This book, which was written before Dennis had his political awakening on September 11, 2001, is more center-left politically than he currently is. I think Miller has matured and become a realist since 9/11, and find it interesting comparing some of his rants in this book to his more highly evolved positions today.

The best rants in this book, though, are the apolitical rants, my favorite of which is titled "Fear of Flying." Dennis Miller hates flying, and his insights are extremely entertaining to me, a professional airline pilot. What is interesting here is that except for the actual fear of being airborne, I totally agree with him on the subject of modern airline travel. My favorite line from this particular rant sums up his position perfectly: "Once you've nestled into your seat, which was last cleaned by the Earth-bound third Wright Brother, Noodles, and you've arranged your miniscule stinky synthetic car wash shammy [sic] of a blanket and your Stay Free pillow pad that's the size and softness of a geltab multivitamin, and adjusted to the jet cold, tuberculosis-microbe-laden recirculated air that's blowing right down your spine, you've now achieved the comfort level of a North Korean POW with an ingrown toenail and no premium cable." What can I say? He's right. This is why on my days off you will see me as far away from the airport as is humanly possible.

I would give the book five stars, except the frequently needless adult language really restricts the audience of people with whom I can share this brilliant work. Dennis thanks for setting the world straight.


A Winner!   June 7, 2004
3 out of 5 found this review helpful

The book is 208 pages long and is divided into 52 different commentaries or "Rants" as Miller (The former host of Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update") calls them. Each rant is devoted to a particular topic. The rants (all of which are recycled from Miller's show) all begin with Miller saying, "Now I don't want to get off on a rant here" and conclude with "Of course that's just my opinion. I could be wrong".

The rants cover a wide range of topics from The Oscars to College Life to The War On Drugs and Country Music. Miller delivers them in a style that works just as well on the page as it does on a stage in front of an audience. Often when stand-up comics try to transfer their routines to book form, the attempt falls flat (IE: George Carlin's "Napalm And Silly Putty"). Miller's commentaries wouldn't be out of place in a Dave Barry/Tony Kornheiser column.

What's especially good about Miller is that while comedy is his trademark, a lot of times he offers up some words of wisdom. Here are a few examples:

"Maybe the reason Republicans are so pro-gun is because they need them to constantly shoot themselves in the foot".

"Compared to Clinton, eels are Velcro. But as reprehensible as he is, we love him".

A couple political samples there. Another good one is his commentary on The War On Drugs where he sets out to be funny and succeeds, while at the same time making a strong case for a commonly held viewpoint among many that the drug war is bogus.

The humor is, for the most part, consistently funny throughout the book. There are a few moments where Miller starts to go overboard with (...) jokes and (...) references. But the majority of the humor is dirty funny, not dirty and stale.

The only real drawback that I can think of about I Rant Therefore I Am is the fact that some of the more overly topical references now seem somewhat dated. Does anyone out there really care about the 1998/1999 Oscars anymore? Did they even care about them in the beginning?

I Rant, Therefore I Am is a good light read that's just the right length. If you want to see sacred cows become hamburger, pick up a copy of it. Another Amazon quick-pick recommendation is a fun novel called THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez


lost in space   December 25, 2003
5 out of 13 found this review helpful

What happened to this guy? He used to be funny
but no more. It seems that comedy has been replaced
by thinly cloaked hostility. Maybe he'll experience
an attack of conscience and retire.