"Here Comes Trouble" by Michael Moore

Here Comes Trouble - Stories From My Life

by Michael Moore

Most people already have an opinion on Michael Moore. For those on the right, he's a figure of hate, a polemicist of the worst kind. Many on the left agree with most of his politics, but doubt some of the methods he employs to get his point across. 

This book is unlikely to win over those who have no time for him now. It's not quite an autobiography - more a series of short stories based on times in his life. One has to assume some poetic licence is taken, as he is able to remember verbatim conversations he had when he was 8 years old. 

If we are to take all his stories at face value, Moore appears to have lived the worlds most liberal life. Getting lost in the US Senate as a child - he is rescued by Bobby Kennedy who helps him find his mother. His favourite teacher was a black woman, a close friend nearly died due to a back-street abortion, he did a dry run into Canada in case he needed to avoid the draft, and he was kicked out of seminary for 'asking too many questions'. 

Moore has undoubtedly lead a more interesting and exciting life than most. Aged 18 he became the youngest person in America elected to public office when he successfully ran for a school board governor position - successfully getting rid of a sadistic and violent vice-principal.  He set up and ran his own newspaper aged 20 - which ran for 6 years. He fell into documentary making when he helped some local film-makers blag their way into a neo-nazi rally, and he also blagged his way into a 3 day meeting in Mexico which was arranging the outsourcing of jobs from the US to Mexico. He's got balls, no doubt about it.

What is bothersome about this book and (for me) about Moore in general is his "aw shucks - who me?" shtick. He talks at length at the amount of hate mail and death threats he gets and acts surprised that there are people out there who feel that way. Who knew?? This faux-humble routine sees him name drop interactions with John Lennon, Richard Nixon, Ronald & Nancy Regan and countless others. He also appears to credit himself with ending institutional racism through writing an essay and is able to deliver powerful speeches on disability rights (School valedictorian speech) off the top of his head. Or maybe that's just how he remembers it.