Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?

by Molly Ivins

Overview

Whether she's writing about redneck politics in her native Texas or the discreet charms of Bushwazee, Molly Ivins in never less than devastatingly honest—and hilarious.  Our toughest, funniest, and savviest columnist delivers the goods on:

-Texas politics: "Well, our attorney general is under indictment.  He ran as 'the people's lawyer'; now we call him 'the people's felon.'"

-The flag burning debate: "Bush's last birthday cake was in the form of the American flag, and he ate it—stars, stripes, and all.  Think about where that flag wound up—I call that desecration."

-Beign a woman in Texas: "There are several strains of Texas culture: They are all rotten for women... One not infrequently sees cars or trucks sporting the bumper sticker "Have fun—beat the hell out of someone you love."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780679741831
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/15/1992
Edition description:	1st Vintage Books ed
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.23(w) x 7.97(h) x 0.68(d)

About the Author

Molly Ivins began her career in journalism in the complaint department of the Houston Chronicle. In 1970, she became coeditor of The Texas Observer, which afforded her frequent fits of hysterical laughter while covering Texas legislature. In 1976, Ivins joined The New York Times as a political reporter. The next year, she was named Rocky Mountain Bureau Chief, chiefly because there was no one else in the bureau. In 1982, she returned once more to Texas, which may have indicated a masochistic streak, and always had plenty to write about after that. Her column was syndicated in more than three hundred newspapers, and her freelance work appeared in Esquire, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, The Nation, Harper's, and other publications. Her first book, Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?, spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list. Her books with Lou Dubose on George W. Bush—Shrub, Bushwhacked, and Who Let the Dogs In?—were national bestsellers. A three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, she claimed that her two greatest honors were that the Minneapolis police force named its mascot pig after her and that she was once banned from the campus of Texas A&M. Molly Ivins died in 2007.

Editorial Reviews

"If there is a shrewder, funnier observer of the American scene writing today that Molly Ivins, I do not know her. This is unconventional wisdom with no inhibitions.  Bless her and don't let her change."- David Broder, Washington Post

"A delight from start to finish... Molly Ivins proves that keen intelligence and a Southern accent are real good buddies... She has wise and often hilarious things to say." -The New York Times Book Review

"Wickedly funny."- Detroit Free Press

"Molly Ivins has birthed a book and it is more fun than riding a mechanical bull and almost as dangerous."- Ann Richards, governor of Texas.

From the Publisher

Ivins, past or present columnist for The Nation , Mother Jones , The Progressive , Ms. , and other unabashedly liberal publications, combines political savvy with a wicked sense of humor. Her primary target is Texas politics and ``bidness,'' but she also discusses Ronald Reagan (including her classic look back on the Cowboy Ronnie Show, ``Don't Worry, They're Happy''), George Bush (in a section titled, ``The Discreet Smarm of the Bushwazee''), journalism (``Coppeeeee!'' a eulogy on the Copy Boy), feminism (``The Women Who Run Texas''), and others. Ivins concludes with ``How Ann Richards Got To Be Governor of Texas,'' a breathless whistlestop tour of Texas's 1990 gubernatorial race, a classic paradigm for Texas politics. Highly recommended for academic libraries and political science, women's studies, humor, and journalism collections.-- Keith R.A. De Candido, ``Library Journal''

Library Journal