Here Comes Trouble: Stories from My Life by Michael Moore

Michael Moore? Mention his name and you'll find that people either love him or hate him, but how many people really know who he is, what he's done and what he stands for? This collection of stories from his early life sheds light on his accomplishments that will delight fans and might tempt detractors to take a deeper, more informed look at the man. His mother taught him to read at age four and from that point on, Michael's intellectual curiosity inspired him to gather information either from reading or from questioning the people around him. With his keen awareness of injustice and his willingness to rail against it, either vocally, in print or through film, he has tried to open the eyes of generations of inadequately informed Americans, many of whom resent his interference. Seeking an audience for his protests, he started a newspaper in fourth grade and went on to publish underground newspapers and write for magazines into his adulthood. Until his freshman year in high school he planned to be a Catholic priest, but after seeing Romeo and Juliet he rejected the idea of a life of celibacy and when he made an appointment to quit the seminary, he was stunned to learn that the Church didn't want him to be a priest either--because he asked too many questions.

Incensed that Flint, Michigan's economy was being destroyed by General Motor's closure of plants and laying off of workers while reporting record profits, he tried to interview the chairman of the board. His years of trying to get a meeting with the chairman, Roger Smith, became the subject and title of his award winning documentary, Roger and Me. Another of his films, Bowling for Columbine, earned him an Academy Award, but his acceptance speech earned him death threats and the need to employ around the clock security guards.

He is no stranger to conflict and neither apologizes for his actions nor whines about the unfairness of his treatment. He's lived a kind of Forest Gump existence, affecting history, either by his actions or by his encounters with famous people or both. His Michigan Boys' State speech about the injustice of the Elks Clubs' policy of segregation, brought about a national media frenzy that resulted in non-profit clubs opening membership to all. Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Robert Kennedy and John Lennon are just a few of the celebrities he chanced to interact with in ordinary situations, the memory of which later influenced the decisions he made.

Controversy has seemed to surround him like an impending thunderstorm his entire life, but there have been people who've recognized his humanity, who've believed in him and supported him. When Mrs. Beachum, the lay teacher at his Catholic elementary school, needed someone to be kind, thoughtful and generous to the class misfit, she asked Michael and he complied. She saw in the boy the traits of courage, conviction, kindness and fairness that would shape the man. This audio book is full of heartwarming and hilarious, as well as infuriating and shocking examples of how Michael Moore has used these traits to become a troublemaker we can appreciate. Here Comes Trouble is recommended not only for its entertainment value, but for the political and historical insight it provides.

Here Comes Trouble: Stories from My Life by Michael Moore
Read by Michael Moore
Hachette Audio, unabridged: 12 hours on 10 CDs