What do you think?
Rate this book
Adventures in a TV Nation
London. 20 cm. x, 241 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits. Encuadernación en tapa blanda de editorial ilustrada. Idioma Inglés. Michael Moore & Kathleen Glynn. [The stories behind America's most outrageous TV show. ]. Adventures in a TV nation : the stories behind America's most outrageous TV show. --Cover title. First published in 1998: in the United States by HarperCollins, in Great Britain by Boxtree .. Este libro es de segunda mano y tiene o puede tener marcas y señales de su anterior propietario. 0330419145
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 1998
3 people are currently reading
240 people want to read
About the author
Michael Moore
377 books522 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Michael Moore is an American filmmaker, author and liberal political commentator. He is the director and producer of Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, and Capitalism: A Love Story, four of the top nine highest-grossing documentaries of all time.[3] In September 2008, he released his first free movie on the Internet, Slacker Uprising, documenting his personal crusade to encourage more Americans to vote in presidential elections.[4] He has also written and starred in the TV shows TV Nation and The Awful Truth.
Moore is a self-described liberal who has criticized globalization, large corporations, assault weapon ownership, the Iraq War, U.S. President George W. Bush and the American health care system in his written and cinematic works.
Wikipedia
Michael Moore is an American filmmaker, author and liberal political commentator. He is the director and producer of Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, and Capitalism: A Love Story, four of the top nine highest-grossing documentaries of all time.[3] In September 2008, he released his first free movie on the Internet, Slacker Uprising, documenting his personal crusade to encourage more Americans to vote in presidential elections.[4] He has also written and starred in the TV shows TV Nation and The Awful Truth.
Moore is a self-described liberal who has criticized globalization, large corporations, assault weapon ownership, the Iraq War, U.S. President George W. Bush and the American health care system in his written and cinematic works.
Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 14, 2023
Moore and Glynn's companion book to their Emmy award winning TV series that managed to be aired in the United States for two seasons despite covering the likes of abortion, the KKK, racism, corporate corruption, Kuwaiti democracy post Gulf War, white male paranoia of minority interests etc. etc. This book is in a way, superior to many of Moore's others as it takes a frank look at how American TV shows are censored, controlled and/or aired.
The book that put Michael Moore truly on the map? It's a shame that Goodreads doesn't place his co-author with as much prominence as Moore - bit naughty really. Her name is Kathleen Glynn, at the time of publication she was his wife. This book focuses more on the ups and downs of the TV show, a bit of social commentary, but above everything else... comedy :). 7 out of 12, Three Star read.
Kathryn Glynn
2012 and 2003 read
The book that put Michael Moore truly on the map? It's a shame that Goodreads doesn't place his co-author with as much prominence as Moore - bit naughty really. Her name is Kathleen Glynn, at the time of publication she was his wife. This book focuses more on the ups and downs of the TV show, a bit of social commentary, but above everything else... comedy :). 7 out of 12, Three Star read.
Kathryn Glynn
2012 and 2003 read
August 2, 2016
Adventures in a TV Nation is both like and unlike other Michael Moore books. It has its share of polemical lefty bromides, but has the advantage of being focused on one topic, Moore's two season television show from the 1990s, TV Nation. I believe this was Moore's first published book (along with a co-author that also worked on the show). The book is a very light read, and is Moore before he became truly famous. It's focused more on trying to pull a few laughs out of readers than on political ideology, though of course Moore's politics are impossible to miss.
I have only a dim memory of TV Nation from when it aired (as well as similar show Moore was involved with, the Awful Truth). This book recounts many of the stories that the show featured and reveals something about the process, from conceiving a piece, trying to shoot it, and then arguing with the network over changes to the product. This aspect of the book is probably the most interesting.
As in Moore's other written output, Adventures in TV Nation is just not as funny as it thinks it is. Moore is a supremely talented filmmaker, but that talent does not come across the same way on the page. The political discussion is garden variety preaching to the lefty choir. As you would expect, Moore is focused on economic justice and corporate crime in particular, which were featured strongly in the show. But the politics are mostly played down in an effort to be funny. As I said, the results are somewhat mixed.
At this point in time, there are very few people that would happen upon this book without knowing who Moore is and understanding what to expect. However, it is a fun exercise to project back in time to when Moore was still mostly unknown and working to appeal a mainstream television watching audience.
I have only a dim memory of TV Nation from when it aired (as well as similar show Moore was involved with, the Awful Truth). This book recounts many of the stories that the show featured and reveals something about the process, from conceiving a piece, trying to shoot it, and then arguing with the network over changes to the product. This aspect of the book is probably the most interesting.
As in Moore's other written output, Adventures in TV Nation is just not as funny as it thinks it is. Moore is a supremely talented filmmaker, but that talent does not come across the same way on the page. The political discussion is garden variety preaching to the lefty choir. As you would expect, Moore is focused on economic justice and corporate crime in particular, which were featured strongly in the show. But the politics are mostly played down in an effort to be funny. As I said, the results are somewhat mixed.
At this point in time, there are very few people that would happen upon this book without knowing who Moore is and understanding what to expect. However, it is a fun exercise to project back in time to when Moore was still mostly unknown and working to appeal a mainstream television watching audience.
May 24, 2013
I bought this book on a whim. It was on super sale and it looked pretty interesting. I'd never heard of the show, but I always find the stuff that Michael Moore does pretty interesting. It was interesting reading about all the segments they did on the show. Even though the show was a while ago, I still felt like most of the topics they covered are still pertinent today. I think I might look this show up now and see if I can watch some of the episodes...
August 4, 2012
I wasn't expecting this book to be as good as his other ones since it was about their tv show and not the "michael Moore's opinoin on stuff" kind of books we are used to. I decided to read this one in english too. I never had the time to sit and watch TV Nation but now I really want to. I really want to see how all these projects they worked on were shown to the audience since in the book they tell us about a bunch of scenes that were deleted or censored.
June 18, 2017
How the Right hate the Left using their tactics
18 November 2011
Some people might wonder why, when I'm writing a review on a book, I generally discuss the underlying themes of the book rather than actually writing a review and commenting on grammar, structure, plot, and characters. Well, when we are dealing with non-fiction books, such as this one, plot and characters do not play a huge role, and with regards to grammar and structure I suspect (or rather hope) that all of the problems are ironed out in the editorial stage. Okay, I'm not an editor, and I have only edited a couple of books for friends, but I generally deal with those issues at this stage and not after. Thus, when I pick up a book and read it, it is generally the underlying themes that interest me.
Now, the next question that you're are probably asking is what has the above paragraph to do this this particular book? Absolutely nothing whatsoever. However, I have (and will continue to) develop the themes through many of the other similar books that I have read on the topic of the abuse of corporate power. I will mention it for this book as well, and also comment on a book itself, but I am also attempting to set the context of where I am coming from with a lot of my reviews (if one is to call them as such). Now, one of the guys at my work (actually the boss) suggested that I should start a blog because I seem to have a lot of strange ideas. My response to that is, 'that is what Facebook is for'. Okay, not everybody is on Facebook, and others have fled Facebook due to its addictive nature, but to me, it is a blog that I can use without having to set up my own website, and since I allow pretty much everybody to access my account (which is why I keep all of my personal and identifying details hidden) I see no reason why I should put the extra work into creating my own webpage (and Goodreads is also pretty good for these blogs as well).
Anyway, this book is a book that was written to accompany Michael Moore's first TV series, Adventures in a TV Nation. This only went one season and then became The Awful Truth, which lasted a further two seasons, at which time Michael Moore canceled it and went on to produce movies. Now, Michael Moore is credited (and rightly so) for making documentaries interesting, and he did this with Bowling of Columbine. There is a lot of criticism of Moore's approach, and how he has used film to manipulate the truth to create his documentaries. All I can say to that is that this is a pretty clear case of the pot calling the kettle black. What they are saying is that it is fine for corporate America to use the media to peddle their propaganda to the unsuspecting population, but nobody is allowed to use the same tactics to peddle an opposing point of view.
Okay, it appears that Michael Moore does not like criticism being leveled against him, and he is also accused of hypocrisy and greed, but it is interesting that these accusations are leveled against him by the very people that he is attempting to expose. It is as if by saying that the messenger is bad, then the message that he is propagating is bad, but then this is being said by people who are responsible for poor safety standards which result in the death of workers, and then refuse to cough up compensation for the workers' families who are entitled to be compensated.
However, this is the United States (and scarily enough we see it happening here in Australia as well). I'll use one recent event as an example and that is bringing in pre-commitment technology for poker machines. Now, poker machines are a Pandora's box. There was a time when you could not find any poker machines in Australia, and then bit by bit they were allowed into the casinos and were then allowed into the pubs and clubs. What this has created is an industry where people sit in front of them all day, pour their money into the machines, and end up destroying lives and families. However poker machines are big money for pubs and clubs (and all you have to do is look at my local to see that there are only two parts of the pub that seems to make money – the bottle shop and the poker machines) so pre-commitment technology is a threat to their profits, and thus they start a fear campaign (based upon misleading information) as to how this new technology will destroy the pub culture in Australia. This, to be honest, is rubbish. Sure, there are a number of pubs and clubs that simply scrape by on earnings from poker machines, but this does not justify the fact that families and lives are destroyed by them. Further, the original (and it is still the case now) plan was that only 'high roller' poker machines (that is ones where the minimum bet is five dollars) that will be subject to the ban. However, the clubs and pubs conveniently leave out this information.
As for the book, yeah, well, it was okay. Some of it was amusing, but actually watching the series (which I have not had the opportunity to do so) would be a lot more entertaining than simply reading a book about how the series was made.
18 November 2011
Some people might wonder why, when I'm writing a review on a book, I generally discuss the underlying themes of the book rather than actually writing a review and commenting on grammar, structure, plot, and characters. Well, when we are dealing with non-fiction books, such as this one, plot and characters do not play a huge role, and with regards to grammar and structure I suspect (or rather hope) that all of the problems are ironed out in the editorial stage. Okay, I'm not an editor, and I have only edited a couple of books for friends, but I generally deal with those issues at this stage and not after. Thus, when I pick up a book and read it, it is generally the underlying themes that interest me.
Now, the next question that you're are probably asking is what has the above paragraph to do this this particular book? Absolutely nothing whatsoever. However, I have (and will continue to) develop the themes through many of the other similar books that I have read on the topic of the abuse of corporate power. I will mention it for this book as well, and also comment on a book itself, but I am also attempting to set the context of where I am coming from with a lot of my reviews (if one is to call them as such). Now, one of the guys at my work (actually the boss) suggested that I should start a blog because I seem to have a lot of strange ideas. My response to that is, 'that is what Facebook is for'. Okay, not everybody is on Facebook, and others have fled Facebook due to its addictive nature, but to me, it is a blog that I can use without having to set up my own website, and since I allow pretty much everybody to access my account (which is why I keep all of my personal and identifying details hidden) I see no reason why I should put the extra work into creating my own webpage (and Goodreads is also pretty good for these blogs as well).
Anyway, this book is a book that was written to accompany Michael Moore's first TV series, Adventures in a TV Nation. This only went one season and then became The Awful Truth, which lasted a further two seasons, at which time Michael Moore canceled it and went on to produce movies. Now, Michael Moore is credited (and rightly so) for making documentaries interesting, and he did this with Bowling of Columbine. There is a lot of criticism of Moore's approach, and how he has used film to manipulate the truth to create his documentaries. All I can say to that is that this is a pretty clear case of the pot calling the kettle black. What they are saying is that it is fine for corporate America to use the media to peddle their propaganda to the unsuspecting population, but nobody is allowed to use the same tactics to peddle an opposing point of view.
Okay, it appears that Michael Moore does not like criticism being leveled against him, and he is also accused of hypocrisy and greed, but it is interesting that these accusations are leveled against him by the very people that he is attempting to expose. It is as if by saying that the messenger is bad, then the message that he is propagating is bad, but then this is being said by people who are responsible for poor safety standards which result in the death of workers, and then refuse to cough up compensation for the workers' families who are entitled to be compensated.
However, this is the United States (and scarily enough we see it happening here in Australia as well). I'll use one recent event as an example and that is bringing in pre-commitment technology for poker machines. Now, poker machines are a Pandora's box. There was a time when you could not find any poker machines in Australia, and then bit by bit they were allowed into the casinos and were then allowed into the pubs and clubs. What this has created is an industry where people sit in front of them all day, pour their money into the machines, and end up destroying lives and families. However poker machines are big money for pubs and clubs (and all you have to do is look at my local to see that there are only two parts of the pub that seems to make money – the bottle shop and the poker machines) so pre-commitment technology is a threat to their profits, and thus they start a fear campaign (based upon misleading information) as to how this new technology will destroy the pub culture in Australia. This, to be honest, is rubbish. Sure, there are a number of pubs and clubs that simply scrape by on earnings from poker machines, but this does not justify the fact that families and lives are destroyed by them. Further, the original (and it is still the case now) plan was that only 'high roller' poker machines (that is ones where the minimum bet is five dollars) that will be subject to the ban. However, the clubs and pubs conveniently leave out this information.
As for the book, yeah, well, it was okay. Some of it was amusing, but actually watching the series (which I have not had the opportunity to do so) would be a lot more entertaining than simply reading a book about how the series was made.
June 20, 2012
In 1994, Michael Moore (subsequently best known for Fahrenheit 911, Bowling for Columbine, and being a general pain in the butt to the Republican Party) produced, with others, a television show called TV Nation. The idea behind the show was to raise awareness of injustice and corruption in America, and to do so in a humorous style. Less than 20 episodes were made (although Moore went on to do another similar show called The Awful Truth), but durng its short run, it was highly acclaimed.
This books covers just some of the pieces which the show did - including Crackers the Corporate Crime Fighting Chicken, the CEO challenge (can the highly paid CEO’s of various companies, actually do the lesser paid jobs which their employees do?), and finding work for former KGB operatives (to name just a few).
The book, like the TV show, is all done in Moore’s familiar irreverent style, and does set out to achieve it’s aim, in that it provides laughs, but also deals with serious subjects. It also shows the compromises that had to be made in order to get certain segments on air, and the sometimes dangerous situations that Moore and his crew found themselves in. (There were actually some segments that never made it to air, or were severely edited before they were shown.)
I do tend to agree with Michael Moore on many issues, but don’t always agree with the way he reports them, as his reporting can be heavily biased and edited to make things look the way he wants them to watch. Nevertheless, he highlights the hypocrisy of the media and the people that run it, as well as certain politicians, and he manages to make serious issues watchable and interesting to read about.
This books covers just some of the pieces which the show did - including Crackers the Corporate Crime Fighting Chicken, the CEO challenge (can the highly paid CEO’s of various companies, actually do the lesser paid jobs which their employees do?), and finding work for former KGB operatives (to name just a few).
The book, like the TV show, is all done in Moore’s familiar irreverent style, and does set out to achieve it’s aim, in that it provides laughs, but also deals with serious subjects. It also shows the compromises that had to be made in order to get certain segments on air, and the sometimes dangerous situations that Moore and his crew found themselves in. (There were actually some segments that never made it to air, or were severely edited before they were shown.)
I do tend to agree with Michael Moore on many issues, but don’t always agree with the way he reports them, as his reporting can be heavily biased and edited to make things look the way he wants them to watch. Nevertheless, he highlights the hypocrisy of the media and the people that run it, as well as certain politicians, and he manages to make serious issues watchable and interesting to read about.
June 30, 2011
I never watched the TV show, but I had read Moore's more recent books. Recently Moore comes off as a left-wing nutjob, mostly through his methods, not his arguments. In this book, and the TV show is describes, Moore takes a more main-stream approach to problems in the US, like prison reform and healthcare. It still has an obvious liberal bias, but his conclusions are a lot easier to swallow.
February 6, 2016
Just when I thought the stories that TV Nation weren't crazy enough - here's the stories behind the stories. All the great memories from a 17-year-old show I loved came flooding back. I don't agree with Moore's politics, and had to scan past some of his chapter introductions, but the stories were ungodly funny!
January 31, 2008
It was interesting to read what compromises Michael was willing to make in order for certain segments to air. But it brought little else new to anyone who's already familiar with his antics and politics. A nice and light read.
September 27, 2007
I'm in it!
January 30, 2008
This book is hilarious!
July 16, 2008
Liked the TV show, the book has some moderate appeal, if you like left leaning lens through which Mr. Moore views the world.
January 11, 2009
By far not as good as his other books
May 18, 2011
Michael Moore did the TV series "TV Nation"; this book has stories and episodes related to it.
Enjoyable read when you are traveling or have a lazy afternoon.
Enjoyable read when you are traveling or have a lazy afternoon.
August 2, 2011
Very funny stunts on a wide range of political topics. Very easy to read in normal Moore style.
September 16, 2011
interesting book about one of the first thing Michael Moore did in TV, funny, controversial and interesting as much of the thing Michael Moore does
August 26, 2012
i liked the tv nation show- film a savings and loan wipe out support group- ask ask newt gingrich which government programs he'd like to cut in his district- classic
June 25, 2013
Ich habe ein Buch bei BookCrossing.com registriert!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12003314
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12003314
July 6, 2016
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13696857
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13696857
February 17, 2020
Wie soviele Begleitbücher zu Serien/Filmen/Musik ist dieses Buch nur in Kombination mit dem "Original" ein Leseerlebnis. Dieses Buch bereitet die im NBC/Fox und BBC gelaufene Serie "TVNation" auf. Federführend für die Serie ist Michael Moore und seine damaligen Frau die Produzentin Kathleen Glynn.
In Moore-Manier wird in der Serie der amerikanischen Gesellschaft der Spiegel vorgehalten. Man muss die Art der Provokation mögen um die Beiträge lustig zu finden.
Ich habe angefangen die einzelnen, teilweise sehr kurzen Kapitel, ohne die dazugehörigen TV-Beiträge zu lesen. Und mir hat etwas gefehlt. Dank der unendlichen Weiten des Netzes konnte ich in den Genuss der Serie kommen und mit dem Augenblick hat sich das Buch wirklich sehr amüsant gelesen. In den einzelnen Beiträgen wird die Grundidee des Sendebeitrags dargestellt, oftmals mit etwas mehr Hintergrund als im TV-Beitrag (wichtig für nicht USA-Kenner). Auf die eigentliche Aktion wird dann oft sehr kurz eingegangen - 1-2 Sätze. Da springen dann die Bilder des TV-Beitrags ein.
Moore schreibt offen von seinen Erfolgen und Misserfolgen der einzelnen Ideen, den Problemen und der stattgefundenen Zensur durch die Fernsehanstalten. Er gibt also zu sich gebeugt zu haben. Dies macht es sympathisch und realistisch.
Im Gesamten betrachtet eine gute Ergänzung zu der Serie. Als alleiniges Werk unvollständig.
In Moore-Manier wird in der Serie der amerikanischen Gesellschaft der Spiegel vorgehalten. Man muss die Art der Provokation mögen um die Beiträge lustig zu finden.
Ich habe angefangen die einzelnen, teilweise sehr kurzen Kapitel, ohne die dazugehörigen TV-Beiträge zu lesen. Und mir hat etwas gefehlt. Dank der unendlichen Weiten des Netzes konnte ich in den Genuss der Serie kommen und mit dem Augenblick hat sich das Buch wirklich sehr amüsant gelesen. In den einzelnen Beiträgen wird die Grundidee des Sendebeitrags dargestellt, oftmals mit etwas mehr Hintergrund als im TV-Beitrag (wichtig für nicht USA-Kenner). Auf die eigentliche Aktion wird dann oft sehr kurz eingegangen - 1-2 Sätze. Da springen dann die Bilder des TV-Beitrags ein.
Moore schreibt offen von seinen Erfolgen und Misserfolgen der einzelnen Ideen, den Problemen und der stattgefundenen Zensur durch die Fernsehanstalten. Er gibt also zu sich gebeugt zu haben. Dies macht es sympathisch und realistisch.
Im Gesamten betrachtet eine gute Ergänzung zu der Serie. Als alleiniges Werk unvollständig.
June 12, 2019
I found this in a charity shop and bought it for a quick, cheerful read. It was quick but it was far from cheerful. It is the same poor joke retold many times which quickly becomes tedious. There is a patronising aspect to his writing which, alongside his self-assuredness, soon starts to grate. Were this juvenile humour written by a juvenile it might be cute, but as it is written by an adult (despite the hat) it is just irksome.
June 4, 2023
I honestly was expecting this book to be a little outdated (like Downsize This!) but honestly it was a little scary to see how relevant a lot of the topics addressed on TV Nation still are 30 years later. It was also really interesting to read about how they got their segments approved (or not) and the process a TV show such as theirs has to go through to be broadcast.
April 24, 2021
I haven’t seen the show but reading about it makes me wonder that it must be something crazy in the 90s. However, reading a book about a show that I’ve never watched was a bad idea. I couldn’t make any connection to this book. Two is only because I loved the ideas of various episodes of this show.
April 5, 2023
Fascinating read, now to find the whole series on YouTube!
August 14, 2024
Absolutely devoured this one. Like Michael Moore 101. Snippets of peak lefty humour. FFO Louis Theroux and Karl Marx
January 9, 2017
I've only really seem one of Michael Moore's films and read none of his books so I'm not particularly over-saturated with his politics or his presentation style. None of the politics of the book are new ideas or controversial ideas but reading all the little skits organised as a way of political expression and protest felt irreverent but never dismissive of real issues. It didn't take long to read and it wasn't deep but I definitely enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews