I loved this book when I read it but my views of it are now clouded by the recent allegations against him. Everything is tainted by that.

Al Franken tells about his life with a focus on his senatorial campaigns. The most interesting part is his first campaign as a political novice and his attempts to navigate those tricky situations. Because Franken has written a number of books about politics, he repeats some of his jokes. Lastly, don't read this book if your name is Ted Cruz. I assure you, you will not like it.

I have always been a fan of Al Franken and his decision to run for the Senate took me, like a lot of people, by surprise. However, from reports in the media it seems he has been doing a great job. I requested this book because I wanted to read it so badly. Franken is honest and self deprecating in his story about how his life shaped him to be a Senator. Most senators come from different backgrounds, so why not comedy. I love to read Franken's accounts of his works with Republican Senators. It's nice to know that behind the rhetoric and standard party sound bites that most Senators work well together and off the record even enjoy each other's company. I've already bought several copies of this book for my library system.

Al Franken is a politician whose views I admire (we need more Senators just like him) and his book certainly reinforces my opinion. I reside in the Washington, D,C, area where the national news is the local news and the author does a fabulous job of helping to explain what goes on in Congress to the layman. Above all, he does so with that brilliant sense of humor resonating from his Saturday Night Live stint. There was much learning and laughing simultaneously.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is basically exactly what disheartened progressives and liberals needed this year. Franken is funny, smart, and comes across as a salt-of-the-earth guy, one who can speak kindly about almost all of his colleagues in the Senate even if they politically disagree. He's clearly driven to work for the people who elected him as well as for the country. I would be zero percent surprised if this presages a Presidential run.

Hot tip: Chapter 37 ("Sophistry") is the one where he talks smack about Ted Cruz.

Describes the career of the comedian turned Senator, Al Franken. This funny yet thought-provoking memoir discusses his career with Saturday Night Live and his decision to return to his home state of Minnesota and run for the Senate. He also paints a good picture of what it is like to be a senator with a schedule full of meetings and fundraising. He is honest about what he likes and doesn't like about being in the Senate and does it using his humor.

Overall, I found this autobiography fun to read about a guy who has managed to excel in both comedy and in government.

I loved this book. It provided great insights into the where Franken came from. As a Minnesotan, I am proud to have him as a senator and hope to see him in positions of increasing power.

Most people in Al's age group, and mine, remember him from SNL , one of those comedians who also write with the cerebral group of Harvard grads, mostly guys. We thought they were funny but we couldn't actually like them too. It was 1975, the time of the liberated woman. We were college grads too, we all wanted to live in "the city" and get jobs in the creative arts too. Move over buddy. Al Franken was slightly different, competitive, but still a nice guy. He's still like that today, honest, fair, very smart, and still funny. He's an excellent writer as well, seriously, he's pretty great at what he does. I really enjoyed reading about him, his quest for his Senate seat and the work he has to do for his state. Hint: he seems to really enjoy it, except Fundraising. Asking people to donate money for his campaign is not his favorite part of the job. Understandable. Finally, he's also a great teacher, a brush up on all that government stuff you forgot you learned in Middle School (aka Jr. High) was extremely helpful. Highly recommend you read this! Yes, you now have homework for summer.

Excellent. Al Franken is smart and funny and can explain intricacies of government in a way that people can understand. His cordial and friendly relationships on both sides of the aisle speak to his integrity. Every rule has an exception, and in this book the exception is Ted Cruz, the Texas Senator everybody hates. It was fun having Ted ripped apart and given his comeuppance.

I like Al Franken - comedian or politician. This books reflects his thoughts about the quagmire that is known as Washington. He also gives the reader glimpses into his life - as a child, a young man and his time at SNL. His political viewpoint not withstanding, the book, I think, Mr Franken has given us an honest and heartfelt book about his life and his successes and failures.

This is a must read for anyone who wants to know just how to become a United States Senator from the state of Minnesota. A thoroughly enjoyable and educational read.

A thoroughly enjoyable look into the SNL and political career of Senator Al Franken. Probably not going to be a favorite of conservatives, but I definitely liked this book and have recommended it to several friends for purchase when it comes out in a couple weeks. I know for sure one person has pre-ordered it already.
Written in the manner in which Senator Franken speaks, with facts, humor and stories.

Forget Schoolhouse Rocks take on how a bill becomes a law. http://abc.go.com/shows/schoolhouse-rock/episode-guide/season-1/09-im-just-a-bill For those who are a little older and need to hear how the sausage is really made, this is, hands down, the best and funniest book about how the Senate makes the sausage. Despite Franken's trademark humor, there is nothing pretty about the mechanics of getting a law passed, especially in an government where all three branches are owned by the same party which is coincidentally owned by lobbyists and corporations. Franken tries to lighten the tone and most of the time he succeeds admirably. However, for the man who actually pinned Jeff Sessions to the desk with his unrelenting questions, there is no doubt that frustration levels run high. In addition to his most recent Washington years, Franken tells about his Minnesota childhood, his long tenure as a writer/performer on SNL, and how he gradually morphed into one hell of a representative for the people of Minnesota. In fact, this book is a love letter to the state and people of Minnesota who had the good Midwestern sense to send Senator Franken to Capitol Hill.

Al Franken, Giant of the Senate:
-- Explains why and how the comedian ran for U.S. Senate and won.
-- Is the most entertaining civics book you'll ever read.
--Tries to jolly Democrats out of their Trump depression.
--Could it be a first step toward a Presidential run?

"I can't tell you I'll always get it right. But I'll tell you this: I'm going to keep fighting as hard as I can in the coming months and years to protect our children, our values and our future from Donald Trump." - Al Franken, from Al Franken, Giant of the Senate, by Al Franken.

This is absolutely the book America needs to read right now. I want to just acquire a crate full of copies of this book and pass it out to people. Franken manages to be both hopeful, realistic and funny all at the same time when writing about the inner-workings of the US government. It's amazing.

It is difficult for me to write an unbiased review of anything Franken has written - he has been a major influence in my life. Growing up, I watched Saturday Night Live reruns with my parents. I saw a lot of classic SNL - Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Jon Belushi, Steve Martin, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Molly Shannon, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Kevin Nealon, Will Farrell, Tina Fay...wow, I just started naming SNL people off the top of my head and just kept going, there. But yes, and, of course, Al Franken. Stuart Smalley was one of my favorite characters on all SNL. I still say Stuart Smalley mantras to myself when I'm feeling down.

Getting back to Al Franken: I can't even begin to describe how much of an influence Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them was on my political development. I borrowed the book from my dad because a) it looked funny and it was by a guy I knew to be funny and b) the title. Seriously, how could you not read a book called Lies and the Lying Liars That Tell Them? As I made my way through the book it was like a veil was being ripped away from my eyes. I suddenly became interested in the political. I suddenly started watching the news and actually paying attention to what they were saying. I started reading the newspaper and Newsweek - the actual content, not just looking at the pictures and reading movie reviews. I got really into this TV series called The Daily Show. I started noticing the every day hypocrisies in my rural hometown. I started questioning the official narratives we were fed every day. I started questioning the narrative I was fed in Lies, and started fact-checking the claims within the book myself. This, incidentally, is how librarians are created, children.

Lies woke me up and shoved me into politics. My terrible hometown, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Dan Rather and my local library did the rest.

Al Franken: he's good enough, smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like him! Especially me.

I was naught but a wee little teenage girl in one of the reddest counties of my traditionally blue state. In 2004, there was not much I could do politically, except go to a Kerry rally and then be sad when he lost. And be horrified at how happy my oblivious classmates were that Bush had been reelected. Really, guys?

Anyway! This brings me, finally, to Al Franken: Giant of the Senate.

When I heard Franken was running for Senate in Minnesota I thought "hell yeah!" And then proceeded to stop caring because a) college and b) I do not now, nor have I ever, lived in Minnesota. I was too busy paying attention to local news, getting kicked out of my room by my evil freshman roommates, and worrying about whether or not the economy was going to get so bad that my parents would lose their jobs and I'd have to withdraw from college and go straight to work. And, if that happened, would there even be any jobs left for me? Ah, 2008. What a crap year. Anyway, I squeaked through 2008 and didn't have to leave school, and next I heard, Al Franken won! Yes! Awesome! I immediately stopped paying attention. Then I heard there was a recount? Oh no, how dare they try and steal Al's victory from him! ...and then I stopped paying attention because school. I was glad when I finally heard that Al got his seat in the senate, but I didn't pay too much attention because a) not from Minnesota and b) college. What does this have to do with the book? Well, the book covers pretty much everything that I missed - why he decided to run for senate, what the campaign was like, and just how difficult it is for a comedian to adjust from being a professional funnyman to a superserious political-type. No eye rolling during terrible speeches. No snarky comments during a hearing. I wouldn't last thirty seconds.

This book is for everyone - it's for anyone who is frustrated at the gridlock in Washington, who is sick of partisan malarkey, or who have lost faith in our democratic process. It is for anyone who watched the disaster that was 2016 unfold with tears in their eyes. It's for anyone who has ceased to see their representatives as human beings and more like soulless ghouls who feed on campaign donations.

The best thing about this book is how Franken portrays his colleagues across the aisle not as demons, but as people making decisions he disagrees with (and think are evil). The sight of certain Republicans makes my blood boil, but Giant of the Senate reminded me that, as much as I dislike them, they're still people, and we need to work together if we're going to help everyone. At the same time, though, he fights for truth in politics:

"[I]f we don't start caring about whether people tell the truth or not, it's going to be literally impossible to restore anything approaching a reasonable political discourse. Politicians have always shaded the truth. But if you can say something that is provably false, and no one cares, then you can't have a real debate about anything."

Amen, Al.

Thank you, Al Franken. Don't ever stop fighting for the people, for our country and don't ever stop being funny, even if you have to wait five years and put it all in book form. And don't ever stop telling stories about how awful Ted Cruz is, I could read those all day. Like, in book form. Nudge nudge.