"Confessions Of A Former Dittohead"

I just finished reading another book (yeah, I've been reading a lot lately). This one was entitled, "Confessions Of A Former Dittohead" by author Jim Derych. What is a "dittohead" one may ask? Basically, as I learned, everyday listeners of the Rush Limbaugh show are referred to as this, because back in the day, one caller would rant for a while and the next would say something along the lines of, "Yeah, what that guy just said, ditto." This happened frequently, so Limbaugh listeners became known as "dittoheads."

As the title of the book should make quite evident, Derych used to be an avid fan and listener of Limbaugh, but has over time realized that much of what Limbaugh states on the air is an exaggeration, a fallacy, or plain dishonest.

This book is separated into two major sections: 1) Takes the reader on the journey that Derych went through growing up and illustrating that transition from "dittohead" to Democrat and 2) Gives suggestions on how to speak to "dittoheads" about political issues and how to best reach them.

Never being a listener of Limbaugh's radio program, I found it quite interesting to read about how Derych interpreted Rush's rantings and how those interpretations altered as he began college life, meeting a more diverse array of people, thinking more in-depthly regarding issues, and doing research regarding what Rush and others stated were facts (and finding out they were anything but).

Some portions of the book were stronger and better written than others, but overall, I'd say it moved along rather quickly. It gave a rather unique perspective, considering this person used to be a die-hard Republican and has slowly transitioned from that to a die-hard Democrat.

I'd recommend this book to all parties, especially for those on the left side of the political fence who have some friends or family on the other side whom you find very difficult talking to about politics. For those on the right side of the political spectrum, so long as you're willing and open to the idea of reading about a person who has altered their long-held political beliefs, then I'd recommend this book to you as well. For those on the right side of the fence who would have a very difficult time reading about that sort of thing, then I'd say this book probably isn't for you.