The Great Gasbag: An A-to-Z Study Guide to Surviving Trump World

by Joy Behar, Joy Behar (Narrator)

One of our most beloved comedians, the brilliantly witty and outspoken star of The View, hits the most unpopular President ever elected where it hurts—and makes us laugh and cheer—in this hilarious alphabetical guide to everything that’s wrong with the "Orange One," Donald Trump.

Put down the knife, lock away the gun, lay aside the noose, Joy Behar is here to save you from suicide as she hot walks you through the next four years (two if we are lucky, less if liberal dreams come true). Besides despair, the sane response to the insanity in the White House is laughter. On her hit ABC daytime show The View, Joy has been blunt in her condemnation of the comb over-in-chief, and her words have electrified and inspired millions in the resistance for whom #notmypresident has become a rallying cry.

The Great Gasbag is Joy’s answer to the hell that is the Trump Orange House. Structured as an A-Z guide (G is for Gold . . . en shower; P is for Pence and pussy-grabbing; T is for Tweets; Twits, and Twats, etc.), Joy, joined by New York Times bestselling humor author Larry Amoros, offers much-needed doses of levity and humor for everyone determined to #resist. With a major network television profile and a social media audience in the millions, this fearlessly confident star has a powerful platform to entertain Americans of all stripes—from Never Trumpers to fired-up progressives—as she takes on the worst president since . . . well, since ever.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Politics, Audiobook, Satire, Comedy, Celebrity

Audiobook

Published October 24, 2017

About the author

Josephina Victoria "Joy" Behar (née Occhiuto) is an American comedian, writer, actress and co-host of the talk show The View.

Reviews

[Jenna ❤ ❀ ❤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only good thing about the trump presidency is the fodder it has provided for comedians. And wow, have they told some phenomenal jokes! However, as it comes at the expense of everyone in the world (including other white billionaire americans because even if they are otherwise winning with a trump presidency, they too will have to live with the consequences of climate change and trump's pulling out of the Paris Agreement, etc), I would happily forgo all the fabulous trump jokes if it meant getting out of this nightmare or never having entered into it in the first place.
Since, unfortunately, I can't see that happening, I'll let myself enjoy the jokes as much as possible, to try to combat all the stress and anxiety induced by old dorito-face sitting in the White House, tiny hands near the nuclear buttons.

Joy Behar provides some much needed laughter with "The Great Gasbag". Her signature sarcasm and acerbic wit gave me quite a few chuckles and even a couple all out belly laughs. The chapters are broken down into each letter of the alphabet and reads rather like a dictionary -- that is, an intellectually funny dictionary written by a smart left-wing comedienne. If you love satire, if you need a little light-humor to combat your trump-induced depression, read this book. It has less side effects than Prozac or Zoloft, though we're all probably on those by now anyway.

[♥ Sandi ❣ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Alphabet look out.

Joy Behar, stand up comedian, outspoken panel member on the TV show The View, often crass, but always truthful, Trump hater, has written a book. Joy gives the ABC's of "gasbag Trump" and how his mouth has overruled any intelligence. She actually starts with A and gives a number of examples before moving on to the rest of the letters in the alphabet, including all 26 letters with some very good examples. Such as "H" is for Hair - need I say more?? "M" is for Mar-a-Lago - which we as tax payers pay for everyone weekend trip he takes there, in addition to the continued staffing of and upkeep at Camp David, which although comfortable enough for every past president, is too far below Trump's standards. The letter "R" is for Reince Priebus, reporters, right to life, Rosie O'Donnell, and Russian hacking just as examples. Joy has included many politicians, past and present government plans and policies, Trumps idiotic tweeting habit, his hair, his family, and his overall inabilities to intelligently govern our legacy and beloved United States.

I must reiterate that Joy Behar hates Donald Trump!!! But in this book she calls it like she sees it and has hit the nail on the head. Written in the form of satire, no better truth can be found.

[Monica (is working the heck out of]

Note: if you are a “friend” of mine and support the subject of this satirical novel, skip this review in the name of that friendship.

I’ve lost friends here because of my politics and am glad to see them go, but why not avoid future drama?

Now, on to the review.

DNF because life is too short and I’m bone tired of everything to do with the past four years.

The jokes were…cute but not especially funny.

See “When Trump cuts himself shaving, vodka comes out.”


The Great Gasbag is mostly corny grandma jokes interspersed with polarizing choir preaching.

Make no mistake, I agree with every single solitary word of said preaching, and I don’t think for one second that Behar has a responsibility to shape her book to avoid polarization.

I’ll tell you right now that if you are a Trump supporter or are at all sympathetic to Trumpism, this is not the book for you.

You are probably not her intended audience, so sitting this one out might be your best bet.

That said, I wanted to laugh not steam, and the soap-boxing only made my blood boil.

I’ll also note that most of what Joy has to say is too tragically true to be really funny.

My feeling of meh most likely has to do with my reading this one after Drumpf has been ousted, leaving a slimy trail of corruption, sedition, obstruction, armed insurrection, radicalized domestic terrorists and bright orange Kool-Aid in his wake.

I get how and why something like this would have flown off the shelves early in the administration, back when more than sixty-five million voters were predicting (quite rightly, I have to say) the end of American life as we knew it.

I even understand the need to capitalize on catharsis, even, and especially, when nothing about the situation was going to change.

But as Juvenalian satire goes, this one is more nerf ball than paint ball.

This is an excellent companion to Mary L. Trump’s book; it’s a humorous take on the serious stuff she points out in her analysis.

It would also make an excellent gag gift for those who want to poke at the Trumpists in their families or social circles.

As a laugh-out-loud, mood-lifting piece of political satire, it doesn’t work all that well.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joy Behar is so hilarious with her wit but I admire her courage to write this book. As mentioned before,I am not a political person who cares enough to date social issues but I do have strong opinions about presidents, but will not mention in the review. Mainly cause politics and religion are two things that you should never talk about, in fear of ruining friendships and tensions arising. I will say that this book was really funny about how she views Donald Trump. I think that anyone would laugh reading her glossary of terms A-Z about how he is unfit to be president.

It was above average, hence the rating, it was very amusing to say the least. Regardless how you feel about President Trump being in office, this one was a very light read. It made fun of him as a person and how he was in office. Lastly, the final words had me laughing so hard,the things she say is so random but funny at the same time!

Great read if you want something light, but it had's pivotal moments.

[Corky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Joy ... how I loved reading this book. Sure, it's leftist humor, but its pretty funny. Lately I've been avoiding politics on most fronts ... there have just been too many triggers that I've found wearing earphones might be the only way to get me through the nightly news. So, when I was reading this book and laughed out loud a few times, you must be doing something right.

[Amyiw · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I wanted to love this. I really like Joy Behar and mostly agree with her points. Mainly my issue was that it mostly wasn't funny. There were funny parts and the beginning was better than the middle and end as I was getting a bit bored. The title is off leading as it has no survival techniques. It should more correctly be Study Guide to Understanding, for those that don't already.

As for some of her points, she obviously was a big Hillary supporter. She talks about the next candidate that the democrats put forward needing to be liked. Well Bernie was liked and the DNC pretty much blocked him from being noticed until too late. We had our problems with inside crap too. Also she points out the TPP and how Trump stopped it, and how Bernie kept on shouting no TPP, like Bernie was wrong because Trump couldn't possibly do something right. Well, Clinton changed her position on the TPP too, and was saying the same thing, no TPP. Because it was written by big business in closed door sessions and anyone that knew anything about it, didn't like it. This wasn't even funny in any way and was against Bernie not Trump. Look Hillary became the candidate and I was behind her from there completely, so was Bernie. I get Hillary supports being mad that some Bernie supporters didn't go out and vote for Hilary but don't bash Bernie.

So I wanted to laugh, I just didn't much. Mostly I agree with what she says so that isn't the issue but it needed more laughs and I don't think subject is easily laughed at as it is so serious. Still she did point some funny points in and it started really well. I just got tired at the end. Good, not great and watching Full Frontal with Samantha Bee or the Daily Show with Trevor Noah are better.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

I enjoy Joy Behar on The View. So when I heard her talking about this book it piqued my interest.

The Great Gasbag goes through the alphabet from A to Z. The format of the book has each chapter featuring one letter. And each letter has multiple things/stories/jokes that start with that letter. I really like Joy Behar. This book was basically her being a comedian and writing a satirical book that focuses on The Republicans and Donald Trump.

I was hoping that this book would feature more stories. Some of it was funny. But it was basically just one punchline after another. I would have loved more personal stories.

This book will be for you if you love Joy Behar, The View and her sense of humor re: Donald Trump and Republicans. This book will not be for you if you love Donald Trump or you dislike Joy's sense of humor.

Overall, it was an interesting concept for a book.



Thanks to edelweiss and Harper for allowing me to read this book.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acerbic! Written by Joy Behar and published by HarperCollins – New York in 2017, this book is a humorous satire on President Donald J. Trump and his political party, the GOP. Readers who might be offended by four-letter profanity should be warned that this book contains a fair amount of it. Behar is a stand-up comedian and co-host of the TV show The View. It is very clear from her words in this book that she dislikes Trump and Republicans, in general. It is, however, quite funny most of the time. Behar’s acerbic wit is often right on point, but supporters of The Donald will probably not appreciate it very much. Nor will most Republicans because she does not hesitate to take on other members of the conservative GOP establishment in this book.

The book is written in the style of an encyclopedia, with one chapter devoted to each letter of the English alphabet, and each blurb in each chapter also ordered alphabetically. The first item of the first chapter is titled “ A is for Acid Reflux. ” She goes on to explain: “Which is what 65,853,216 Americans get every time Trump holds a televised pep rally or press conference.” The number refers, of course, to the number of popular votes received by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. The last item of the final chapter of the book is titled “ Z is for Zzzzzz. ” It continues: “The Lunesta I took three chapters ago is kicking in. I’m getting drowsy now. Wake me in four years when this nightmare is over.”

In her Preface, the author mentions a few of the alternative titles she had considered before choosing The Great Gasbag for this book. A few that I found amusing included: Con With the Wind, Catcher in the Lie, Gullible’s Travels, and The Son-in-Law Also Rises. Any of them would probably have been appropriate given the content of the book. Some other alphabetic entries that I thought were especially worthy of mention include:

B is for Bankruptcy. “Most people consider filing for bankruptcy a sad, traumatic, life-altering, devastating process. Donald Trump considers it ‘Tuesday.’”

M is for Mar-a-Lago, in which we learn how Donald Trump gained ownership of this famous resort that was built by “socialite and billionaire Post cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post.” It seems that our country’s taxpayers subsidized Trump’s purchase of this valuable property. Who knew?

In the same chapter, under the heading M is for Mistake, Behar relates a few of the mistakes made by Presidents George W. Bush and Donald J. Trump, and how both presidents deny making mistakes. She comments that “There is a clinical psychological word for a person who believes he never makes mistakes: liar.”

Under the heading G is for Guns, the author points out that “Republicans love saying, ‘Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.’” She then asks the important question: “If guns don’t kill people, why do we give our soldiers guns rather than spatulas?” Food for thought.

Behar tells us that “There are at least thirty-four different types of lies.” She doesn’t list them all under L is for Liar because she was “due at Mount Sinai Hospital in ten minutes to start [her] shift as head of Cardiology. (A lie, of course. ☺ )

One of the things I learned from reading this book was that Senator Mitch McConnell apparently had Polio as a child, and received free treatment at the Polio treatment and rehabilitation center in Warm Springs, Georgia. That institution was founded by Franklin D. Roosevelt (a Democrat) in 1927. Treatment at Warm Springs was free, and McConnell certainly benefited from it. Now, however, as Senate Majority Leader, he does not hesitate to take away any sort of free health care benefits from those who can’t afford to pay for them. Talk about hypocrisy!

For the most part, the humor is pretty good, but I think the book could have been written without quite so much foul language, and it still would have made its point. Even some Liberals will be turned off by Behar’s vulgarity in some places.

Nevertheless, this is a light, easy read. It probably would only have about 200 pages of content if the fancy formatting and photographs were removed. The editing is very good. I found no copy editing errors, and no major inconsistencies. If you are the least bit inquisitive about our president, and if you don’t mind a little salty language, then you should probably read this book. I did, and I liked it so much that I recommend it.

[Jordan Tignor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book mainly because the title made me chuckle. Aside from the entry about jellyfish, that was the only thing about this book that made me laugh. In fact, I'm removing it from my comedy shelf. The whole book was just angry and annoying, and the sheer amount of name-calling in it was somewhat disturbing. Don't get me wrong - I knew from the get-go that this was going to be an anti-Trump book, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite like this. To be honest, I skimmed the last third of the book, and I wish I'd just tossed it to the side sooner so I could get started on something else in my TBR pile.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not funny. Mean, the type of mean you tell your children not to be. She is not a comedian, just a mean old lady, probably gives raisins at Halloween. Making money off of a campaign you didn't like is sad and silly. The crude references make you just like what you don't like about the other person.
If the other person won and a book was written, boy would she be howling another story!
I don't need an alphabetical list of not funny junk. Tell a story of true facts if that's what you are trying to prove a point, but there is no point here.

[Eileen Morey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happened upon this little gem in the New Books section of my library, immediately cracked up over the title and just had to take it home. I laughed from beginning to end. Joy Behar is a comedienne, or course, but she is also very well informed and an excellent writer. I learned while I laughed! Bonus! I very much appreciate this intelligent, educated woman's humor about a subject that usually depresses me. I feel less alone now.

[Cory Saksenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must read. She is the Joy Behar we love on The View, but uncensored.

[Lisa Burris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book, and I'm sure that made a great difference in my experience, as Joy Behar's delivery is half of the fun.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

So raunchy. Funny. Have to read with an open mind, and she does make some salient points. An enjoyable read for when you can’t seem to get through anything else.

[James Garman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delightful book takes the form of a sort of dictionary. A definition of terms of the A is for Apple variety.

In this way, Joy Behar effectively showers not just trump but the entire administration and the history of the current situation staying with Reagan and the earlier entry into the lie that is supply side economics...or more often called "trickle down" economics.

While I have make a vow that I will buy as few books as possible, preferring to check them out of the library, I may have to violate that in this case. I would love to have this book at my side to call forth while dealing with my angst about the present political situation. Like watching Stephen Colbert it is a ray of hope that proves that I am not the only one that feels the way I do.

I am trying to decide what made this one good, and the Alec Baldwin, which I read and reviewed before not so good in my opinion. I think this was incisive and frightening real but stated in such a way that I could laugh. Alec's book seemed too real...to be satire. It is like we were hearing trump actually thinking.

[Mary Sisney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joy has used her comedian skills and even her English teacher skills to make this awful period in our history funny. Although I preferred the alternate title "Catcher in the Lie," "The Great Gasbag" also works. I enjoyed her comments about her grandson and her use of pop culture as well as English, history, and politics to shade Trump, but occasionally she made mistakes. Even though I didn't start watching "Dancing With the Stars" until the third season, I'm fairly certain that Suzanne Somers and Dennis Rodman were never on that show. And Suzanne doesn't really do reality television shows the way Rodman does. I also was bothered by Joy's apparent failure to remember that Trump's mother, like two of his wives and his paternal grandparents, was an immigrant. The final problem was not her fault. She wrote this book in 2017 before Sean Spicer had resigned. I would love to have read her take on Ms. Sarah. Actually, maybe it is her fault. I read the paperback edition, which was published in 2018. She should have updated it.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to say, if you are offended by my opinion, that is your choice. I make no bones about my Political view.
I just finished this book in audio. Joy is so entertaining. And I have no doubt that she has her facts exact and precise. She is well spoken and very intelligent. The things she brings up are enough to wish we could re-do the 2017 election. However, we really must come to the realization that all the people that voted for Trump have to open their eyes to the whole mess, and only God knows how long it will take to undo the mess. Regain the trust of our Allies. And, as my friend calls The Donald,(remember that was what Ivana the first Mrs T, referred to him as) President Cheeto.... which, oh by the way, could be also spelled as President Cheato.
Her A-Z examples are spot on. And they are very sad. Read or listen to it. God help us.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it! As I was reading, I could just hear Joy's voice in my ear and saw her sense of humor on every page. I like what she wrote on the very last page, very last entry: "Z is for ZZZZZ. The Lunesta I took three chapters ago is kicking in. I'm getting drowsy now. Wake me in four years when this nightmare is over. Wait a minute. No way Trump is going to last four years. Wake me in a few months; it'll be time to start writing the sequel." Not the best paragraph in the book, but right up there with my top ten favorites! You gotta love Joy and you gotta hate Trump to get this book and enjoy it!

[Christie Maliyackel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book since I’ve been a fan of The View for years, and Joy Behar (author of this book) is one of my favorites. Intelligent, witty, passionate and HILARIOUS - this book encompasses all of that. I found the concept for the book particularly unique and interesting (literally going through the alphabet, letter by letter, to dissect the world/admin we’re living through with biting humor). Naturally, I don’t think I’ll come across another book quite like this; one will never find another quite like Joy, after all. :-)

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joy is at her best in this book. It's very funny. She has created an alphabet compendium of Trump's lies, stupidity and meanness. She so funny because she's so angry and horrified that he is in office. I concur with her sentiments. When you're feeling like he couldn't get any worse, and then he does, pick up Joy's book and use it to calm yourself down. Nothing like a good laugh to make you feel better.

[Mary Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny take on Trump. Sometimes humor helps.

I was torn on what to give this for a rating - I din't want to give it higher than 3 stars just because the humor is at the expense of someone else but, it may be deserved .. does that justify. Better minds than mine can decide that question. For me, it was refreshing to lift some of the dark clouds that Trump causes and for that, I think it is worth a read.

[Arminzerella · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading a lot of really depressing things about the state of our union (Fear, by Bob Woodward, for instance), this was a nice change of pace. While it hasn't actually improved anything, it was nice to laugh at the jabs Joy Behar takes at the current administration. May we make it out alive. Behar reads the audio edition and punctuates it perfectly. If you're feeling low about the Trump "presidency" give this one a try.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a funny look at Donald Trump through the use of the alphabet. Some of the selections had me laughing out loud, they were so descriptive, accurate and hilarious! A wonderful look at a very scary time through the use of humor!

[Ahmed Addnan Negim · Rating 2 out of 5]

hilarious and bias I got it now where the GOP personal hatred come from

[Laura Trombley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good short read!

[Jane M Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

True to life humor

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and a unique way to write (like a dictionary). The book made me laugh.

[Swave Szymczyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy, entertaining.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frankly, I can enjoy just about any comedian throwing shade or taking apart D.T., even if it is a bit dated (which often happens in efforts of this type) and repetitive. Behar would not top the list of my favorite comedians/commentators, but there were some nice gems and most of the humor was okay. One of the problems for comedians is that Trump is such an easy target and presents way too much to attack and make fun of. It's just too easy. I was getting a little tired at the end.

[Fred M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book as a gift. I hope it didn’t cost the gift-giver much.

There are only 220 pages that have any text – and those pages are printed with wide line spacing. So this is a very short book.

As indicated by the book’s subtitle (“An A-to-Z Study Guide to Surviving Trump World”), the book is nothing more than an alphabetically-listed set of topics subjected to very brief Joy Behar witticisms. But the book doesn’t just castigate Trump; it castigates every Republican. Even in our increasingly polarized world, the scope and vehemence of Behar’s commentary comes across most often as mean-spirited rather than humorous.

One thing that especially caught my attention was Behar’s explanation for the passage of the Affordable Care Action during Obama’s tenure. She explained that it was the “right time” because “baby boomers had just started hitting retirement age” (among other things). She never mentioned that Democrats controlled the House, Senate and Presidency -- and so could pass the measure without seeking any Republican support.

I think a book of editorial cartoons targeting Trump would have been much funnier than this book was.

This reviewer’s background: I’m not a fan of Trump; but I have voted for Republican, Democratic and 3rd-party presidential candidates over my lifetime.