Book Review: F.U.B.A.R. by Sam Seder and Stephen Sherrill - Page 2

F.U.B.A.R. may be at its best with Seder's and Sherrill's parodies. Their version of the speech FDR would have given after Pearl Harbor if he were the same type of "war president" as Bush is alone almost worth the price of admission. Equally as entertaining, if not more so, is their skewering of the media, particularly New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Seder and Sherrill present three columns Friedman might have written had he been present at historical events. His column on Galileo's inquisition is titled "The World is Flat," and Friedman treats the massacre at Wounded Knee as a skirmish with "antidemocractic forces" in the effort to bring democracy to the Sioux nation.

Seder and Sherrill pepper the work with sufficient facts to make their satirical approach more biting and, for some, more alarming. Yet some of it tends to come off more as a comedy script. This may be due in part to Sherrill's background as a writer for David Letterman's Late Night and Moore's TV Nation. This doesn't undercut the theme but simply leaves the feeling that some parts would be better for a viewing or listening audience than a reader.

Given their background and the book's title, no one is going to wonder where Seder and Sherrill stand on the issues. As a result, F.U.B.A.R. is a sermon for the choir. But even if they're heading for that lake of fire, a choir still needs a laugh once in a while.

Article Author: Tim Gebhart

Tim Gebhart lives in Sioux Falls, SD, where he practices law in order to provide shelter for his family, his dogs, and his books. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and his blog de guerre is A Progressive on the Prairie.

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