Moore provides important historical context, is entertaining, but a bit depressing as he's addressing a lifetime of tough topics and injustice. Keep on fighting Mike. ( )

When I was in grade school they changed our milk from whole to skim. I really couldn't taste the difference but a few of my friends could and were not happy. So I decided to launch a protest--it didn't get much further than a few signatures on a piece of paper and a meeting with the school principal and eventually everyone was used to the taste. But that experience gave me a taste for sticking up for the little guy.

Maybe that is why I like Michael Moore so much. I recognize a kindred spirit--he is always out there fighting for us whether we have asked him to or not. I was struck by this recently when I finally got around to watching Capitalism: A Love Story. That film came out a couple years ago and Moore was asking us to pay attention to what was happening with the banks. He even launched his own Occupy style protest by placing police/crime tape in front of banks.

I enjoyed his memoir (although I admit I really enjoy his documentaries more). With this memoir you learn more about the boy growing up in Flint, his background and what makes him tick. Moore was trouble from the start--but the good kind of trouble. He is the kind of kid that runs for the school board to get rid of a sadistic vice-principal who beats students. The kind of kid who publishes his own school newspaper without permission.The kind of boy who is in love with a girl who is in love with the bad boy and is there for her when she finds out she is pregnant and then calls her parents when she is in the hospital from a botched abortion.

In this book Moore reminded me at least of changes in this country, the good and the bad. He also reminded me of something that I had forgotten. While I tend to think of Catholicism in terms of priest abuse scandals, priests and nuns have also been there fighting for the poor and for our rights. One of the most important lessons he learns is from his friend Father George Zabelka, who also happened to be the chaplain that blessed the bomb on the Enola Gay. This priest who regretted his actions said to Michael, "It is the responsibility of every human to know their actions and the consequences of their actions and to ask questions and to question things when they are wrong." Words to live by.

Moore's story is at once unique and yet he is also the American everyman and the quintessential baby boomer and our country’s Mr. Smith. And for that I applaud him. I'm glad he is out there raising our ire and pushing us to think and question.
( )

Michael Moore's latest is his best book, by far. Not so much a biography as a collections of biographical anecdotes, "Here Comes Trouble" follows Moore's life from birth to the point at which his career really broke out with "Roger and Me", relating the events which turned him into the political troublemaker he is today. Some of the stories contained herein are funny, some are poignant, some are tragic. If you get through the book without a tear or two, you're a lot more thickly-skinned than I. More important perhaps, should you start this book as a Moore "hater" what you read probably won't change your mind, but I suspect this wasn't his idea when he wrote it. Instead, you might understand him a little better. Myself, I happen to think Michael is a genuine national treasure, and a whole lot more of a Patriot than most of the right-wing shills who would paint him a traitor. I always look forward to what he's planning next. Thanks for the insight, and keep up the good fight, Michael. We need more like you. ( )

Fun read - always interesting to read "history" that happened in parallel with one's own life... ( )

I listened to the audio version narrated by Moore. It was a perfect sidekick on the ride to work. His stories show that Michael Moore's ability to hunt out inequality came early. The story about his deciding to become a Catholic priest at age 14 and his year in a seminary show how he questioned authority. Why couldn't women be priests? They had been before the hierarchy of the church was established. His questions was so intense, he decided that he couldn't be a priest, especially after he realized girls existed. But his thunder was stolen when he was told that he would not be allowed back for his second year because he questioned too much. Stories range from the death of his mother, to death threats after Fahrenheit 9/11 was released. If you want to understand Moore's passion for digging for dirt and exposing the bad, this book will show you how he came to his well deserved fame for his documentaries. ( )