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Tales from the Left Coast: True Stories of Hollywood Stars and Their Outrageous Politics
by James Hirsen, NewsMax
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Crown Forum (2003-07-01)
ISBN: 0761517855
EAN: 9780761517856
Dewy Decimal #: 791.43028092273
Hardcover: 320 pages
Edition: 1
Release Date: 2003-07-01
SKU: 03194
Condition: Collectible: Very Go
Comments: First edition with full number line. Book in good condition
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
When Barbra Streisand sends Dick Gephardt a personal fax, it makes headline news. When international relations expert Sean Penn leads his own "tour of peace" in Baghdad, every news desk across the country reports it. It's no secret that Hollywood has a leftward tilt when it comes to politics. But what the celebrity-fawning media fail to show is how Hollywood's liberal bias affects actors, movies, and even public policy.
In Tales from the Left Coast, author and political commentator James Hirsen digs deep into the liberal underbelly of Hollywood to reveal how biased politics have corrupted the entire entertainment industry. Through extensive research and scores of interviews, Hirsen uncovers some of the most ridiculous, infuriating, and damning political stunts pulled by celebrities of yesterday and today, and he traces the tangled web of influence the Hollywood elite have over politicians in Washington, D.C.
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Customer Reviews
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Important
Rating  (4)
Date: 2007-10-22
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I read Hirsen's book while a teacher in West LA who lived with an angry, left wing, out of work actor. Say what you want about some of the dull parts and cheap shots, this book needed to be written, and Hirsen is a vital man in Hollywood for doing so. These people are not only mostly ignorant schmucks, but arrogant and preachy at the same time. Good combination? They live wonderful lives of privilege, but find time to castigate America and capitalism at every turn, voting for the party of failure and demeaning those (policemen, military) whose yearly salaries are less than one pair of their shoes. They are the WORST of civilization, and any negative attention---rather than fawning and jealousy---is welcome.
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Welcome to Tinseltown!
Rating (4)
Date: 2005-08-13
11 out of 15 customers found this reveiw helpful
Hollywood. The home of swimming pools and movie stars, of silicone and botox, of power lunches and big money deals. It's a warm, sunny place inhabited by the nicest people you would ever want to meet. Everybody is a friend in Tinseltown, always willing to lend a helping hand to his or her fellow man (or woman) with no expectation of a favor in return. I get the warm and fuzzies just thinking about how wonderful life must be in Southern California, how much better a place like Los Angeles is than boring old Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, or virtually any other lame place in the country. Heck, the people who live in Hollywood, the people we see on television every day in movies and television shows, are obviously a cut above the rest of us. How can this not be so? All you need to do is spend a few hours a day with the television set and you rapidly learn these glamorous creatures are more beautiful, smarter, savvier, and more fashionable than the yucks who live in fly over country. Moreover, celebrities possess a greater capacity for truly caring about humanity than the rest of us do. Media stars care so much about the travails of life that they don't hesitate to use their money and influence to instruct us in the finer arts of raising children, waging war, and a host of other bread and butter issues the general populace knows nothing about. Every day when I wake up the first thing I do is thank my lucky stars I have such dedicated souls looking after my life.
Yeah right.
I wrote the above introduction when I reviewed "Hollywood, Interrupted," a scathing indictment of all that is wrong about the alien life forms living in Tinseltown. I feel confident using this same introduction for James Hirsen's "Tales From the Left Coast" since the book is similar in content and tone. In these pages you will read about celebrity nonsense concerning the environment, war, tobacco, political correctness, and their unabashed support for communist governments. In short, "Tales From the Left Coast" basically covers ground we're all far too familiar with at this point. Still, it's worth reading for reinforcement value and the author's sarcastic humor. In fact, let's call Hirsen's book "Celebrity Crackpots 101" because this read would serve as an excellent primer for those as yet unaccustomed to the sheer insanity (and inanity) of the Hollywood "elites." These people are nuts.
I appreciate how Hirsen begins his book. He casts his eye all the way back to the bad old days of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist purges. The Red Scare of the 1950s wasn't just about good old Joe and his dogged pursuit of Lenin lovers in the government; the feds also investigated communist influence in Hollywood. And guess what? They discovered that La La Land harbored more than a few card-carrying members of the Red Menace. When these stooges refused to testify in front of Congress, off to jail they went. The studios, afraid of government interference, placed these people on a blacklist that prevented many of them from working for years afterwards. Most of us know all about the blacklist because Hollywood releases a tear soaked movie about this "persecution" every few years in case we forget. While I think McCarthy and a few of his minions--especially Roy Cohn--went too far in their investigations, Hirsen appropriately points out that not only were there communists operating in Hollywood, they routinely greenlighted scripts that promoted an anti-American viewpoint. And they did it behind the scenes in particularly disingenuous ways.
Flash forward fifty or so years to the present day. Now we've got celebrities taking trips to Cuba for one-on-one raps with their man Castro, pushing questionable eco-scientific pap on the public (Meryl Streep and alar, anyone?), and creating their own blacklist to keep conservatives out of the movie making business. This last point receives a lot of attention from Hirsen. He reveals how conservative celebrities, production personnel, and even studio executives must maintain a low profile if they wish to work in show business. The few who openly profess their views, like Tom Selleck or Patricia Heaton, can expect to take abuse from their co-workers. It's far easier for right-leaning individuals who happen to work in the industry to just go with the flow and keep their mouths shut. If you think there is something sinister about that, something downright anti-American about this need for self-censorship, "Tales From the Left Coast" is the book for you.
I'll wrap up with a few comments about the humor in the book. Hirsen never passes on an opportunity to take shots at idiots like Michael Moore, Robert Redford, Martin Sheen, Mike Farrell, Madonna, and the other blithering idiots who couldn't articulate an informed opinion if their lives depended on it. He starts the book with a list of seventeen reasons why Hollywood leans left (funny), and ends with an "awards show" for the biggest kooks in the biz (also funny). In the main body of the book, the author will write out a statement made by or about a celebrity then follow up with a pithy comment. More than a few of these are laugh out loud funny, but some of Hirsen's quips fall flat or left me mystified. What's the connection between Sheryl Crow and Xena the Warrior Princess? I missed that reference. Anyway, kick back, pile up a few Scientology pamphlets, and prepare to laugh and shake your head at the weird antics of the Hollywood in-crowd. I wonder if Versace makes tin foil hats?
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Very Funny but Sad at the Same Time
Rating  (5)
Date: 2005-02-17
13 out of 17 customers found this reveiw helpful
"They get paid megabucks for their unparalleled skill at reading and acting out prepared scripts." Their occupations, and their best skills are imitating other people. And yet, if they speak politically or otherwise, the media treats them as if they are experts. This is the basic gist of "Tales from the Left Coast." The book is hilarious with the facts about how and why these rock stars and movie stars have been treated as if they were political diplomats who have all the answers.
James Hirsen, former keyboard player for the Temptations, has collected a great many stories, facts, and reports about things that certain Hollywood stars have said about our country, about our president (i.e. Bush), and about other issues regarding which they 'act' as if they are experts. This book is very funny, but at the same time quite frightening. The book is well documented, well researched, and reads quickly.
I was shocked by some of things that these pseudo pundits believed and espoused. Moreover, many things that these Hollywood stars have said is just down right treason. It is obvious they have not thought through what they espoused, and often times they bite the hand that feeds them. Also, while I was aware of many of the people (stars) and their opinions there were a few things I was not aware of, such as certain Hollywood stars love for Fidel Castro or the endorsements given to certain stars for their promotion on talk shows of certain prescription drugs.
These Hollywood stars (and certain rock stars) who have spent their entire working careers imitating other people and performing lines that others have written have used their 'stardom' clout to prance around and 'act' as if they are political experts on certain issues. Most of these stars are uneducated (e.g. Martin Sheen having never finished high school), and simply base their opinions on what is trendy at the time, or what they think is a worthwhile cause because it seems noble. However, thinking through what they support, or how they support it is apparently not an option. Ignorance is indeed bliss! I appreciate James Hirsen's book and I highly recommend it, especially if you want a good laugh.
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Pretty Weak Effort
Rating  (2)
Date: 2005-01-04
11 out of 21 customers found this reveiw helpful
I'm a conservative blogger who LOVES to laugh at liberal celebrities, but there's not much meat here. Hirsen's book feels pretty slapdash and disjointed; the writing is nothing special, and the stories have been told with more flair elsewhere. I wanted to like it...it's just not very good.
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Interesting, though the point was not always clear
Rating  (3)
Date: 2004-12-09
13 out of 15 customers found this reveiw helpful
The basic premise of this book is that most of those in Hollywood are way left in their politics. I think this is pretty obvious, but there is some great background in here on where and why this may have originated.
For example, some in Hollywood have a history of supporting communism, made famous in the "blacklist" era, and this view is even more prevalent today. The book gives dozens of accounts of one-sided support and glorification of Castro. This is actually quite odd considering Castro has a long tradition of placing homosexuals in prison, based on mere suspicion or rumor. When the various stars are pledging their devotion to Castro, do they have any idea what Castro's response to AIDS has been? (Page 75)
This is typical of how Hollywood stars often are hypocritical in their pet causes. Whether it is slamming the President for not attending the Earth Summit and then of course failing to show themselves (Page 103), or wearing fur after being outspoken against it, the duplicity is actually quite hilarious, however this pales in comparison to some of the quotes about PETA.
Michael J. Fox, former advisor to the Humane Society, wrote a book called "Inhumane Society: The American Way of Exploiting Animals", and in it he states "The life of an ant and that of my child should be granted equal consideration". (Page 123). Um, okay...rright. The many examples of these kinds of absurd statements abound. There is also considerable space documenting the "intolerance" of Hollywood towards any beliefs that do not align with the far left.
However, the author spent a whole chapter on smoking. I have to honestly say that I didn't get the point. Was he speaking out against smoking censorship? Why? Does he support smoking? This section was unclear. The other concern I had was the way in which Bono and others were depicted for their support for the poor and other causes. These sections were also not very clear. It seems that much good is done by some of these people, and that needs to be acknowledged. So, minus one star for that.
Overall, it is a very interesting book. I thought the research and history in the beginning sections was fascinating. Towards the end the book gets a bit shrill, but overall the point regarding the politics of the Hollywood "caste" system, and the hypocrisy of the intolerance towards anyone conservative, republican or Christian is of course shameful. The book is written well, easy to read, and the topics are presented in a logical format. Overall, the book suffers a bit from being what it is speaking out against - being too one-sided.
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