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Don't Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Unreason
by
The Progressive Woke Machine--from outrage mobs and online censorship to activists masquerading as journalists--is waging war against the last free thinkers in the world. This book is both an explanation of the current political upheaval and your guide to surviving it.
America, and the West in general, is in the midst of an identity crisis that's headed towards an outright ...more
America, and the West in general, is in the midst of an identity crisis that's headed towards an outright ...more
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Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
April 28th 2020
by Sentinel
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Start your review of Don't Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Unreason
i can't wait for my brain to go in recovery mode after taking so many high-level ideas from reading this book.
edit: i read rubin's book and i'm unsure how many stars i should give it. it deserves one for sure, but i don't want to dissuade people from reading it and finding out how stupid rubin really is.
here are my favourite high-level ideas i found in his book:
- dave rubin blaming himself for 9/11. apparently, he was the culprit for coming out of the closet (which succinctly shows how narcissis
A lot of hysterical people in here giving 1-star reviews to a book for entirely ideological and dogmatically-driven reasons.
I am not surprised, just pointing it out.
P.S. if anyone's still wondering about Dave, I would like you to know that - David Joshua Rubin, a GAY JEW is not a "far-right", sexist, homophobic, transphobic, racist Nazi White Supremacists.
P.p.S. The only way Dave is right, is as in correct/accurate/precise. ...more
I am not surprised, just pointing it out.
P.S. if anyone's still wondering about Dave, I would like you to know that - David Joshua Rubin, a GAY JEW is not a "far-right", sexist, homophobic, transphobic, racist Nazi White Supremacists.
P.p.S. The only way Dave is right, is as in correct/accurate/precise. ...more
I noticed the Goodreads review section is full of one-star reviews from people who haven’t actually read Don't Burn This Book, so let me confirm that I did download the audiobook and I did listen to it from start to finish. This meant I missed the myriad typos and misspellings others have cited, freeing me to focus my attention on Dave’s high-level ideas. Having done so, I can confirm that the widely-floating phrase, ‘indistinguishable from parody’ is an accurate description of what an embarrass
...more
I can assure you, the negative reviews this book is receiving are completely and utterly undeserved.
In the early chapters, Dave Rubin delineates a story of his coming-out as a gay man in a way that is actually quite hilarious. I realise that for him it was a difficult time, but he cracks jokes about the whole thing. This is good because it smacks of a man who has dealt with his pain and moved forward, which is precisely the theme of the entire book. And he somehow manages to do it while inserti ...more
In the early chapters, Dave Rubin delineates a story of his coming-out as a gay man in a way that is actually quite hilarious. I realise that for him it was a difficult time, but he cracks jokes about the whole thing. This is good because it smacks of a man who has dealt with his pain and moved forward, which is precisely the theme of the entire book. And he somehow manages to do it while inserti ...more
I want it to be satire but sadly it’s not, even though it reads like it. From making the completely debunked claim that Hitler was a left-wing socialist to complaining about the tiny (albeit very vocal) minority of the American left as if they actually exist in any meaningful numbers outside of Twitter, this book borders on radicalizing propaganda.
In a nutshell, it’s the victim complex in book form. Written by a grifter who made a complete political 180 after getting his show funded by the Koch ...more
In a nutshell, it’s the victim complex in book form. Written by a grifter who made a complete political 180 after getting his show funded by the Koch ...more
It’s funny to read the negative reviews of this book. It reminds me of the reviews for Triggered by Don Jr. Just a bunch of “woke” social justice warriors so blinded by their “cause” which is really just a regurgitation of the disgusting political narrative of the crazy left wing mainstream media and not an original thought of their own. Which just proves they haven’t even read this book because the entire point of this book is to encourage a person to be their own thinker. To embrace your OWN i
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The guy manages to cram every single right-wing culture warrior trope into ~250 pages (Hitler was actually left-wing because he was a vegetarian, the left hates free speech etc...). At least similar hucksters, like Dinesh D'Souza, pick one topic and explore that for 250 pages. None of Rubin's points are fleshed out and they read like a laundry list of whiny grievances.
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The thing about this book is that it ends as abruptly as it starts. I rarely give debut books one star because I understand the hard work that goes into writing a book, even a bad book. Well, everybody's pretty bad when they start, right? Yeah. But we are talking about an established talk show host here. Rubin's writing is irritating, immature and annoying, to say the least. Here's the thing:- I am not a conservative but I have read plenty of conservatives, including Peterson and Ben Shapiro. Th
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This book advocates for critical thought at a time when groupthink has become the status quo. There's a lot to like about this book, particularly the perspective of Dave Rubin who demonstrates a growing diversity of thought and background in a segment of society where many try to argue there is none. Most importantly, this is a book that discusses a rise in totalitarianism in America that has gone unchecked by mainstream media. The masses are waking up, and this book is one shining example of a
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Consider just this one paragraph taken from this book:
“…losing a debate isn’t a sign of stupidity or weakness, but a sign of growth if you’re willing to embrace it with humility.”
It was when I read that one sentence I realized that this book was indeed very special, at least to me .It is a book that as you read it, you find yourself putting the book down, taking a sip of your coffee, sitting back in your chair and not just think about what you have read, you truly think about what you have just ...more
“…losing a debate isn’t a sign of stupidity or weakness, but a sign of growth if you’re willing to embrace it with humility.”
It was when I read that one sentence I realized that this book was indeed very special, at least to me .It is a book that as you read it, you find yourself putting the book down, taking a sip of your coffee, sitting back in your chair and not just think about what you have read, you truly think about what you have just ...more
If you've been out of the loop with regards to the culture war, honestly this is a pretty good place to start. All your favorites are here, from IDW all-stars like Sam Harris and Jordan Peterson to lesser-known peddlers of discontent like James Damore and the Covington Catholic school boys. Each character, story, and idea receives a perfunctory analysis, decorated with a few platitudes (the left has are the real racists; facts don't care about your feelings; the woke mob is coming for anyone who
...more
You will read reviews on this book saying it's good or bad, sadly most are written from a political standpoint. This book isn't based on a political spectrum.
What skews many people's review is Dave used to be an extreme liberal, still is a traditional liberal but he mentions how the democrat party is no longer progressive. He gives a funny and thought provoking view on it.
I'm a democrat. I was recommended this book by a friend, read it and loved it. I'm still a democrat but would've enjoyed it ...more
What skews many people's review is Dave used to be an extreme liberal, still is a traditional liberal but he mentions how the democrat party is no longer progressive. He gives a funny and thought provoking view on it.
I'm a democrat. I was recommended this book by a friend, read it and loved it. I'm still a democrat but would've enjoyed it ...more
Part memoir, part self-help, part political commentary, this book is one that should be passed around to help others understand on a broad, light scale what is going on right now in the world.
Don't let the 1-star reviews scare you off. They exist to actually prove Dave's point that we have become tribalistic again, seeking only to defend our political groups and causes rather than actually listening to (and God forbid learning FROM) others around us who don't always share the same views as we d ...more
Don't let the 1-star reviews scare you off. They exist to actually prove Dave's point that we have become tribalistic again, seeking only to defend our political groups and causes rather than actually listening to (and God forbid learning FROM) others around us who don't always share the same views as we d ...more
Dec 10, 2020
Mike (the Paladin)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
political
My dad was a "southern democrat" (thank you Alabama [the singing group rather than the state here]). He could probably have been called a "Yellow Dog Democrat" (look it up if you never heard of it, it'll be good for you. As my teachers used to say if you look it up you'll remember it. And I didn't have the internet). The point in my mentioning my dad is that he would no more recognize today's "democrats" as Democrats than the other animals could tell the pigs apart from the humans by the end of
...more
I can only assume the people who categorized this book as 'Philosophy' did so ironically.
Excerpt:
"... Ukraine [...] gave up its nukes to become a NATO country [...], but when Russia invaded Crimea, Ukraine got zero support. The country gave up its most potent weapons for a signed bit of paper, which meant absolutely nothing."
Ukraine is not and never has been a member of NATO, and this is but one example of several basic, widely available facts Rubin got wrong. Yes, this is the quality you can e ...more
Excerpt:
"... Ukraine [...] gave up its nukes to become a NATO country [...], but when Russia invaded Crimea, Ukraine got zero support. The country gave up its most potent weapons for a signed bit of paper, which meant absolutely nothing."
Ukraine is not and never has been a member of NATO, and this is but one example of several basic, widely available facts Rubin got wrong. Yes, this is the quality you can e ...more
Having read the hyperbolic blurb, one would think that the book would present genuine tools for critical thinking. In reality, however, the book is little more than a pamphlet of bog-standard platitudes, dripping with an odd sense of deluded grandeur and bitterness. Rubin himself states at the beginning that ‘you don't need me to go for 250 pages about how the left has completely lost his mind….You already know this'. At this point you know the book will be a 'reassuring' read for some as Jordan
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I didn't read this, but Dave keeps telling his followers to flood the airwaves with positive reviews so I feel obligated to counteract that.
...more
Please, I beg of you, if you want to think freely or you consider yourself to be apolitical, this book is not for you. You want to seriously learn more about politics and be more of a "free thinker"? I suggest going to Khan Academy and taking their courses in economics and finance. They have a section under their MCAT course, with things on behavior, sociology, culture, and inequality. In their partner courses, they have a great mini-course on philosophy as well. A little bit of course work (ba
...more
The writing style is horrible with very simplistic sentences and words of a middle-school student. The book has no analysis or storytelling. It conveys NOTHING! The author repeats all his boring talking points: points he repeats every week on his show. The book is so bad, you would think there was no ghostwriter, but given the level of laziness we always see in Dave, I still think there was a ghostwriter, but of course, Dave was unable to detect the obvious bad job by his ghostwriter. Don't forg
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Just one of the awesome quotes from this book: "This aside, much of our foreign military intervention has been good - just look at Korea, Vietnam, and both World Wars, where our contribution secured much-needed freedoms."
WE LOST THE VIETNAM WAR DAVE GOD THIS IS EMBARRASSING ...more
WE LOST THE VIETNAM WAR DAVE GOD THIS IS EMBARRASSING ...more
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Dave’s journey from a left leaning progressive to a free thinking classical liberal has been quite an adventure. As a gay married man living in America, Dave spent the majority of his adult life subscribing to a certain political belief system based primarily on his immutable characteristics. Fed up with the mainstream media narrative and click-bait news, Dave decided to open up about his awakenin
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“Exhibit A: I’m guessing you’re no fan of socialism, which was a founding principle of the Nazi movement. The name “Nazi” is an acronym for the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, which most of today’s Democrat socialists conveniently forget. Actually, that’s an understatement. These people don’t just overlook this truth, they’ve totally rewritten history on the matter. These days, Nazism gets associated with conservatism at the drop of a hat, but historically it stems from the left. Adolf Hitler? An art-loving vegetarian who seized power by wooing voters away from Germany’s Social Democrat and communist parties. Italy’s Benito Mussolini? Raised on Karl Marx’s Das Kapital before starting his career as a left-wing journalist and, later, implementing a deadly fascist regime.”
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“Don’t Burn This Book may not usher in world peace, balance the national debt, or improve your sex life, but while those are worthy pursuits, that wasn’t my goal. Instead, I want to champion the values that keep people safe, sane, and free.”
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