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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 327.56940092 EAN: 9781416556138 Edition: 1 ISBN: 1416556133 Label: Free Press Manufacturer: Free Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 288 Publication Date: April 22, 2008 Publisher: Free Press Studio: Free Press Editorial Review: Product Description: Shut Up, I'm Talking is a smart, hilarious insider take on Israeli politics that reads like the bastard child of Thomas Friedman and David Sedaris. Now a political writer for Salon, Gregory Levey stumbled into a job as speechwriter for the Israeli delegation to the United Nations at age twenty-five and suddenly found himself, like a latter-day Zelig, in the company of foreign ministers, U.S. senators, and heads of state. Much to his surprise, he was soon attending U.N. sessions and drafting official government statements. The situation got stranger still when he was transferred to Jerusalem to write speeches for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Shut Up, I'm Talking is a startling account of Levey's journey into the nerve center of Middle Eastern politics at one of the most turbulent times in Israeli history. During his three years in the Israeli government, the Second Intifada continued on in fits and starts, Yasser Arafat died, Hamas came to power, and Ariel Sharon fell into a coma. Levey was repeatedly thrust into highly improbable situations -- from being the sole "Israeli" delegate (even though he's Canadian) at the U.N. General Assembly, with no idea how "his" country wanted to vote; to nearly inciting an international incident with his high school French translation of an Arab diplomat's anti-Israel remarks; to communicating with Israeli intelligence about the suspected perpetrators of suicide bombings; to being offered leftover salami from Ariel Sharon's lunch. As Levey got better acquainted with the personalities in the government's inner sanctum, he witnessed firsthand the improvisational and ridiculously casual nature of the country's behind-the-scenes leadership -- and realized that he wasn't the only one faking his way through politics. With sharp insight and great appreciation for the absurd, Levey offers the first-ever look inside Israel's politics from the perspective of a complete outsider, ultimately concluding that the Israeli government is no place for a nice Jewish boy. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Juvenile, patronizing, and not very funnyThe author, probably because of his youth, shows consistently a superior and patronizing attitude. Probably due to his "outsider" point of view, he generalizes and presents negative stereotypes from just a few personal unpleasant incidents. If you read it for laughs or to gain some understanding of the complicated situation of the Middle East, you will be disappointed. I was. Rating:  - Interesting Idea, but Something is Missing.I liked the concept of this book. Take the state of Israel and turn it into a Seinfeld episode. The writing style is rather basic and so flat, that it detracts from the revelations of the narrative. Also, too many lapses in the time line make for a heavily disjointed narrative. You often want to know more about his side trips to South Africa, than his glossed over, day-to-day grind in Tel Aviv. Mildly amusing, but would have been a better New Yorker story than an actual book. Rating:  - A Laugh RiotLevey, Gregory. "Shut Up, I'm Talking and Other Diplomacy Lessons I Learned in the Israeli Government", Free Press, 2008. A Laugh Riot Amos Lassen I do not think that many of us laugh when we think of the inner workings of government agencies but Gregory Levey knows differently. In fact, reading "Shut Up, I'm Talking" explains, in its own way, why the Middle East is so hard to understand. Levey was once a speechwriter for the Israeli delegation to the ... Read More Rating: - RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "L'CHAIM! HILARIOUS INSIDERS LOOK AT THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT!"** AUTHOR'S NOTE ** "As I write this note, things don't look good in the Middle East. I'm not sure when you're reading this, but I assume that things still don't look good in the Middle East, because they never really do." ----------------------------------------------------------- The author Gregory Levey at the age of twenty-five-years-old and not even an Israeli citizen found himself sitting alone at the State of Israel's seat at the United Nations ... Read More Rating: - Haha - a hilarious (and interesting) readLevey is one of the funniest writer's I've read in a while. The best pieces in here are funny to the point that I laughed out loud in public. In fact, the best pieces are so good that you seek to retell it to your friends, yet sadly realize that you don't have the 1/10th the storytelling chops of Levey. Beyond the humor, Levey is endearing and honest. Indeed, his stories are as funny as they are because they are wrapped in the context of Levey's empathy and thoughtfulness. I've purchased this ... Read More |
