When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden: What the Government Should Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism

by Bill Maher

Political provocateur Bill Maher tells it like it is in a useful and hilarious guide for the many Americans who want to do more here at home to help the war effort, but are at a loss as to what. Thirty-three dynamic posters and several classics from our government's archive— accompanied by text from one of our leading pundits and cutting-edge comedians— make this the perfect book for this time in our nation's history, the zeitgeist of post-9/11 America. This is the book that will help Americans make the connections between what we do and how it can help our troops and ourselves.

Genres: Humor, Politics, Nonfiction, History, War, American, Terrorism

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2002

About the author

William Maher, Jr., is an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He hosted the late-night television talk show Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central and ABC, and is currently the host of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO. On June 1, 2006, he also began hosting an Internet-exclusive talk show on Amazon.com entitled Amazon Fishbowl.

Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary. His commentaries target a wide swath of topics, from the right-wing to the left-wing, bureaucracies of many kinds, religion, political correctness, Hollywood, the mass media, and persons in positions of high political and social power, among many others. He supports the legalization of cannabis and gay marriage and serves on the board of PETA. Maher is number 38 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-ups of all time.

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It would be really easy to write a review absolutely trashing this book, too easy, even for me . . . and I like Bill Maher, I mean sure he's a complete douche-bag and the way he smirks at his own jokes makes me what to punch him but I still like his show, so I'll keep it positive.


On to the positive points of this book:

This is by far the best (and only) book I've ever purchased from the dollar store . . . now I feel like I should explain why I was in a dollar store, rest assured I had a good reason . . . on second thought, I don't have to justify myself to you people.

This book would be a wonderful choice to keep in the bathroom, you could read a "chapter" each visit or sixteen to seventeen chapters if you're a guy . . . and why do guys take 45 minutes to poop, It's weird if you think about it . . . it's best not to.

No need to worry your brain with any deep thoughts, this book is so shallow my six year old nephew could understand it.

I read this book in two sittings, the first 45 pages in the time in took me to eat lunch and then I finished it up a few days later when I came home at 3am drunk and high, and believe me you won't find a better book to read at 3am when you're drunk, and not just because the font is something like 24 point and double spaced in order to stretch out about 4 pages of stale jokes you've already heard twice on his show into a 120 page "book."

The pictures were nice, the book could have been improved significantly if it was all pictures and no words.

[Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Maher lost his show back in 2002 when he said that the 9/11 terrorists were not cowards. He wrote this book to highlight what the government should be telling us rather than the misinformation and terror alert level we get (Code Orange, do I need a sweater today?). His major points: 1) Ask Americans to Sacrifice – in WWII, we had to give up to defeat the enemy. JFK, “ask what you can do for your country”. Bush says drive more and consume more. 2) Political Correctness – We should use racial profiling –why wouldn’t we spend more time looking at young, Arab males. 3) Know the enemy – Sun Tzo and Patten, “Rommel you stupid bastard, I read your book”. The whole issue of “why do they hate us?” – they hate because we care so little about the rest of the world to even now why they hate us. Our airport screeners can not tell the differences between an Arab and a Mexican. Americans are proud of our lack of knowledge of foreigners (including our President). “I’ll never understand people who interpret the Bible literally and the constitution loosely”.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed some of his takes, but others not so much. Generally, I’m a Bill Maher fan and I watch his show every week. I knew going into reading this that I wouldn’t agree with everything he wrote, but that’s ok. Actually, it’s a good thing. If you only agree with people, it’s actually very boring.

Worth noting, this was written in 2002 and so some of his takes have aged horribly. Note within a note: Per GR and Amazon, this book was released in 2005, but in the book itself he often refers to him actively writing it in 2002…about a year after 9/11.

[Julien V · Rating 1 out of 5]

The less is said about this piece of paranoid, islamophobic crap, the better. To think I sorta liked Bill Maher before - despite the douchiness and all the zionist apologetics. To add insult to injury, this pamphlet isn't even funny. Not once.

[Bobbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know who I've discovered I hate over the years? This sanctimonious motherfucker.

[Livia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful look at this issue. I picked it up after watching an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the way Bill Maher thinks and writes, from the humor to the straight talk. (Admittedly the book got a little repetitive after a bit, though.) Some quotes:

Even when the government issues a Terrorism Advisory, it's maddeningly vague -- "Terrorist alert today! Code Burnt Orange!" "And what?" I always want to say, "Bring a sweater?" - Loc 103

An original 1943 wartime poster warned Americans, "When you ride alone, you ride with Hitler!" - Loc 194

On September 11, a whole city cared for 3,000. Like many people, I have had a love-hate relationship with New York City for many years, but on that day, you only saw the greatness. Strangers helping strangers, businesses offering their inventory to rescue workers and, in one touching scene, a cab driver stopping to pick up a black guy. - Loc 304

We do, upon reaching a very high comfort level, mostly choose to go from ten to eleven instead of helping another guy far away go from zero to one. - Loc 341

remember the American nuclear submarine that surfaced directly under a Japanese fishing boat, killing nine? That we have to stop from happening again. Like it ever would. Have you been on an ocean? It’s big. It’s literally an ocean of water. That a Japanese fisherman could awaken one morning as he does every day and by lunch have a Los Angeles Class Attack Submarine up his ass just means a certain allowance for fate must be accorded. America is bad at discriminating between danger likely to strike again, and red herrings, the freakish helpings of disaster that no man or plan can prevent.

Having the Pentagon attacked is a red flag, not a red herring. - Loc 495

The brave Argentinian author Jacobo Timerman once said, probably from his jail cell, “It is very easy to hate a Nazi, a guardian in a Gulag. But the real danger is not them. It is the decent people who compromise with evil.”

Eric Hoffer said, “The mystery of our time is the inability of decent people to get angry.” - Loc 514

A Secret Service for the people would be much like the actual Secret Service: a well-dressed, well-paid, elite unit—part soldier, part policeman, part detective, and part psychiatrist—who, like the president’s posse, realize there’s no time to stop and search everyone individually and no sense in directing their attentions randomly. They’d know how to scan a crowd, identify incongruities, and sniff out trouble, all while watching but not being watched.

And we don’t even have to make this up as we go along—Israel already does it, we could just copy. Ben Gurion, Israel’s international airport, is the safest airport in the world, and El Al the safest airline. The only complaints they get are about the size of the portions. A full 50% of the people working at Ben Gurion are involved with security in a skilled, highly-respected Secret Service force much like I’ve been describing. These aren’t part-time, desultory. GED-hopefuls juggling offers between life and death security work and Arby’s—they’re educated, astute professionals, many of whom are ex-army intelligence officers. They work efficiently, but almost invisibly, on high alert, treating each and every day as if there is going to be an attack. Like rappers.

Remember our famed shoe bomber, Richard Reid? He flew El Al the year previously and his look, background and demeanor caused concern and special treatment—as well they should have! Did you see the picture of this guy? Sorry, but creepy is creepy, and for ages and ages civilized human societies understood you hire “detectives” who detect creepy and check it out to see if it’s harmless creepy or something to worry about.

In 1986, a young, pregnant Irishwoman named Anne Marie Murphy was about to take an El Al flight from London to Tel Aviv. Israeli profilers interviewing her learned that she had a Palestinian boyfriend and, again, being detectives, were wise in the ways of the world. They knew a woman in love is capable of doing any­thing for her man, and there are men in this world who can get a woman to do anything. They’re called pimps.

And Anne Marie Murphy’s pimp, the Israelis discovered, had unbeknownst to her planted plastic explosives in her suitcase. - Loc 549

F Scott Fitzgerald has an indispensable quote: “The test of a first-rate intelli­gence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at once and still

retain the ability to function.” Or as I like to call it, “O.J. killed his wife, and the police are corrupt.” - Loc 580

On the morning after the 9/11 attacks, San Antonio-based Saudi national Dr. Al Badr al-Hazimi was arrested at his home and hauled off by federal authorities, mostly due to the fact that he had the same last name as two of the hijackers. Completely innocent, Dr. al-Hazimi had his home searched, was told his visa was revoked and was transported, under guard, to the East Coast for a week of con­stant interrogation before he was cleared. And when it was suggested to Dr. al-­Hazimi that he was owed an apology, he said, “With all respect, I might dis­agree... because it is not time to point fingers and to apologize. It’s time to coop­erate with officials In other words, in a time of heightened alert and national crisis, Dr. al-Hazimi chose to practice tolerance rather than demand it. - Loc 592

The first duty within any group is to police itself. Right now, the Muslim world is like a neighbor family who have a rotten teenager named Fundamentalist Terrorism living in their house. He’s terrorized the neighborhood, torn up our lawns, and threatened our children. But he’s a real thug, and he’s still living at home, and the rest of the family is terrified to confront him.

But it’s their job to confront him—not ours.

And now our message is clear: “Either you control him or we will.” - Loc 627

Saying someone is religious is heard in most of America as a compliment, a reassuring affirmation that someone will be moral, ethical and, after a few glasses of wine, a freak in the bedroom. - Loc 670

“Religion” is a magic word that allows priesthoods to do anything they want to people. The Taliban kept their women in beekeeper suits. - Loc 701

terrorists don’t use banks or securities, which are assets that can be frozen. They’re crazy, not stupid. And they don’t hide it under their mattresses—we’ve seen the caves. No, the bin Ladens of the world take their dirty oil money and convert it into dirty, untraceable things like diamonds. Diamonds are small, easily smuggled, not stopped by metal detectors and can’t be identified by dogs—although they can be sniffed out by women from 1,000 yards: that’s over nine football fields to you and me. - Loc 719

Diamonds start out in the earth, and eventually that earth is part of a country, like Sierra Leone, Angola or the Democratic Republic of Congo. In those countries, desperate battles for control have been going on for decades, and the armies that fight the battles finance their ambitions with diamonds. Villagers are forced to mine the diamonds by ruthless rebels who maintain order through terror: by raping the women and hacking off the limbs of the children—something, by the way, you never see in the DeBeers ads. - Loc 727

Madonna once said: “AIDS is the greatest tragedy of the twentieth century,â which I'm sure came as a surprise to a lot of Holocaust and cancer victims. - Loc 822

We give 0.01% in non-military foreign aid per year of our budget--dead last among the rich industrial nations, and less than Elton John's monthly Visa bill. The average voter, thinking foreign aid accounts for 15% of our budget, wants to cut it down to 5%. - Loc 827

As I’ve said, we are in a Clash of Civilizations, and nowhere is that more clear than in the treatment of women. I sometimes look at pictures of women covered with tarps like the infield at Fenway Park, and I think: What if these were black men in some white country? Black men being beaten for showing an ankle or a wrist? Black men dying because it was against the law for them to receive medical attention? Black men starving to death because they weren’t allowed to work or stoned to death for having sex? There would be protests, riots, U.N. boycotts. Jesse Jackson’s head would explode. - Loc 891

Two months after the attacks, on Veteran’s Day 2001, another plane mysteriously fell out of the sky in Queens, N.Y.. leading many to wonder if there might have been a bomb planted on board, not a far-fetched scenario since 90% of the luggage in America was still going unscreened. And there was as yet no system in place matching passengers with their luggage. However, spirits had been raised just the week before when, responding to pressure from 9/11. The FAA announced that screening would be fully operational in 2017. - Loc 949

Immediately following 9/11 it was reported that inquiries to military recruitment offices had skyrocketed. Yeah, the inquiries skyrocketed. The enlistments did not. - Loc 1054

If Christmas is really about Jesus, why does your front lawn have to be Jesus in Las Vegas? - Loc 1165

Saddam famously said he would win the contest with America in 1991 because we couldn’t stomach the thought of 50,000 dead in one battle, and he was right. - Loc 1298

And the folks that have been killing Americans lately don’t see our annihilation as a rush job. If you’ve seen the footage of Osama bin Laden, he always has a serene, confident look on his face, like he just communed with Allah or got blown. It’s a look that seems to say, “Death to America, but all in good time.” - Loc 1313

The problem in America is not too much speaking out—it’s too little. We’re not overrun with rebels here, we’re overrun with sheep. - Loc 1357

“We have our extremists and fundamentalists, too," I hear people say. Yeah, but America is a great country because our kooks and nuts are funny, not scary! - Loc 1421

[Fintan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always been a fan of Maher's talk show and thought it'd be fun to check out his comedy in the written word.

Unfortunately, it was a little light on both comedy and substance for my tastes. There's plenty of gags to be found but they really take a back seat to the political points Maher is trying to get across. It reminded me of some of the graphics segments he does on the show that are kind of funny but outstay their welcome after he hits third one with eight more to go.

Maher clearly thinks for himself and its refreshing that he doesn't hit you with the obvious liberal answer to every problem (he supports racial profiling for instance). His criticism of consumerism and lack of selflessness and communal spirit in today's world were fairly spot-on in my view. Others, like his gung-ho support for unlimited defense spending, are views he'd probably distance himself from today. It's just a shame more time and effort wasn't spent backing all these points up, as it might have made for a meatier read.

The book is super short and there are worse ways to kill an hour. In the forward he praises his team for helping him take the book from concept to publishing in a matter of months, but that kind of betrays the problem. If you are looking for political satire, Stewart and Colbert's offerings are slicker, better put together, and focused squarely on the comedy. If you want some hard hitting political opinions, Maher's book is just too lightweight.

[Dave Burke]

Bill Maher's advice for what we all could do after septemeber 11th - and Maher's frustration at Bush's advice to "Shop"

Maher has a lot to say and certainly isn't always right but he speaks his mind and doesn't care whose toes he steps on, even when being told "Americans need to watch what they say now". A lot of people could use a dose of his attitude, which is summed up by this quote

Americans today confuse freedom with not being asked to sacrifice.

[Cliff · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like Bill Maher's snarky sense of humor, I do, you'll probably like this book. It's basically and extended version of his old, Politically Incorrect tv show. Although I don't agree with alot of what he says, he says a lot of things most people won't. Even if you don't agree with his point of view, his ideas are worth a ponder.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny a little of the time, serious a lot of the time, thought-provoking throughout, and very relevant.

[Eric Althoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a difference two decades hath wrought. Or, the more things change, are they more or less the same? I picked up “When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden” in 2002, not long after Bill Maher was fired by ABC over comments he made about “cowardice” (as in, the 9/11 hijackers, while many many terrible things, were not cowardly). The subtitle is what the government “should” be telling us to fight the war on terror. It’s now 2020, and while the “war on terror” never ended, it has largely taken a backseat in the current imagination thanks to our “war” on the coronavirus. But let’s put that aside for a moment and instead look at the author’s intentions at the time his book was composed.

In sum, Maher takes to task the Bush Administration for its ethos in the post-9/11 world: Go shopping. Don’t sacrifice. Buy that gas-guzzling SUV to say F-U to our enemies. The turn of the millennium was unquestionably a time of prosperity for America before that awful September day, and it seemed that rather than take a good, hard look at why 9/11 happened, we were told to continue on as before—almost assuring that something similar would happen again (although, 19 years later, we are fortunate this has not come to pass, at least not in an attack on our shores).

Sadly, much of what the comedian and agit TV host remains true now, not the least of which being how we pay our “heroes,” as the writer says, “like chumps,” be they police, firefighters or soldiers. (To this list we must now add first responders, who are dying trying to stall the virus’s spread.) An entitled people were never asked to do very much, and so it’s little wonder that we continue to be civically disengaged from public life. As long as we have WiFi and cable, why should we volunteer anything?

Maher’s criticism is at its most biting when he parodies WWI- and WWII-era posters that asked the public to donate scrap metal, enlist in the armed forces, keep the enemy guessing by not broadcasting secrets (oh for the time before Facebook and Twitter). His new posters satirize American life at the dawn of the 21st century, as well as how being smart was pushed aside in the name of political correctness—which he has always defined as “the elevation of sensitivity over truth.” In “When You Ride Alone,” this includes treating “all” airline passengers as equally suspect rather than young men of Middle Eastern extraction. The author posits that if, instead of profiling, we performed “proactive intelligence screening,” people might get behind it.

Because Maher is a comedian, “When You Ride Alone With Bin Ladin” is of course funny, but it’s the kind of humor that makes you wince and squirm—which makes it all the more incisive. We should be able to laugh at anything, even security, but within the chuckles comes a deeper, darker lesson: Only those who laugh at the danger can effectively gauge its true peril.

[Jay Rain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating - 7.4

Not as quick a read as expected, but due to some deep editorial content - has interesting views on how America can improve its situation and really points out the homo-economicus theory

Starts becoming repetitious fifty pages in, and loses value in the overall message; Perhaps more social issues could have been covered than oil and terrorism, but that is the name of the book

Interesting Thoughts
We have grown accustomed to success without effort. Nothing is ever our problem, recovered from Sep 11th by Nov 2001

We have become a nation of individuals, accustomed to homo-economicus

Annual income for firefighters and police is $35M. Army recruits is $13M, Teachers $28M. Skewing of priorities

Having airport security check everyone is inefficient and expensive – posture. Cannot approach anyone wo risk of hurting feelings, stereotyping, or lawsuits. All being asked is to answer more questions

Stop calling it profiling and call it proactive screening

Ground Zero - the point where a nuclear explosion occurs - Sep 11th is not the same

Why do they hate us? They hate us because we don’t even know why they hate us

Planet is a small pond - everything we do has a ripple effect

Displaying a flag or buying ribbons is not actions - to think that is a contribution hurts more than helps

We bitch about the necessities that are relatively cheap, but pay outrageous amounts for items we do not need

Improving our oil efficiency by dropping SUV’s would eliminate the reliance on oil from the Middle East

We are slaves to cheap oil which as corrupted politics, threatened the environment, and funded our enemies

The real axis of evil in America is the power of marketing and the gullibility of people. There is no drug paranoia - it is an easy political sell, and takes the heat off oil companies who make more campaign contributions

2001 - Bush stated no more than $40B for terrorism but $140B tax break for campaign donors

Airport security - use the Israeli model of educated ex-army officers

While true that all Muslims are not terrorists, most terrorists are Muslim. Which should be concentrated on more

We have become hyper-entitled to our individual liberties and personal rights that we put ourselves before the greater whole

People like to alter their mood because we have screwed up the planet

Diamond trade on P58 - has illegitimate ties in all steps of the equation

Tax Motivated Expatriation - enjoy all the benefits of the government without having to pay the taxes. IRS estimates that $70B is lost each year

Great to be color blind - but blind is still blind. I would rather see and then use good judgment than not to see at all

US gives 0.01% in non-military foreign aid per year of budget - dead last in the industrial nations

Humans of all races have good and evil - if roles were reversed not much would have changed. It was not whites who were capturing the slaves in the African interior and bringing them to port

US Presidents care about approval ratings and keeping office then doing what is right

Domino Theory - make a stand or it all falls down- Hitler, Vietnam

Koran - treats women as physical property - it is a set of laws

The treatment of women in other countries are appalling - imagine if it was black people in America. Not all religions are the same

Turkey - converted from Muslim to Western tradition

Change for Change bucket - throw all your loose change into a bucket that will go to airline security - better than spending on coffee - cool symbolism

Media panders - 80M killed in Bangladesh, but the focus is on the two Americans. US lives are more important than any other lives

Columbine freaked out mid-class America and gun in schools - something that has plagued the Black community for decades

Our parent’s generation wanted to give them an easier life and spare them from hardship.

Chinese Proverb - One generation plants the tree, the other gets the shade

Children are not getting proper education on history - we are letting the kids grow up stupid. Making for a very insecure society

Recruits have to be bribed to go into the US Army - no longer doing it for your country, but doing it for yourself

Victim’s find themselves in harm, heroes put themselves in harm - tragedy or unfortunate accidents do not equal heroes. It is not heroic to beat cancer or doing something else for self-preservation

US Army is a mercenary army that is made up of the lower class w limited career choices. They stand up and fight so that we do not have to.

Education is moving to an entertainment arena Becoming a very stupid society

Conserve energy - fine your child every time they leave the light on

Politicians do not what is best for America but what is the best way to re-election. Number crunching and poll-driven

America represents less than 5% of total population but consumes 30% of total resources. Pay farmers not to grow crops to keep retail prices high

Gluttony kills - top selling prescriptions are all targeted at bad diets

Produce enough grain to feed the world, but let it rot away or feed livestock for better beef. Causes pollution and bad health

Enemies are reloading - they are not done

Government can not be trusted to tell the truth as they are owned more than ever by moneyed interests which is always in conflict

America is king of the world for now - that will change. Every nation gets its change to carry the big stick. America is lenient compared to previous rulers

Kill the world w kindness - will make the world safer and greater

[Charity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I notice that some of the reviews have mentioned that this book is outdated. Well, yes. That's what happens when you pick up a book 17+ years after the major event it's written occurred.

Can Maher be offensive? Sure, it's part of his shtick. Also something I understood before cracking this sucker open.

Beyond those two salient points, this is the kind of book that will not ever be picked up by the people who should be reading it. While I don't agree with all his views in this book (it's a little heavy on the Islamophobia for my taste), I think he lands on most events in ways that are worth thinking about in more depth than it takes to just scratch the surface.

Some of us are lucky (those of us born in America after 1950), really lucky and we kind of don't get it. Many Americans could more readily give you a recent update on the Kardashians than locate most Middle Eastern counties on a map with any success. The idea of a someone being labeled a "hero" has long since been watered down, at best, and completely devoid of the word's original meaning, at worst. And Americans really don't care. We live in a day and age where it's somehow OK, or even celebrated, to not "get involved in politics." That doesn't mean a person has made some lofty choice and is now gloriously living above the fray; it means that a person is actively checking the box that makes him/her an ignorant fool. Everything from who makes decisions about the school your children attend to what roads in town get fixed to whether your state is taking or refusing federal funds to support health care and consequently you're paying 50% more than the state next to yours to whether or not your child's teacher is packin' heat it his classroom DEPENDS on the participation of Americans in our political system. You really want to leave all that up to chance? You can, but then don't complain when your car's suspension falls out on main street after hitting a pot hole the size of the Grand Canyon, or when you pay $350 for a prescription medication that used to cost you $20 or when little Johnny gets grazed by a bullet in his Kindergarten classroom when his teacher is playing Wild Wild West with a Bad Guy. THOSE are the things you're signing up for when you commit to "just not really being interested in politics."

[Mohamed Yousif · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book not because I agree with what he wrote in it, but because he has the audacity to come out straight forward and say what he really believes. His idea of profiling Arabs and Muslims for security measures was one of the ideas that I found hard to swallow at first, but when I tried to understand where he was coming from I began to realize that it has some rational bases. One that I don't agree with, but it's always nice to explore the ideas of those who view the world differently. I also remember hearing some politicians say that the American people have to sacrifice things like privacy for the sake of security, but I never actually took it as a fact. To me it was just another opinion. Bill Maher also emphasizes the idea that the American people must sacrifice political correctness and whatever else that fuels the terrorists including of course oil. He doesn't seem to see however that there might be alternative ways of dealing with terrorism without jeopardizing the comfortable livelihood that some Americans like to enjoy. I haven't read on the topics concerning the issue much, but if somehow through international relations and foreign policy we make it harder for the terrorists to get their hands on the oil money that the governments and the private corporations control, we can then disarm the terrorists from its benefits. I know for a fact that the Saudi Arabian government does not endorse terrorism, but I also know that a lot of its citizens do. So if perhaps through some work the Saudi government could more closely watch it's civilians and stop them from supporting the terrorists, the Americans could freely enjoy their oil. This of course is work that must be done outside of American borders but it is nonetheless an option. I also gave up on the idea that a mass movement may start for instance, where the American people (or any people) could be persuaded to stop buying blood diamonds. It sure would be nice to try, but banking on it may not yield any results. Since we know that most people won't sacrifice their comforts for the greater good, a system that addresses the greater good while simultaneously nurturing's people's current lifestyles would be a safer bet. That's why I don't dislike the benefits that are advertised for military recruitment. It's only fair since it's a dangerous low-paying job, and heroism as Bill defines it is a rare commodity. Also Bill Maher tends to stick his nose in issues that should not be of his concern, like what he considers women maltreatment in Islam. He seems to think that the "different culture" argument is a bubble, but I know for certain it isn't. I do understand that it could become a danger once it starts to unfairly infiltrate his community, but until then he shouldn't be distracted by how women in Islamic countries wear "bee suits". I could say more about the book but I'll leave it at that. I'd like to hear more of Bill Maher though, that's for sure. I really enjoy reading the work of writers who don't lean backwards to satisfy the audience and he's certainly not one to do so.

[Akshay · Rating 1 out of 5]

When you embark on a solitary journey, my friend, you embark on a perilous odyssey where the shadows of danger lurk at every turn. "When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden" is a literary masterpiece crafted by the brilliant mind of the esteemed comedian and wordsmith, Bill Maher. In the sacred tome, Maher boldly denounces the Bush administration's woeful mishandling of the noble war on terror, asserting that it is rooted in a treacherous concoction of fear and deceit. He also implores upon the noble citizens of this great nation to embrace the spirit of selflessness and rise to the occasion, gallantly joining the battle against adversity.

The book is an absolute masterpiece, crafted with the utmost precision and finesse. It effortlessly captivates the reader's attention, leaving them spellbound and yearning for more. Maher, oh Maher, a true master of the art of communication! With his razor-sharp wit and unparalleled sense of humour, he effortlessly weaves his words into a tapestry of persuasion. His points, oh how they land with such impact, leaving no room for doubt or hesitation. Truly, Maher is a force to be reckoned with, a shining example of the power of effective communication. Not only does he dish out a plethora of fascinating facts and mind-blowing statistics, but he also flawlessly weaves them into his arguments, leaving no room for doubt or scepticism.



Alas, the book, like a rose with thorns, is not without its imperfections. One glaring problem that arises is that Maher's analysis of the war on terror tends to be overly simplistic and shamelessly one-sided, my dear interlocutor. He dances around the issue like a squirrel on a hot tin roof, never providing a fair shake or a balanced perspective. He's got a knack for conveniently sweeping counterarguments under the rug, like they're mere dust bunnies in the corner.



Yet another pressing matter at hand is the vagueness and utter lack of realism in Maher's call to action. He fails to offer any concrete recommendations on how patriotic Americans can valiantly contribute to the noble battle against the scourge of terror. Instead, he simply advises them to "embrace the art of sacrifice" and to "immerse themselves in the noble act of getting involved."



When one embarks on a solitary journey, they unknowingly embark on a perilous expedition alongside the infamous Bin Laden. This captivating literary masterpiece delves deep into the recesses of one's mind, stirring profound contemplation and evoking crucial inquiries regarding the ongoing battle against terrorism. However, it is but a mere tome with its fair share of imperfections, plagued by an overly simplistic analysis and enigmatic pleas for action.

[Bradley Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished reading "When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden" by Bill Maher. In this collection of essays published a few months after 9/11, Maher proposes ideas and resolutions about how Americans should live and what they can do for their country. Fondly looking back at the American spirit during and after World War II, Maher notes a trend that Americans have been lazier and are doing more to hurt their country. While citizens back then volunteered and exemplified the true meaning of sacrifice, our current society believes patriotism comes in the form of spending money and putting flags on your car.

Americans have it very easy for the most part. How many of us can truly say we have sacrificed something great for the better good? Maher explains various examples of how this can be accomplished. For example, we can limit (or end) our reliance on foreign oil that funds the Islamic extremists. This could come in the form of car pooling, turning off your lights, or buying energy efficient electric cars. Maher also proposes not pigeon holing ourselves into living in a victim mentality as well as being more mindful of how out actions affect people abroad. When Americans care about a particular issue, it is because it affects them personally or hits close to home. This allows some countries to feel ignored which breeds animosity towards our way of life. Simply ignoring or being unaware of external issues can ultimately hurt us.

Published in 2002, some of the ideas and scenarios have become dated as a lot of things have happened in the last 14 years. Maher can come off as an Islamaphobe because of his stance on political correctness and profiling (he believes it is more damaging to national security to screen children and the elderly at the airports rather than people who could like look the enemy), but he is on point about how our acceptance of other cultures has made us tolerant of intolerance (stoning and forced circumcision of women, for example).

The motif of the book draws inspiration from the propaganda posters of World War II. With each new essay, there is a stylized one-sheet that points out key issues and hypocrisies of the current Bush administration and the governmental blunders. These help to make the sometimes dull essays a little more humorous.

[Janet Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been on a bit of a politically-fueled comedy book reading bent lately, and since I generally like Bill Maher's style, I thought I would check this book out. This book is definitely different from his New Rules books by featuring only essays by him--well, except for the political posters, which were inspired by or based on the ones that were made during World War II.

This book is also different in that it isn't really all that funny. It's more of an educational sort of thing. As is probably obvious by the title, this book has to do with the post-9/11 world that the book was written in. Oddly, even though it was written in 2002, much of what he said in this book still applies to current attitudes and policies in this country. That, in itself, is rather alarming.

There were some things about the book that made me feel a little less comfortable. While I'm used to his comedy having some edge, this book was a lot edgier than what I expected. I understand the frustration he had with the country and the world in 2002 because I felt that way a lot, too. I guess I was just disappointed that he made a book that a reader would think should be comedy into a bitter rant-fest.

And while it was different from what I had expected, the book was also full of wisdom. Sometimes it is easy to dismiss the things that Maher says because he is a comedian, but that really just makes him a type of anthropologist or sociologist. He definitely observes a lot about the world, and he is unafraid to share his thoughts on what he likes and what disturbs him. That alone makes this book worthy of reading, even if you just wanted to see the guy smiting his enemies with his snarky wit.

[Mboconnor31 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read and well worth it. Primer on the inequality in the world and US's role and place in it. Includes a sound critique of American values and how we remain happily ignorant or apathetic of our local and national environment, politically, economically and socially, as well as the ways and concerns of foreign cultures and governments along with the link between the two.


In the end, Bill Maher is very hard on the people. Rarely, does he show sympathy for how tough it is for the average person struggling from pay check to pay check, if they are lucky enough to have steady employment let alone healthcare or a work place, family or friends that care about your well being.

He decries their ignorance, their laziness, their undeserved lust for the good life, their obesity and our unbalanced emphasis on individual rights over the good of the whole, he rarely offers the understanding of systemic problems, like our political system that serves the corporations with their lobbyists, the military that is like a middle class welfare program, the industrial agro businesses and fast food establishments in the context of the individuals limited ability to choose differently to get above it all. It always seems to be the little stupid man's fault, which seems unfair after the book's theme is harped to the ground.

It is a depressing state of affairs, and Bill illuminates it well with his typical mocking of women that just want diamonds ... et al and his well known perspective on the state of the Middle East. Too bad you feel like a fool and a knave in the end.

[Lucy Furr · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a super fast read; it went down easily in one sitting.

On the one hand, I'm not really a big fan of Bill Maher (I was attracted to the book simply because of the title, having been aware of the old “when you ride alone, you ride with Hitler” posters and figured it might be good for a laugh) and I will fully admit, it was better then I thought it would be. On the other hand, even though it exceeded my expectations, my expectations were pretty low to begin with and it was exactly the kind of book I thought it would be: ranting instead of informing.

Bill Maher actually brings up several points that I wholeheartedly agree with, but he never backs anything he rants about in the book with any real substance, other than more ranting. Its like reading Dennis Leary (rant after rant after rant), but Bill Maher isn’t nearly as funny.

I did get a few chuckles out of it though (his jab at Robert Downey Jr., outdated as it was, had me in stitches for a moment), and it did get the brain working a bit, but in the end, the simple fact is, this has been done before, and its been done better.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

While there were some rants that I didn't agree with, for the most part, I found myself agreeing to alot of what Maher had to say here. Written not long after 9/11 he has some great points about terrorism, national security and the way forward which, sadly, still ring true today (we've made a stunning lack of progress). It made me realize just how far we have to go.

I recently read and reviewed America Alone (another book I really enjoyed, by conservative author Mark Steyn), which makes some of the same points that Maher, a liberal writer and pundit, makes in this book (which is to say the over-arching theme that too many Americans claim not to "do politics"). But both authors argue it's not (solely) about politics. It's about waking up, not believing everything you're sold in the media, doing your own fact-checking and becoming an educated citizen of the world. It's an obligation, not a demand on your free-time.

Some crass remarks and language, but otherwise recommended.

[LeeLee Lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This takes about an hour to read max.

What it pretty much does is copy old propaganda posters into modern settings to emphasize what we should be doing as a country to keep it together during these tough times. These updated propaganda posters, which were mostly lifted from WWII posters, remind us of how much the elder generations sacrificed during times of war. There were ads to carpool, to grow your own food, to skimp on new clothing -- overall, to use less and help out in the community more.

Contrast that to, of course, today, when the suggested remedy for the nation's situation is "economic patriotism." People are still driving huge cars that require gas money to be spent, which in turn funds terrorism. People don't want to sacrifice today. Asking what was asked of our grandparents, of us, seems horrific. There are very few real patriots left, really. Sticking an American flag on one's car really just isn't cutting it.

[Toney · Rating 1 out of 5]

since im not 69 years old i dont know who the heck bill maher is and ive never watched his stupid HBO show. i assumed he was like a more Old and stupid jon stewart, dispensing milquetoast liberal wisdom with smirking gray-haired paternalism, but the reality is evern worse somehow!!!!

this retarded book is filled with asinine post-9/11 moron hysteria and "straight-talkin'""" "non-partisan" bullet points such as :

- Muslins should do their patriotic duty and not complain about being profiled/discriminated since its their're religions fault that terrorism happened
- We need to Hunker down and increase defense spending until we can be Safe . gov't s duty is to keep us SAFE

apparently shitlord bill maher realized how embarrassingly dated and reactionary his book was because he released an 'updated' version with less stupid shit in it i guess, but luckily for me my Free Kindle Book Pack contained the original, shittier version. in conclusion this book sucked lol

[Alex Norcross · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a little dated, having been written after 9/11, but before the invasion of Iraq. Maher is spot on with his criticism of American consumerism, ignorance, and obsessions with things that don't matter. A lot of the things he discusses are problems that should be addressed and sadly still remain untouched and rarely examined by our leaders. Some of his arguments, however, are extremely biased and short-sighted. Maher writes that "Taking literally ancient parables from thousands of years ago is much more dangerous than playing with a loaded gun." No, its not. Maher's prejudices and arrogance, particularly in matters relating to religion versus rationality (two ideas that are not necessarily opposites), keeps him from making a holistic argument and realistic representation of the world.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

While many of the things Maher writes are common sense (and bear in mind it was written at a time when "gut feelin's" and raw emotion trumped common sense), and he makes a lot of valid points about personal sacrifice and American willful ignorance, I found myself disappointed by some of the things he wrote as well. We should be threatening countries that harbor terrorists with nuclear attack? Really?

Also, the book is extremely western-centric. At one point Maher writes that free speech and equality for women are better than the alternatives of public beheadings and "women are property", which is very true, but then goes on to write that our political and economic systems are supreme as well, a point which is very much debatable.

Taken as a whole, it's a quick read, thought-provoking, and somewhat entertaining, but could do with a little less of Bill Maher's snark.

[Mathias · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was spot on and brilliant but in my case he was preaching to the choir so I didn't walk away with a lot of new information. However, Maher calls out a group of people, the fool we all know who "doesn't get into politics" as if it's some sort of badge of nobility. This book is for that fool.

Had I only a small understanding of the information in this read I'm sure I'd have given it a 4. It's funny and short but I think a book like this could have benefited from some supplementals, a little more meat for his fans that presumably agree with him already. Even just photos of the WW2 propaganda posters he often mentioned would have improved the read greatly. As it stands, it was like reading a transcript of Maher doing his show without the conversation and debate from his guests. So I take it down to a 3.

Political incorrectness for life!!!

[Hallie Huffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didnt have TV at the time, so I never watched Politically Incorrect, but I watched his other weekly show for a while. While I liked his style I found he was repetitive and that put me off reading this one for a long time. But this book was smart and I liked that it offered concrete examples of what should be done by "the little guy" to fight terrorism AND TO UNDERSTAND IT. Taking us through the process of how terrorist groups are funded and the direct link between terrorism and poverty gave an insight Im surprised isnt being offered on highway billboards. I also liked how he explained the link between Arab Muslims to terrorism while also addressing the obvious logical fallacy many Americans have made in ignorance. I think Americans WILL find much of the talk of profiling offensive, but that and a nickel.....

[Ian Sanchez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not much of a fan of this book. Sometimes Maher is right (Drug legalization, the need for a culture of sacrifice) but other times he is dead wrong. A lot of the jingoistic tripe in here, especially the last essay, and the parts where he defends racial profiling, are just cringeworthy in hindsight. It also seemed to me that Maher bought the Bush administration line about terrorism being an existential threat to the nation, and was blinded to the fact that it's unfeasible to wage war on a tactic. Nevertheless, his equal-opportunity bashing of libs and conservatives is occasionally interesting. With that said, if you've seen some of the interviews Maher gave in 2002, like when he went on Larry King right after his show was cancelled, you can go ahead and skip this one. It's basically the same stuff.

[Hila · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a kind thing to say that this book has aged a *lot* in the >10 years since it came out. For a book that's supposed to make you angry, it does just that, and some of its points are well made, but it's padded with horseshit for data (once I catch gross errors in things I *do* know something about, and know that are not new information, I immediately assume everything else is out of the ass bullshit), and some run-off-the-mill misogyny and racism in the guise of despising political correctness (yes, you are *allowed* to say you think all arabs smell bad and all women have a dog-like reflex from thousands of feet away to perk up and go chase a diamond, that don't mean I will take you seriously after you make them).

Bottom line? Mostly a waste of paper, bytes, and/or time.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

What have we sacrificed for America?

1.) Stand for flag.
2.) Be a democratic citizen. (Applicable every 2-4 years.)
3.) Listen exclusively to the side of the aisle that echoes your concern

Maher's main thesis of "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." (Which I think he lifted from some empty headed politician) is, and always will be, a crucial responsibility for all Americans.

The fact that this book is still applicable 16 years on is a bit worrisome. That being said - read it. Unlike Bill Maher's usual books that are often filled with dated material, this is a tome that should be taken seriously yet can still be placed on your comedy shelf. What a sacrifice!