Who Let the Dogs In?

In this selection of mostly humorous political columns ranging over nearly twenty years, Ivins praises some and skewers many, basing her left-leaning opinions on common sense, common decency, and a wide knowledge of affairs. She is delightfully plainspoken but likes people too well to be mean. Anna Fields delivers her words in a fine version of Ivins's voice and accent, with perfect emphasis and inflection, matching tone to content with exquisite care and taste. A sample of Ivins reading "Shrub" shows that Fields can't convey her gravity and fierce intelligence, but who could? The fun, energy, and wit Fields brings make these columns even more entertaining than they already are. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

September 6, 2004
Two decades of Ivins's smart, acerbic political commentary have been harvested for this highly entertaining collection, which includes a new introduction addressing what she calls our country's current "state of open corruptness and intellectual rot." Though a self-described liberal, Ivins is not inflexibly tendentious. Rather, she is a tonic against the mean-spirited pundits found on both sides. She criticizes the Bush administration plenty, but she also reserves some of her sting for Clinton and Kerry. Ivins's delivery is wonderful. Her crisp yet throaty Texan voice is firm and authoritative, but at the same time inviting and homey, and the twinkle in her eye is aurally palpable through the pluck and elfish spunk in her voice. Those who are wary of picking up this audiobook because it's abridged should think again. There's no question that Ivins (Bushwacked
, etc.) is a great oral, as well as literary, entertainer, just as there's no denying her genuine concern over the country's current political situation. "Having fun while fighting for freedom," she says, "is one of my life causes." Simultaneous release with the Random hardcover (Forecasts, July 12).

Terrific jazzy music introduces a five-star performance as Molly Ivins vocally skewers politicians of the last twenty years (Reagan, Bushes I and II, and Clinton), firing zinger after zinger across their bows. In her honeyed Texas twang she delivers an inexhaustible litany of devastating equal opportunity criticism, delightful if you share her views--distressing if you don't. She's always, always witty, discerning, humorous, classy, and wise. It's a tribute to her acute intelligence and wit that you'll think about the inequities, lies, and folderol she points out long after you've finished listening. L.C. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine