America, You Sexy Bitch by Michael Ian Black and Meghan McCain

Posted August 16, 2012 by shooting in Uncategorized / 9 Comments

America, You Sexy Bitch: A Love Letter to Freedom by Michael Ian Black and Meghan McCain

Review by Lauren

Copy from The Well- Read Wife, as part of her awesome Blogger Book Club (all opinions are still my own).

Official Summary:

She is a single, twentysomething, gun-loving, Christian, Republican writer and blogger, the daughter of a Senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee. He is a married, forty-year-old, gun-fearing, atheist, Democrat comedian, the son of a lesbian former Social Security employee. Meghan McCain and Michael Ian Black barely know each other. But they are about to change the way politics is discussed in America.

Or at least the way politics are discussed in their crappy RV.

In America, You Sexy Bitch, Meghan and Michael embark on a balls-out, cross-country tour starting in California, the heart of liberal America, and ending in the state of Connecticut, the home of blue-blood Wall Street billionaires. Along the way, they visit such cultural touchstones as Graceland and Branson, party in Las Vegas and New Orleans, pretend to be Mormon in Salt Lake City (only for a second), and go to a mosque in Dearborn, Michigan. They tour the nationโ€™s capital; they fire semiautomatic weapons. But mostly Meghan McCain and Michael Ian Black talk to each other: about their differences, their similarities, and how American politics has gotten so divided.

Review: When Mandy from The Well-Read Wife was offering copies of this book for review, I was interested but I honestly didn’t know what I would think. I’m already a fan of Michael Ian Black, but albeit, one that doesn’t know a ton about him. As for Meghan McCain…it really was a case of “I know the name” and that’s about it. But I kind of loved this book.

Now, to be honest, I’m not really a political person. I have my beliefs about certain things like everyone else but I tend to get confused by political terms and certain issues that the government handles. But I really did love this book. Black and McCain are almost polar opposites, and boy, did they fight! They definitely had their moments where nothing they said was going to make a difference. People have their beliefs and it’s hard to make anyone change them. But they also had a good time, talked about issues that they both believe in, changed their stereotypes about the other political party, and got to see their country and meet the varied people that make it up!

I suppose you could say I agreed with Black more than McCain on their widespread beliefs, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t agree with McCain on other issues. For one, both of them are for gay rights and so am I. However, Black is an atheist and I’m not. I’m more of a spiritual person like McCain. She’s also a firm supporter of the military and while I don’t always agree with everything, I’m like Black and McCain in the fact that we all support the men and women serving in the military, like my brother and others that I know.

I loved how the book was set up. Each chapter is a city in the U.S. from Las Vegas, Nevada to Nashville, Tennessee…and of course, to Washington, D.C where Black met McCain’s dad, Senator John McCain, for the first time. Each section is also a back and forth between both of these authors.

It will say Michael: (his point of view) and then you’ll get Meghan: (her point of view) and back and forth through the whole chapter. There are parts where they repeat what the other person already wrote, but it’s not tedious as it is actually nice to get a dual point of view and it’s not something that happens the whole time. Usually, one of them will write and then the other kind of picks up right after. It made it a more inclusive and engaging read.

Both Black and McCain are very honest in the book. They don’t try to hide the thoughts or stereotypes they have about one another or other people, but they also talk about the ways they change or grow throughout their trip too. Both of them seem very genuine and relateable and I liked that. It made the book very enjoyable and interesting!

I know that I’m enjoying a book when I want to share it with people. Throughout, I kept telling my sister things that I’d read, even reading direct quotes sometimes. I’m pretty sure she’s going to read this sometime in the future, so it will be interesting to talk to her after she’s read it all.

Again, I didn’t agree with every point of view that either Black or McCain made, but it was interesting to see how they viewed certain issues, and in the end, it all came down to their mutual love of America. They might believe our country needs different things to properly grow, but they also understand the need to open up communication amongst politicans and the average American citizen.

This is already a much longer reviw than I normally aim for, as I know you have plenty of other blogs to read, but if you read any of it…thank you and I hope you’ll be like me and take a chance on a book that might sound out of your realm of literature. It was truly an engaging book and opens up a lot of ideas to discuss and think about.

9 responses to “America, You Sexy Bitch by Michael Ian Black and Meghan McCain

  1. The setup of this book sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing this with me. I'm not familiar with Meghan McCain, but I'm familiar with Black–I think he's hilarious.

  2. I haven't heard of the authors or the book, probably because I'm not in the USA but I really like a book that makes you think and I know that feeling of wanting to talk to someone about the book and share some facts with them because it's good!

  3. I know Mccain's daughter since I lived in AZ for awhile but not Black. I am sure this makes for an interesting read. Normally not my favorite reading material but then again it is always nice to expand one's horizons!

  4. Thanks for the review! This doesn't really seem like my thing because I'm not the hugest political person, but it does sound really interesting for people who do like politics ๐Ÿ™‚ I'll keep your review in mind ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. This does sound like a funny and thought provoking book. I'm not a political person so I don't know if it would appeal to me but I'm glad you enjoyed it. Your review of this was actually quite interesting. ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Even though you didn't always agree with them, this sounds like a refreshingly honest book that was entertaining overall. The dual POVS sound interesting!

  7. You know, I saw this book was out and didn't really think twice about it. Now I'm thinking I might actually check it out. I don't know Black at all and, like you, I only really know McCain by name – and it sounds interesting! Plus I like the fact that they're traveling all over the US…

  8. I really admire the fact that Meghan McCain knows what she believes and she really is in both political camps. Must be why I'm registered Independent, even though I'm pretty conservative. I'm also behind anyone who supports the military. When I hear someone is against the military and that's the reason they don't like Republicans, I automatically think, "Oh, you probably don't like me either then" because our entire life is military.
    I'll have to pick this book up!

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