Soulless: Ann Coulter and the Right-Wing Church of Hate

by Susan Estrich

"A word to those of you out there who have yet to be offended by something I have written or Please be patient. I am working as fast as I can." –Ann Coulter, 2006 Is she ever! Ever since the publication of her Clinton-bashing debut, High Crimes and Misdemeanors , right-wing fire-brand Ann Coulter has made herself one of the most talked-about figures in contemporary American life—and has done so by issuing a near-continuous barrage of insult and invective, which has been described as "shameless," "cruel," "shrill, bombastic, and mean-spirited," "grossly inappropriate," "hate speech." She has called the 9/11 widows "witches" and "harpies," referred to Muslims as "ragheads," called Al Gore a "total fag," and said that both New York Times editor Bill Keller and antiwar congressman Jack Murtha deserved to die. Yet with each new statement—and each new book launch—Coulter somehow manages to co-opt the media as a megaphone for her attacks, while emerging from the backlash miraculously unscathed. Until now. With Soulless , political commentator Susan Estrich takes on Ann and the "Coulter culture" she has created, exposing how the pundit provocatrice has downgraded our political discourse with her irresponsible rhetoric, personal attacks, and slanderous asides. Trawling through Coulter's history of often-violent public statements, Estrich asks which are more the pundit and her headline-grabbing drive-by character assassinations, or the networks who happily bring her back for more. Soulless also casts a light on "the Anns," wannabes like Michelle Malkin and Glenn Beck, whose imitation Coulterisms coarsen our culture with every passing news cycle. And, most important, she challenges us—the readers, the voters—to remember that behind the huckster's rhetoric lurks a dangerous reactionary whose real agenda is wildly out of step with the American public. As Estrich says, "She knows exactly what she is doing. And she is scary as hell because of it."

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Susan Estrich is a Professor of Law at the University of Southern California. She has worked in politics as a congressional consul and a presidential campaign manager. She is a commentator on law and politics for FOX News.

Reviews

[JoJo Anda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh Susan, a face for radio and a voice for pantomime.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, let me just say that I'm not really into politics, but if I have political leanings, they tend to be more to the Left. That being said, I specifically picked this book up (off the clearance rack since I would never pay full price for it) because of the cover's obvious spoof of Ann Coulter and her book, Godless: The Church of Liberalism. And I didn't really know what to expect from this book, but I guess what I was hoping for was more of a point-by-point counterargument of all the ignorant things Ann says in her book. But really, all it turned out to be was an Ann-bashing book, even if it is done in a rather "nice" way.

Now I am no fan of Ann Coulter, believe me. She spouts off without evidence to back her claims and thinks that belittling people who disagree with her and calling them names is the way to win support for her (very closed-minded) views. But if I wanted to read a book about how Ann Coulter is the Queen Bitch, I would've bought one (which, unfortunately, I unwittingly did).

I was very disappointed in this book, which is saying a lot, since I really had no expectations going in. Estrich puts forth a few interesting arguments (the chapter about abortion rights was worth the price of the book and the transcript of Coulter's Today interview was amusing), but she doesn't really ever seem to get to a real point. I kept waiting for it, but then the book just ended and there was nothing left but the footnotes.

Sigh. Oh, well. At least I only paid $4 for it.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wish this book had been more about disproving the statements made in the original book Godless and less about Ann Coulter personally. While I hate Ann as much as the next free-thinking American, I feel like the book should have made less personal attacks and more political attacks. I think I have less of a problem with Ann personally as I do politically. I find her hypocritical, closed-minded, and ultimately a deceitful phony. I wish the book would have gone after her two-sided public views and insincere statements. Instead the book went a little off topic and more towards the Ann-bashing side (although I did enjoy it) as opposed to simply correcting her books untruths.

[jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a hypocrite estrich is. This is all about how much hate she has for Ann and anyone that agrees with Ann...What a hate filled book.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've said it many times, but will say it here again: I don't know which it worse, that Ann Coulter has a national platform for her vitriolic, hate-filled libelous cruelty (enough adjectives there?) or that people actually listen to/read/believe her bile.

Susan Estrich dismantles Ann Coulter, not without interjecting personal feelings, and provides the reader with the sources of Coulter's comments. There's a paraphrasing of the three laws of thermodynamics that puts them in laymen's terms: 1) You can't win, 2) You can't tie, and 3) You can't even come close. With Coulter's insanity, no rational person can use reason to win, tie, or even come close - she is worse than Pat Robertson, worse than any other televangelist, worse than James Dobson, worse than Sean Hannity, she's pretty much the worst. When backed into a corner with reason, she shows her true colors, a vile, mean, genuinely evil person who spews hateful lies and has absolutely nothing to back up what she says.

This book will not convince her fans that she is a liar but it does collocate some of her more egregious offenses for those of us who do not want to support her filth by buying her books.

[Outi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I could give this more stars. The subject was good, the reasoning was good and it had interesting topics, but I just couldn´t get over how it was written. No, I don´t want to read interview after interview, I expect the writer to write a story based on those interview. And if a writer really wants to attack another writer, from now on please do it through e-mails. I don´t want to read it.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the author did go off topic occasionally (for instance, there is a chapter that seems to be solely about Green Dot schools, although I like the idea), I feel it's a very good book about Ann Coulter, and the "WTF"? of why people like her.

[Colby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't stand Ann Coulter and this book highly entertained me. I would love to see a real life interaction between these two ladies! It may be on You Tube somewhere...