Simon & Schuster - November 2003
320 pages - Hardcover

Buy @ Amazon / Chapters.ca

B O O K   R E V I E W

HAD ENOUGH? A Handbook For Fighting Back
by James Carville

James Carville is a rich man. And is often the case with political advisors whose career is based on advancing the causes (or some would say, power) of their particular party, his motives and faith to the cause are often questioned.

Did Carville hop onto the Democratic bandwagon in order to reap rewards from his paid speaking engagements, Heineken beer commercials, stints on Crossfire, work as a political operative, and book deals? Or does he truly care for the liberal—or, as Carville and others are now calling it, progressive—cause and all the goodies that come with it?

Reading Had Enough?, one comes to a conclusion that Carville's motives lie in the latter. Yes, he makes money, and as he says in the book, is a millionaire. But in his latest book, he comes off as one that does give a damn. About America, about his party, and about the progressive movement in America and how it's been tarnished by those right-wing villains.

As he writes in the prologue, Carville has "had enough of losing elections", "enough of losing arguments" (although it'd be fair to say that he doesn't lose many), "enough of a press too scared and pathetic to ask a follow-up question", and "enough of calling some B-rate cowboy my commander in chief".

This is not just another anti-Bush book. This is a book for Democrats, by a beloved, hardworking Democrat, to help the Democratic cause. Its surely not the most enticing read in the world, but it is non-fiction, and as the title maintains, Had Enough? is a handbook-sized handbook for Democrats to keep at their side and consult as often as possible when Carville's wise advice and facts are needed.

Oh, and there's some scrumptious-looking recipes, too. Why just fight like the Ragin' Cajun when you can eat like him, too?

Robert Furs