21:37
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- Author：Andy Borowitz
- ISBN：1668003880
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Summary
Named One of 7 Best Nonfiction Books of the Fall by Kirkus Reviews
Andy Borowitz， “one of the funniest people in America” （CBS Sunday Morning）， brilliantly examines the intellectual deterioration of American politics， from Ronald Reagan to Dan Quayle， from George W。 Bush to Sarah Palin， to its apotheosis in Donald J。 Trump。
The winner of the first-ever National Press Club award for humor， Andy Borowitz has been called a “Swiftian satirist” （The Wall Street Journal） and “one of the country’s finest satirists” （The New York Times）。 Millions of fans and New Yorker readers enjoy his satirical news column “The Borowitz Report。” Now， in Profiles in Ignorance， he offers a witty， spot-on diagnosis of our country’s political troubles by showing how ignorant leaders are degrading， embarrassing， and endangering our nation。
Borowitz argues that over the past fifty years， American politicians have grown increasingly allergic to knowledge， and mass media have encouraged the election of ignoramuses by elevating candidates who are better at performing than thinking。 Starting with Ronald Reagan’s first campaign for governor of California in 1966 and culminating with the election of Donald J。 Trump to the White House， Borowitz shows how， during the age of twenty-four-hour news and social media， the US has elected politicians to positions of great power whose lack of the most basic information is terrifying。 In addition to Reagan， Quayle， Bush， Palin， and Trump， Borowitz covers a host of congresspersons， senators， and governors who have helped lower the bar over the past five decades。
Profiles in Ignorance aims to make us both laugh and cry: laugh at the idiotic antics of these public figures， and cry at the cataclysms these icons of ignorance have caused。 But most importantly， the book delivers a call to action and a cause for optimism: History doesn’t move in a straight line， and we can change course if we act now。
Andy Borowitz， “one of the funniest people in America” （CBS Sunday Morning）， brilliantly examines the intellectual deterioration of American politics， from Ronald Reagan to Dan Quayle， from George W。 Bush to Sarah Palin， to its apotheosis in Donald J。 Trump。
The winner of the first-ever National Press Club award for humor， Andy Borowitz has been called a “Swiftian satirist” （The Wall Street Journal） and “one of the country’s finest satirists” （The New York Times）。 Millions of fans and New Yorker readers enjoy his satirical news column “The Borowitz Report。” Now， in Profiles in Ignorance， he offers a witty， spot-on diagnosis of our country’s political troubles by showing how ignorant leaders are degrading， embarrassing， and endangering our nation。
Borowitz argues that over the past fifty years， American politicians have grown increasingly allergic to knowledge， and mass media have encouraged the election of ignoramuses by elevating candidates who are better at performing than thinking。 Starting with Ronald Reagan’s first campaign for governor of California in 1966 and culminating with the election of Donald J。 Trump to the White House， Borowitz shows how， during the age of twenty-four-hour news and social media， the US has elected politicians to positions of great power whose lack of the most basic information is terrifying。 In addition to Reagan， Quayle， Bush， Palin， and Trump， Borowitz covers a host of congresspersons， senators， and governors who have helped lower the bar over the past five decades。
Profiles in Ignorance aims to make us both laugh and cry: laugh at the idiotic antics of these public figures， and cry at the cataclysms these icons of ignorance have caused。 But most importantly， the book delivers a call to action and a cause for optimism: History doesn’t move in a straight line， and we can change course if we act now。
Reviews
Homerun2
，
3。5 starsThis book was difficult to rate。 Andy Borowitz is a funny man （if you share his politics） and a potent political satirist。 The book starts out howlingly funny but he didn't write it purely to make people laugh。 It has a serious intent -- to point out that American anti-intellectualism has long been around and that politicians are sometimes （often？） dumb as a box of rocks。But after the historical litany of brainless quotes and mangled facts and IQ challenged elected officials， it begins 3。5 starsThis book was difficult to rate。 Andy Borowitz is a funny man （if you share his politics） and a potent political satirist。 The book starts out howlingly funny but he didn't write it purely to make people laugh。 It has a serious intent -- to point out that American anti-intellectualism has long been around and that politicians are sometimes （often？） dumb as a box of rocks。But after the historical litany of brainless quotes and mangled facts and IQ challenged elected officials， it begins to feel depressing instead of funny。 If you love satire and intelligent snark and liberal ideology， you might well enjoy this well-written and acerbic overview。 But it's a scary picture。Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Brenda B
，
I think Andy Borowitz is the funniest person in America to write a book on Politicians。 He is on the TV show CBS-Sunday Morning。 In this book he shares his opinions about the last 50 years regarding political leaders from Presidents Reagan all the way to Trump。 You can read this book and either like it or hate it， depends on your choice of political parties you support。 Either way， the writing is based on what has happened to the USA。 Some parts were amazingly funny while other parts were sad to I think Andy Borowitz is the funniest person in America to write a book on Politicians。 He is on the TV show CBS-Sunday Morning。 In this book he shares his opinions about the last 50 years regarding political leaders from Presidents Reagan all the way to Trump。 You can read this book and either like it or hate it， depends on your choice of political parties you support。 Either way， the writing is based on what has happened to the USA。 Some parts were amazingly funny while other parts were sad to see how some of the political leaders used the media to promote their bad behavior。 Borowitz does not shy away from what he sees and says。 He is entitled to his opinion just like the rest of us。 The book is titled correctly and I think you should read it to the end。 It is an eye opener in case you missed anything that happened or saw something different that the media twisted just to have something news worthy to air。 。。。more
Glen Helfand
，
America has an uncomfortable relationship to intellect。 We simply don't admire brilliance that advertises itself。 And yet we lavish praise and power to people who do the opposite。 Andy Borowitz's entertaining and troubling book offers a trajectory of normalization of ignorance， a timeline of what led to Donald Trump， POTUS， despite his glaring lack of curiosity and knowledge。 Borowitz posits three stages-- ridicule， acceptance， and celebration。 In the first， he enumerates the brain gaps in vario America has an uncomfortable relationship to intellect。 We simply don't admire brilliance that advertises itself。 And yet we lavish praise and power to people who do the opposite。 Andy Borowitz's entertaining and troubling book offers a trajectory of normalization of ignorance， a timeline of what led to Donald Trump， POTUS， despite his glaring lack of curiosity and knowledge。 Borowitz posits three stages-- ridicule， acceptance， and celebration。 In the first， he enumerates the brain gaps in various political figures。 He starts with Ronald Reagan， thankfully invoking evidence that refutes his current standing as a golden politician。 He was an empty vessel， an actor， who lacked facts yet had racist beliefs。 He's followed by Dan Quayle， a VP who comes off dumb as a door post。 Acceptance begins with George W。 Bush， the man you want to drink beer with， and Sarah Palin， who rode their shortcomings to success。 And of course， Trump is the character whose uber ignorance has been embraced by fervid followers， turning him into a powerful monster。 As a political satirist， Borowitz writes with knowing snark-- you'll laugh out loud more than once--although armed with reams of research into the jaw droppingly stupid things his subjects have said and done。 This is definitely a bracingly entertaining book， but it is it a smart one？ I've often wondered how it was that my fellow citizens have voted for people who clearly have a missing screw or two， and 'Profiles in Ignorance' does offer that convincing historical narrative。 But the book starts to become list-like as it goes on。 There have been so many lists of Trump's gaffes， lawsuits， egregious lies， etc， that it isn't surprising that the Celebration chapter feels more abbreviated。 Even shorter is the conclusion， which is a call to 'deep canvassing' action instead of armchair/internet activism。 This is another agreeable point， but one you wish he'd spend more time on。 He writes of the power of narrative， which suggests ways of making smart stories sexy。 But that appears to be the subject of another book-- or homework for folks who would like to admire our leaders for more than their pluck and outspokenness。 But major kudos to Borowitz for making his dispiriting topic an engaging read。 。。。more
Moriah
，
I thoroughly enjoyed this book！ First and foremost it is funny， after each paragraph the author hits us with a zinger to wrap up his thoughts。 I found myself shaking my head in disbelief at things that have happened in politics in our past， in disbelief， shame and couldn‘t help but just laugh along with the author， because humor heals。 It is so well researched and I learned so much from a political view of events that have happened and the crazy things that have come out of the mouths of politic I thoroughly enjoyed this book！ First and foremost it is funny， after each paragraph the author hits us with a zinger to wrap up his thoughts。 I found myself shaking my head in disbelief at things that have happened in politics in our past， in disbelief， shame and couldn‘t help but just laugh along with the author， because humor heals。 It is so well researched and I learned so much from a political view of events that have happened and the crazy things that have come out of the mouths of politicians。 I also appreciated the author‘s last chapter of how to move forward， what can we do better for the future of politics。 。。。more
Archana Aggarwal
，
Thank you Net Galley。 It was a pleasure to read Mr。 Borowitz。 I enjoyed his polished， sharp prose and the way he targeted politicians。 It was incisive and entertaining。 Highly recommended。
karen
，
What a mostly gloriously fun and irreverent romp through our last several decades of political insanity！ Got to hand it to Andy Borowitz for not mincing words and calling a douche bag a douche bag。 Obviously， fans of Borowitz will be entertained with his colorful descriptions of Ronald Reagan， Danny Quayle， George the Elder and Shrub， Sarah Palin， The Donald and all the other asshats currently inhabiting the Capital in positions of power。 I learned some new and stupid stuff about Ronnie， Big Geo What a mostly gloriously fun and irreverent romp through our last several decades of political insanity！ Got to hand it to Andy Borowitz for not mincing words and calling a douche bag a douche bag。 Obviously， fans of Borowitz will be entertained with his colorful descriptions of Ronald Reagan， Danny Quayle， George the Elder and Shrub， Sarah Palin， The Donald and all the other asshats currently inhabiting the Capital in positions of power。 I learned some new and stupid stuff about Ronnie， Big George， goofy Danny Boy and Dubya， since I was but a shrimp myself when they were operating in prime shenanigans mode。 Nothing our eloquent and fearless author mentioned about Dump was a revelation to me; guess I’m current on understanding real and present dangers。 But， seriously， the point Borowitz makes repeatedly in his writing regarding the willingness of my fellow American citizens to accept and deliberately encourage such ignorance and assholery in our elected officials is nothing less than terrifying and deeply disturbing。 So while the read itself is amusing， the message is decidedly far from it。 Borowitz concludes his work with some suggestions for citizen involvement which might help to mitigate some of the current insanity we find ourselves in。 I appreciated the suggestions as at least lending some sense of hope for the future of our democracy。 Thanks much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC， this has been one of my favorite political reads in a long string of such offerings。 。。。more
Sydney
，
I’m really really enjoying this book so far！ Honestly， it’s hard to put down。 Andy Borowitz mixes humor with the truth about what has happened and is happening in US history。 I’ve actually learned so much I didn’t know about before！ I totally recommend giving this book a read， it’s well worth it！ Thanks Net Galley & Anthony Borowitz for giving me the awesome opportunity of reading this book！
Katie Avalos
，
I could not put this down！ I was born during the Reagan administration， so I think it's reasonable that I didn't know all that I didn't know about the first 2 eras covered in this book。 It was absolutely fascinating information presented in Andy's unique voice that made it both educational and entertaining， even as my mind boggled and my heart despaired。 The third section， covering the current era， could already contain so many more samples and examples， a book like this， unfortunately， can neve I could not put this down！ I was born during the Reagan administration， so I think it's reasonable that I didn't know all that I didn't know about the first 2 eras covered in this book。 It was absolutely fascinating information presented in Andy's unique voice that made it both educational and entertaining， even as my mind boggled and my heart despaired。 The third section， covering the current era， could already contain so many more samples and examples， a book like this， unfortunately， can never be complete current。 And I really appreciated the 4th section， a call to action with some specific examples and suggestions， so that maybe， finally， we can start to reverse the trend！ 。。。more
Judy
，
I thought I knew that the recent republican politicians were some of the stupidest people on earth but this book confirms that they were even more stupid than I had imagined。 Our nation is being destroyed by those in power who should have never been elected in the first place and by those who elect them choosing party over country。 This book gives valuable insight to the problem and what we can do about it while providing some humor along the way。 I hope everyone will read it and learn some valu I thought I knew that the recent republican politicians were some of the stupidest people on earth but this book confirms that they were even more stupid than I had imagined。 Our nation is being destroyed by those in power who should have never been elected in the first place and by those who elect them choosing party over country。 This book gives valuable insight to the problem and what we can do about it while providing some humor along the way。 I hope everyone will read it and learn some valuable lessons about who we put in power。 Excellent book。 I really enjoyed it。 I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads。 。。。more
Richard Kramer
，
So happy to have won an advance copy of this terrific new book。 Borowitz contributed to my hold on sanity in this upside down political climate。 I can laugh and groan simultaneously at his accounts of right-wing lunacy。 I hope his writing influences enough people to keep a positive attitude in this fouled up culture。
SheAintGotNoShoes
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Thank you so much for choosing me as a winner in the giveaway ！This book was absolutely brilliant - it was roll on the floor funny and I could be heard cackling away in my room page after page of snarky and sarcastic humor abounded。Want a few ticklers ？？ -I know words - I have the best words。 - Trump 🙄Nobody knows debt better than me - Trump （ he should， he filed for bankruptcy 6x ！ ） 🙄In 2017 he had a meeting with 2 Presbyterian ministers and was confused if they were Christian or not- he was r Thank you so much for choosing me as a winner in the giveaway ！This book was absolutely brilliant - it was roll on the floor funny and I could be heard cackling away in my room page after page of snarky and sarcastic humor abounded。Want a few ticklers ？？ -I know words - I have the best words。 - Trump 🙄Nobody knows debt better than me - Trump （ he should， he filed for bankruptcy 6x ！ ） 🙄In 2017 he had a meeting with 2 Presbyterian ministers and was confused if they were Christian or not- he was raised Presbyterian ！！！！！！！ 🙄🙄🙄When told about Shi'ites and Sunnis， he replied ' I thought Iraqis were Muslim。 - GW Bush 🙄Did not know the difference between Brazil and Bolivia - R Reagan 🙄I could go on and on and on， but this is a good taster of what you will discover about the nitwits some of us have elected。Be afraid， be very afraid ！！ 。。。more
J Earl
，
I'm not sure whether Profiles in Ignorance by Andy Borowitz is a funny or a horrifying read， though I guess they aren't mutually exclusive。 Perhaps what makes this scarier than his humor on the New Yorker is that， as he says， this is all factual。 This isn't him taking something and running with it， these are actual events， comments， and just general stupidity （ignorance is too nice， as far as I'm concerned willful ignorance is stupidity）。 While he acknowledges that what he is calling ignorance i I'm not sure whether Profiles in Ignorance by Andy Borowitz is a funny or a horrifying read， though I guess they aren't mutually exclusive。 Perhaps what makes this scarier than his humor on the New Yorker is that， as he says， this is all factual。 This isn't him taking something and running with it， these are actual events， comments， and just general stupidity （ignorance is too nice， as far as I'm concerned willful ignorance is stupidity）。 While he acknowledges that what he is calling ignorance is not the exclusive domain of the right， at least in the past half century the difference is one of creepiness （what is sex？） versus one of attempting to undermine and then overthrow democracy and our government。If one reads the entire book （c'mon， it isn't very long） one will see that it isn't just putting GOP ignorance front and center， it is a call for the rest of us to cut back on our time in our own echo chambers， don't be a political tourist， and get active locally。 There is a prescriptive element to the book at the end。 Is it a detailed plan？ Of course not， the call is to start making change locally， and every locality is different。 So whining because you either didn't actually read the book or because you're incapable of doing any of the hard work yourself makes no sense and is misleading for those who haven't yet read the book。Certainly those who are primarily political fans will enjoy the book， but it really is effective for those who take the call to action seriously。 Knowing what we're fighting against helps us to better prepare and avoid some of the same mistakes， such as refusing to engage our brains。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more
Janalyn Prude
，
This was a very humorous book on our politicians in their ignorance mainly Trump Reagan and Bush Junior。 From Reagan’s myth said he was a voracious reader to Bush Junior‘s friendship with Dubai and just Trump in general this book was funny and clever and it just reinforces all the reasons I love the authors articles he writes。 His theory is that politicians are getting dumber， but in the book you see they weren’t that bright to begin with。 I loved it and highly recommend it no matter what party This was a very humorous book on our politicians in their ignorance mainly Trump Reagan and Bush Junior。 From Reagan’s myth said he was a voracious reader to Bush Junior‘s friendship with Dubai and just Trump in general this book was funny and clever and it just reinforces all the reasons I love the authors articles he writes。 His theory is that politicians are getting dumber， but in the book you see they weren’t that bright to begin with。 I loved it and highly recommend it no matter what party you identify with it this is a equal opportunity rant。 I received this book from NetGally in avid reader press but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own。 。。。more
Cam Kovach
，
Somewhat amusing， but more frightening than anything else。 The constant sarcasm and the jokes got wearisome。 It's really a tragedy how easily we citizens get taken in by showmanship。 Somewhat amusing， but more frightening than anything else。 The constant sarcasm and the jokes got wearisome。 It's really a tragedy how easily we citizens get taken in by showmanship。 。。。more
June Price
，
Publication Sept。 13， 2022Andy Borowitz knows his audience and subject。 Despite the fact I read his frequent posts on social media avidly， I was a bit wary of this book， fearing it might be one long， comedic take on current politics。 I couldn't have been more wrong。 That doesn't mean there isn't humor。 Just when you think Borowitz has gone serious on you， he's likely to slip in an often subtle zinger。 Nor is the criticism bashing。 It's largely simply a recitation of facts/events as they happened Publication Sept。 13， 2022Andy Borowitz knows his audience and subject。 Despite the fact I read his frequent posts on social media avidly， I was a bit wary of this book， fearing it might be one long， comedic take on current politics。 I couldn't have been more wrong。 That doesn't mean there isn't humor。 Just when you think Borowitz has gone serious on you， he's likely to slip in an often subtle zinger。 Nor is the criticism bashing。 It's largely simply a recitation of facts/events as they happened。 And， let's face it。 Given some of the events of the past political season。。。。。wait， does that season ever end anymore？。。。。 just a mere recitation of the events and mangling of of the English language is either humorous to you or just makes you shake your head in disbelief。 I fell somewhere in-between。 My only complaint is that， unlike social media， Borowitz and the publisher can't update this book every day as historic events occur almost daily。 Oh， well， can't have everything。 I liked the simple ordering， ie the three stages of ignorance。 First stage， ridicule。 Second， acceptance。 Third， celebration （of ignorance）。 Borowitz does an admirable job detailing events， both distant past and recent although， as noted， the final curtain on this story hasn't come down。 Since I was largely only familiar with Borowitz' zippy humor， his quick quips or short takes on events， I was impressed at the depth of this "call to action"， all done with a quick twist of humor and viewpoint。 Borowitz seems to recognize that not only are we humans frequently our own worst enemies but our means of salvation。 Ignorance isn't a virtue seems to be the unifying theme of it all。 I highly recommend this book and hope there will be an updated version available when current events （the Jan。 6 hearings and aftermath） are history。 Thanks to #NetGalley and #AvidReaderPress - #SimonAndSchuster for making this work available。 It should be a "must have" for anyone who cares about not just our country/government but history。 。。。more
Connie
，
Well this was certainly a surprise！ i wasn't sure I'd enjoy a book like this; however， the fact that it was written by a man who is supposed to be one our country's finest satirists caught my eye， so I decided to read it。 As astonishing I find the idea that people prefer a president who isn't very intelligent--Andy Borowitz has proven his case。 Sadly。 While the stories largely favor members of the Republican party， and they are amusing， it's sad to realize how uninformed the people who are runni Well this was certainly a surprise！ i wasn't sure I'd enjoy a book like this; however， the fact that it was written by a man who is supposed to be one our country's finest satirists caught my eye， so I decided to read it。 As astonishing I find the idea that people prefer a president who isn't very intelligent--Andy Borowitz has proven his case。 Sadly。 While the stories largely favor members of the Republican party， and they are amusing， it's sad to realize how uninformed the people who are running our country are about other leaders and events in the world。 It's also a tragedy that some of them go so far as to make up stories， and even lie about their own experiences。I did research some of the facts he presented and found them to be easy to verify。 Of special note is this little gem I found while looking up the idea that Trump's first wife said Trump had a book of Hitler's speeches that he kept by his bed， and read from sometimes。"Trump is a believer in the big lie theory。 If you say something again and again， people will believe you。" Vanity Fair article September 1990。 This is a wake-up call for all of us to not be so complacent。 。。。more
Valerie Adcock Dibblee
，
I was skeptical about this book， concerned it would just be a complete bashing of the right but wanted to read it because I genuinely like Andy。 I was pleasantly surprised it kept me engaged。 Since most of the early part of the story happened either before I was born or before I was old enough to be engaged， I was very surprised that our current state of ignorance in politics was nowhere new。 Overall the book was very well researched and offered solid commentary at the end。 All hope is not lost I was skeptical about this book， concerned it would just be a complete bashing of the right but wanted to read it because I genuinely like Andy。 I was pleasantly surprised it kept me engaged。 Since most of the early part of the story happened either before I was born or before I was old enough to be engaged， I was very surprised that our current state of ignorance in politics was nowhere new。 Overall the book was very well researched and offered solid commentary at the end。 All hope is not lost people！ Don't give up！I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Jack Phoenix
，
My review for this book is now live in LIBRARY JOURNAL
J。
，
Thank you to both #NetGalley and Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster for providing me an advance copy of Andy Borowitz’s political novel， Profiles in Ignorance， in exchange for an honest review。If you are an avid reader of #TheBorowitzReport， enjoy political works， or are a history buff， then I highly recommend you grab a copy of #ProfilesinIgnorance。 From the moment I cracked open the introduction to the sweet bitter end， I found myself in tears。 While some percentage of those tears were in the Thank you to both #NetGalley and Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster for providing me an advance copy of Andy Borowitz’s political novel， Profiles in Ignorance， in exchange for an honest review。If you are an avid reader of #TheBorowitzReport， enjoy political works， or are a history buff， then I highly recommend you grab a copy of #ProfilesinIgnorance。 From the moment I cracked open the introduction to the sweet bitter end， I found myself in tears。 While some percentage of those tears were in the “laugh-to-stop-yourself-from-crying” category， most can be attributed to the author’s humoristic writing style。 #ProfilesinIgnorance provides an overview of several centuries’ worth of American politics and analyzes a sample of recent politicians to demonstrate how we arrived in an era where the masses champion electing individuals who are—or at least act like—ignoramuses （I did it， Andy！）。 。。。more
Steve
，
I loved this book。 I found it delightfully clever and there were a couple of times I laughed out loud。 The writing style is conversational and compelling， making the book impossible for me to put down。 Thank you to Netgalley and Avid Reader Press for the digital review copy。
Michael Hassel Shearer
，