Morning Drive: Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking Book

Michael A. Smerconish—nationally syndicated radio talk show host, columnist, author, and all-around lightning rod of controversy and spirited discussion—is back! In Morning Drive, he displays the same no-nonsense candor he did in his two best-selling books, covering the gamut of his trademark straight talk on hot-button issues on the minds of Americans today, from government spending and taxes to torture and fighting terrorism, from immigration to gay marriage and global warming.

Taking the news headlines of today to set forth an agenda for tomorrow, Smerconish argues that the TV world presents an unrealistic, "liberal or conservative" view of the world. Maybe that explains why the man often labeled "conservative" by the television shows he appears on sees no contradiction in his kind words for Barack Obama. In this new book, Smerconish takes readers to such volatile venues as the set of Real Time with Bill Maher, where he found himself under attack in the "wing nut seat," and recounts being the first person selected to guest host Don Imus's TV show after Imus was fired from MSNBC.

Whether tracing his path to punditry, setting forth his views, or applying his "Muzzled Meter" to controversial statements made by everyone from Mel Gibson to Barack Obama, Smerconish voices a slew of strident opinions in Morning Drive—all based on his discussions with those-in-the-know and on personal experience. Such impressions—not least, those Smerconish garnered on his "morning drive" radio talk show based in a swing state (Pennsylvania) during the 2008 presidential campaign—come together in a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at how media-driven political perception becomes reality.

Morning Drive is a rollicking, political coming-of-age by one of the rising stars of cable punditry.