The Worst Person in the World: And 202 Strong Contenders

It must be said of Keith Olbermann's new book that there is a dearth of new material here; most of its 267 pages consist of verbatim transcripts of his on-air Worst Person in the World Countdown segment from July 1, 2005 to June 1, 2006. Still, if you're like me, WPITW is my favorite part of the program, and it's a genuine treat to have (nearly) a year's worth of them gathered into one convenient tome. In many ways, Olbermann's book serves as a time capsule for the year that was; reading through each day's list of nominees is a journey that visits all of the year's major news stories and some that were not so major (such as the story of the New Hampshire woman who sued her doctor because he informed her that she was obese.) In addition to the daily list of nominees presented on Countdown, the book also includes several extended "Honorary Nominees" (generally about two or three per month) that explore in more detail issues of the day, ranging from sports, politics, stupid criminals, and everything in between. While Olbermann has become known of late for his social and political commentary, it must be said that the majority of the anecdotes in this book are apolitical in nature, focusing instead on human stupidity in the more general sense. That having been said, this book is not likely to gather a huge following among political conservatives. I genuinely enjoyed this book and would imagine that anybody who enjoys Keith's signature wit and erudition will as well. Hopefully, he'll follow it up with future volumes; after all, there are plenty of other post-June Worst Persons in the World that deserve to be permanently immortalized!

I began watching Keith Olbermann's show when the 2004 election was looming and I was in desperate need of a news program to watch that wasn't aimed at a person with a fifth-grade education and wasn't full of pro-White House spin. Enter Keith Olbermann: a man whom I vaguely recalled as having been a sportscaster sometime in his past, who turned out to be my savior. A man who could take the news, cut the crap and propaganda out of it, and dish it up with a side of snark when warranted and full, utter seriousness when required...and always knew the difference between the two. A man who was no more afraid to toss aside the Republican talking-points script than he was to toss his own script into the air at the end of his Top Three Newsmakers segment. Or to just ball them up and throw them at the camera, like he did the sheet of paper at the end of his show. Then there was the night he actually went into full Howard Beale mode, trenchcoat and all...Yes, this is MY idea of a news anchor!! A guy who believes in the ideals of journalism, yet still knows how to have fun. I'm so glad that now he's come out with this book. There's not much here that he didn't either air during the past year on the show, post as a blog to the MSNBC Web site, or both, but that hardly matters. Rereading it all and having it between two covers is still a pleasure and I still laughed afresh at some of the "choices." My only disappointment is that one of his best commentaries of all, the post-Katrina "The 'City' of Louisiana," is missing. This book comes highly recommended both to Keith's old fans, who will enjoy finally having a bound hard copy of his wit and wisdom, to the new ones he's now developing after his brilliant retort to Donald Rumsfeld and his 9/11 commentary...proof that while he may have been on the cutting edge to begin with, he's finding his audience amongst people who think like he does. Who have a vision of America that's based on the Declaration and the Constitution--not on the Project for a New American Century. Here's hoping we see many more books out of Keith--and not just "The Worst Person in the World II," either.

In the past year, Keith Olbermann - already considered a "god" among sports fans - has become a hero to the progressives of this country. His willingness, especially in recent weeks, to call out the Bush Administration and his constant naming of conservatives to his Worst Persons list - like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter-"geist", and "Falafel Boy" Bill O'Reilly - as well as his willingness to do actual news have made Olbermann the most underrated journalist in our time. This book, while it is mostly a compilation of his Worst Persons segments in the last year, calls people out in a humorous manner, which is not typical of the news. He does, however, let other aspects of his personality - such as the whole Yankee apologist thing - slip (nominating Bubba Crosby for the Yankees' losing a playoff series with the Angels, or his honorary naming of the Boston Red Sox - although that was for the whole Mientkiewicz ball incident). I strongly suggest this book, in concert with the works of another O'Reilly favorite, Al Franken.

I have to say I was a bit skeptical, at first. This is a GREAT BOOK I could not put it down. It is a quick read, but full of great story's. I highly recommend it!!!!

OK, I'm a shameless fan of Keith Olbermann (AKA He Who Must Not Be Named to Bill O'Reilly). I have loved his blend of sarcasm, humor, satire, and deadly serious news reporting since the launch of Countdown on MSNBC. As he points out in the book, O'Reilly might have the better ratings, but their goal from the outset has been to have the better audience, not the bigger one. He also slams O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, and a fist-full of others on many different topics. Essentially, if you have an enormous opinion of yourself and absolutely no sense of humor, you've got a big, fat K.O. bull's eye on your forehead. I especially compliment Olbermann for his treatment of how O'Reilly got his facts completely and utterly wrong about the Battle of the Bulge (I won't spoil it). Effectively, Billo tried to justify atrocities committed by American troops in Iraq and, in doing so, slandered all honest servicemen/women who have ever served (including my own father, who could tell Billo a few things about what a REAL battle looks like). Like Olbermann, the one trait I cannot stomach is hypocrisy, and he gives voice to that sentiment better than I ever could. Keep it up, KO.