Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!

A slightly embarrassing read, but my curiosity got the better of me after I saw this on a friend's shelf. Ventura won't be mistaken for a policy wonk anytime soon, but he does have a fierce independent streak that's somewhat refreshing. The book reads like flash paper, and seems to have been written in about as much time, mostly comprised of Ventura's tape-recorded reflections as he and his wife drive to Mexico . A few times Ventura tries to frame a larger issue -- namely, whether he'll run for president in 2008 -- but this feels tacked on. Ventura does have a pretty fascinating life, though, and rails passionately against our two-party system, providing some nice anecdotes along the way about his own come-from-behind candidacy in MN. I am tempted to classify him as a libertarian, except he doesn't seem like much of an ideologue, at various points touting his efforts to fund public transportation in MN and describing his openness to government involvement in the provision of health care. Mostly, Ventura wants small government to preserve civil liberties, and appears socially liberal precisely because he thinks government should be small.<br /><br />Ventura's background as a Navy SEAL allows him to make arguments that others simply could not get away with, too, such as abolishing the pledge of allegiance (which he says smacks of the kind of compulsory oath China might require of their schoolchildren). Ventura rarely seems restrained, talking openly about being questioned by the CIA after meeting with Castro in Cuba, as well as his official interactions with intelligence and security agencies in the aftermath of 9/11. There's bravery in his openness, which makes for an engaging read, if not always a thoughtful one. And that’s Ventura’s Achilles' heel: he never examines anything too carefully. Ventura often fails even to acknowledge the major counterarguments against his ideas, which makes him look paperweight and lacking the kind of careful consideration one would hope is a benchmark of a former governor and potential presidential candidate. Ventura has his oddities, as well (aside from the WWF), railing for a while on the JFK conspiracy and his own suspicions about 9/11. Again, his arguments suffer because he fails even to note other reasonable, clear-eyed explanations. This book is a curiosity, and not recommended much beyond that.

Jesse is a Maverick, he met with Castro and Loves him family and his Country. He's a Patriot who lives the American Dream. His wife's beautiful detail of the trip makes me want to go plan a trip. He's got one hell of a story and it is far from finished!<br /><br />Nuggets of Truth:<br /><br />Never read a script until the money is right <br />

Navy Seal, professional wrestler, Mayor, Governor...Mr. Ventura is a man of many titles. This book almost reminded me of Canterbury Tales. After leaving office, he and the missus drive down to Baja California as a way to get away from the chaos that is life in politics. Along the way, the sights they see remind him of things that happened in his life. So, like those pilgrims in Chaucer's tales, the journey is riddled with stories. <br /><br />Jesse asks the hard questions: did Castro have a hand in the death of JFK? How did the planes on 9/11 go unintercepted? Why are we still using a two party system when it clearly doesn't work? <br /><br />I've read two books by him and he's quoted Jefferson in both of them: "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." You may call him a blow-hard, a troublemaker, or just plain ignorant but one thing you can't call him in unpatriotic. He loves his country but has become disillusioned by it. Politicians spend too much time working on getting reelected an not enough time making the country better. The media, the politicians, and big companies run this because it's tough to think for yourself but it easy to eat what these people feed you. The companies give the politicians money, the media give them the praise, but what do we get? <br /><br />

INTERESTING AND ENTERTAINING. <br /><br />There are people you instinctively feel you'd be confident to follow into combat; and others you wouldn't trust as a crossing guard for fear they'd throw you under the first bus to come along. For me, Jesse Ventura—in spite of his cursed susceptibility to 'conspiracy theories,'—is an example of the former. His buddy, Al Gore, is definitely one of this latter. It's a friendship I'll never understand. <br /><br />But there are many paradoxes to the character of Jesse Ventura, and many are highlighted in his interesting and entertaining, albeit poorly edited, book, DON'T START THE REVOLUTION WITHOUT ME! His freethinking, libertarian traits are to be commended—his whack-job pseudo-science and gullibility, not so much. <br /><br />The poor editing made some of the passages difficult to understand, and having the 35th president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, referred to as John R Kennedy no less than five times, and as John E Kennedy once, was annoying. JV's going to have to show a little more attention to detail, before I can ever vote for him. <br /><br />Recommendation: Worth the time, nonetheless. <br /><br />NOOKbook edition, 279 pages<br /><br />

James Janos recreated himself as Jesse Ventura and made his living, famously, as a professional wrestler, wearing feather boas, and long blond locks and acting brash and flamboyant, more like a surfer dude than a Midwesterner This persona made it even more amazing that he was able to capture the governor's office in Minnesota, his native state. Ventura surprised many skeptics and sent party politics into turmoil, proving that third parties can be effective, at least at the state level. I have been curious about his policies and beliefs ever since. I found this book very interesting, finding out more about his personal life and ideologies. I find his reformist ideas quite refreshing and surprisingly similar to my own. It seems that, for various reasons, Jesse has decided to retire from politics. At a time when this country is being run by corporations and the wealth is increasingly being concentrated in the pockets of a very small group of people, I only hope that there are more reformists out there to try to fix the corrupted system.

A fast entertaining read that will also make you think. I like Ventura and would vote for him or Ron Paul for president. If you are starting to suspect that our political system is badly broken then this is a good introductory book for you, to stretch your thinking beyond the 2 party propaganda you see constantly. I have an immense amount of respect for people like Jesse Ventura, Gerald Celente, Ron Paul, Alex Jones, Adrian Salbuchi, who have the courage to honestly say what they see happening, even at great personal risk. I think Jefferson would be disgusted by the way the country is run now, and I think he would admire these people as well.

I doubt there has ever been a more interesting governor in U.S. history besides maybe Huey Long than Jesse Ventura and I think its very cool that he was the governor of my state when I was born. He's such a character with so many interesting stories and anecdotes as well as having such an unconventional career trajectory. He's got a few goofy ideas but I admire him and absolutely enjoyed this book.

<strong>Honest </strong><br /><br />I have always been a Jesse Ventura fan going back to his wrestling days. While I have never been to Minnesota, I've also always appreciated his honesty when it comes to politics and his views of things needing to change. If one takes time to read this book and listen to his interviews, it is really hard to argue against him. Very recommend.

Another Great Book!

He is a colourful character and it was interesting hearing him out. Does America need more Jesse Ventura's in it's political structures. Well, in some ways, maybe it does. The two party system does seem stuck with fanatics on both sides, particularly of the religious kind. In many ways, it would be good to see folk with his kind of different background and way of thinking about things reflected more in US institutions. He is pretty convincing on drugs, Iraq, abortion, the influence of religion, lobbying, finance, the electoral college and the need for major constitutional reform. In other ways he seems to be a bit naive and prone to some fairly oddball views and conspiracy theories which I would think might make him a bit less suitable as a Presidential candidate! Though looking at some of the recent US Presidential choices...... The book's structure with him mulling over his career in Mexico is interesting. As is the spell in Harvard. I wouldn't have minded hearing a bit more about movies and wrestling but I guess that wasn't the point or it had been told elsewhere. The bragadaccio was a little tiring at times and some of the anecdotes and excerpts from the adoring wife are a little cringe inducing.