This is an important book. Especially now with an election coming up. Matt Taibbi, who managed to tolerate watching sausage being made, illustrates that the Blue vs Red split that dominates the narratives of the country is often just a distraction to keep Americans busy thinking they are addressing actual issues while they are being robbed by the real rulers of this country, an oligarchy of super-rich financiers to whom both parties are beholden.

The 2008 financial meltdown which seemed to some to come out of nowhere is just the most visible outcome of the daily operations of greedy individuals who continue to do damage years afterward.

It is hard to read this without feeling alternately enraged or despairing. Though his outrageous metaphors can be an amusing outlet for the feelings of we who are on the receiving end of the depredations, in my opinion they ultimately undercut the book's message. The facts can stand by themselves and the extra cutesy outrage, like a laugh track on a genuinely funny comedy, distracts from the jokes.

For me, the saddest part of the book is the chapter on Obamacare which, far from being the best we could get considering the opposing forces, turns out to be the result of a bunch of cynical backroom deals. While the pro and anti forces battled it out, the usual rich people end up the winners.