You got to dance with them what brung you : politics in the Clinton years

It's been five years since Molly Ivins's last book, which is probably too long a time in the opinion of her many fans. But the intervening years have given the bestselling author and syndicated columnist some of the best raw material a political writer could ask for. The Republicans staged a revolution, Clinton was reelected, welfare "deform" swept the country, and the militia movement came out of the bunker: in short, it's been a banner time for Molly's brand of shoot-from-the-hip commentary and uproarious anecdotes. You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You brings together a first-class collection of smart, spirited, and fiercely funny writings. From the wild and woolly politics of her native Texas to the waffling in the Oval Office, Molly exposes the fatuous and hypocritical at all levels of public life. Whether she's writing about the 1996 presidential candidates ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too much milk might be bad for us. The check from the dairy lobby must have been late that week"), conspiracy theorists ("Twenty-five years in the newspaper bidness have given me a fairly strong faith in the proposition that if you haven't read about it in The Daily Disappointment or seen it on the network news, it's probably not true"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specialized in latte and barbecue. Barbecue and latte. I came home immediately"), Molly takes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit. "I can think of few causes more important than keeping free voices alive in a world of corporate media," Molly writes. She is one of those voices and a national treasure; as the Los Angeles Times put it, she is "H. L. Mencken without the cruelty, Will Rogers with an agenda." Whatever your political persuasion, you're bound to agree that Molly Ivins is one of the sharpest and most original commentators on the American scene today

In her long-awaited new collection, the Colt Peacekeeper of American political
humor draws a bead on targets that range from the Libido-in-Chief to Newt
Gingrich, campaign funny-money to the legislative lunacy of her native Texas—and
hits a bull's-eye every time.

Whether she's writing about Bill Clinton ("The Rodney Dangerfield of
presidents"), Bob Dole ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year
with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too much
milk might be bad for us.  The check from the dairy lobby must have been late
that week"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specialized
in latte and barbecue.  Barbecue and latte.  I came home immediately"), Molly
takes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit.

Lance Gould

Molly Ivins, the Minnie Pearl of political commentary, fancies herself an anti-pundit; she peppers her prose with down-home aphorisms. But though her down-home homilies can be amusing, the gratuitous use of ''bidness'' and ''gummint'' can be cornier than a henhouse floor. Worse yet, in her latest collection of columns, ''You Got to Dance With Them What Brung You,'' Ivins consistently employs political sentiment to document her theses where most other commentators might use, say, facts. -- New York Times

You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You brings together a first-class collection of smart, spirited, and fiercely funny writings. From the wild and woolly politics of her native Texas to the waffling in the Oval Office, Molly Ivins exposes the fatuous and hypocritical at all levels of public life. Whether she's writing about the 1996 presidential candidates ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too much milk might be bad for us. The check from the dairy lobby must have been late that week"), conspiracy theorists ("Twenty-five years in the newspaper bidness have given me a fairly strong faith in the proposition that if you haven't read about it in The Daily Disappointment or seen it on the network news, it's probably not true"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specialized in latte and barbecue. Barbecue and latte. I came home immediately"), Molly takes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit. In her long-awaited new collection, the Colt Peacekeeper of American politicalhumor draws a bead on targets that range from the Libido-in-Chief to NewtGingrich, campaign funny-money to the legislative lunacy of her native Texas--andhits a bull's-eye every time.Whether she's writing about Bill Clinton ("The Rodney Dangerfield ofpresidents"), Bob Dole ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the yearwith his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too muchmilk might be bad for us. The check from the dairy lobby must have been latethat week"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specializedin latte and barbecue. Barbecue and latte. I came home immediately"), Mollytakes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit.From the Trade Paperback edition. In her long-awaited new collection, the Colt Peacekeeper of American political humor draws a bead on targets that range from the Libido-in-Chief to Newt Gingrich, campaign funny-money to the legislative lunacy of her native Texas--and hits a bull's-eye every time. Whether she's writing about Bill Clinton ("The Rodney Dangerfield of presidents"), Bob Dole ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too much milk might be bad for us.The check from the dairy lobby must have been late that week"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specialized in latte and barbecue.Barbecue and latte.I came home immediately"), Molly takes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit. Molly Ivins, one of America's favorite bestselling authors/syndicated columnists, exposes the fatuous and hypocrytical in American political life in this new collection of wise, hilarious and fearless writings Contains a collection of columns from the "Fort Worth Star-Telegram" in which Molly Ivins offers her unique take on politics during the Clinton years