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Editorial Review Product Description
Every weekend they strike a chord with millions of listeners through their relentlessly irreverent, hilariously on-target rantings-on just about everything but cars. Fortunately, Click and Clack's rants and ramblings are available on weekdays too-in this popular hardcover collection. Packed with musings, theories, observations, parables and anecdotes, In Our Humble Opinion is guaranteed to draw raves. ... Read more Customer Reviews (19) 
Satisfied My Curiosity, but Not Much Else
I guess you either love these guys or you hate them.My wife finds them incredibly annoying when she hears them on the radio.
Myself, I love them.Their accents are not off-putting to me, and I love how they laugh together.
What I've learned over time, though, is that the 'straight' answers they provide are actually pretty authoritative.They actually know what they're talking about, based not only on their extensive formal education but also based on their hands-on work with many, many cars.
If I personally found anything annoying here, it's only their constant self-referencing which gets old.However, it's a part of their "shtick" which we would not want to do without...the rants do not make a lot of sense and reveal more than the reader really wants to know.
Very Dissapointing Book By Two Very Funny Guys.
I am a big fan of Car Talk with Tom & Ray Magliozzi.There show is generally quite witty.Im sorry to say that I cant say the same for their book.The stories of each of their lives was interesting with some quirky comments which made me smirk.I expected that for the rest of the book but war wront.their ranting and raving just wasnt interesting.They state the obvious, have nothing to back what they say up and the ranting and raving isnt in the least amusing.It was a chore to get through these guys ranting and raving.My advice, stick to what you are awesome at: your radio show!
Worth a look for Car Talk fans
I'm not sure if I can give a general recommendation for this book.However, if you are a fan of Car Talk, you can get to know Tom a bit more (and Ray a tiny bit more).While not the greatest piece of comedic literature, it is a very short book (many pages are blank or half-blank ) and does not require a huge investment of your time.It seems that 75-80% of the text is written by Tom with Ray filling in the rest.It is virtually all rants-there are precious few raves.Tom is definitely the more agitated of the two brothers.The rants cover topics like overpaid Hollywood actors, aggressive driving habits, our system of government, the shoddy education system, etc.Some of it is tongue-in-cheek material, such as the Big Bang Theory being completely made up.The type of humor seems consistent with the personalities on car talk.Reading the text, you can practically hear Tom's (and occasionally Ray's) voice.
Most of the material can be tied to experiences in the brother's lives.Perhaps the publishers instead should have asked the brothers to write an autobiography and merge their opinions into it.We get teased with a little of their life stories in this book.They both were educated at M.I.T..Tom lived as a genuine bum for a couple of years.He stretched a diner's "all you can eat" deal from breakfast to lunch.He was a college professor for many years.We don't learn a whole lot about Ray, but both brothers came up with a do-it-yourself auto repair shop that was in essence the precursor to Car Talk
The read is fairly quick and light except for a Tom's rant about how the police do not enforce the speed limit.It is at this point that the book gets a bit boring and repetitive.Fortunately, the pace picks up again after that.
Bottom line:it is worth a look for Car Talk fans.
Likable Characters
My advice is to avoid reading this book all at once.I think I would have appreciated the Magliozzi humor more had I read it a little at a time.I enjoyed the parts about Tom's and Ray's own lives best.Knowing more about them made them even more likable.Additionally, Tom's section on education was insightful and interesting.However, the essays in the Rant section all started to blend together in my mind after a while.Potential readers should also note that this book is not all about cars, which readers may expect since Tom and Ray are known best for their Car Talk show on NPR.
"In a land ofidiots,a moron is a genius."
Not being a car buff,I had never heard of these two guys or their show Car Talk.The notes on the back of the book convinced me it might be a good read. I was very pleasantly surprised and thuroughly enjoyed the book from beginning to end.
\Particularly, their musings on the education system hit the nail on the head with me.I have been singing the same song for many,many years.Although there is a lot of humor in this book,there is a lot of deep down common sense in this book.Like the authors ,I had the benefit of attending university and earned a Degree in Electrical Engineering.There is no doubt in the minds of the authors that the stuff that is taught in schools and universities is selected by and for the educational establishment and not necessarily for the benefit of the student;and I am in complete agreement with them. I found most teachers were very defensive,and operated from a position of correcting rather than trying to inspire the student.Of course it is much easier and secure for the teacher to correct than inspire,and the system provides a perfect atmosphere for them.That may be well and good for the teachers,but the purpose of education is to serve the students,not the teachers and the establishment.
the authors cover a lot of everyday things in their Rants and Raves.Here are a few one-liners to give you a bit of flavor of their stuff:
"If you don't think too good,try not to think too much."
"This touch-screen technology takes the multibutton philosophy
to a whole new level of stupidity."
"Only the mediocre are always at their best."
"If God had wanted me to run,he'd have had someone chasing me."
"Do 2 people who don't know what they are talking about know
more or less than 1 person who doesn't know what he's talking
about?"
"Time is more important than money;you can always acquire more
money."
"Enough is as good as a feast."
"Man can't just sit around."
"It's much more important to think about what you're doing
than doing it."
"It means you got a perfectly right answer,but you asked the
wrong question."
"Education should be a preparation for life-not preparation
for school!"
"Tell me,and I will surely forget.
Show me,and I might remember.
Make me do it,and I will certainly understand."
And to top it off,he gives us the Murky Research firm of
Dewey,Cheetham and Howe and its director,Paul Murky.
All in all, a great entertaining and insightful read.
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