Right Angles and Other Obstinate Truths

Right Angles and Other Obstinate Truths
Michael Bates
iUniverse, Inc.
ISBN: 0-595-32048-1
Politics, Lifestyle, Contemporary
Reviewed by Dr. Tami Brady

Right Angles and Other Obstinate Truths is a collection of short essays taken from the author's regular column in the Chicago Reporters Newspapers. These outspoken, opinionated commentaries are divided into seven sections containing the topics Boomers; Government; Pets and other critters; Heroes and villains; Political correctness and other nonsense; Society; and Personal. The majority of essays in this book are extremely politically charged. The stories within these topics range from personal experience that the author shares through general comments on past and present day society to the analysis of current world events. Some of the most interesting and entertaining essays included in this book are For $200 a day plus expenses, a real bargain (a reminiscence of the 1970's television program the Rockford Files); Talk to the animals for fun and (mostly) profit (an essay about pet psychics); and Santa thinks about a career change (a sarcastic version of Santa Claus' challenges in the modern world).
Readers who enjoy sparring over political and social issues or who have strong opinions on such issues will either love Right Angles and Other Obstinate Truths or love to hate this book. The author pulls no punches and doesn't hide behind political correctness or socially accepted societal norms. Furthermore, the author aims to say what he feels others are afraid to voice. In this way, readers will react strongly to this book, strongly positive if the reader agrees with the author's particular views or negatively if the reader disagrees with the author's ideas.