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Wake Up
The Sunday Times Number One Bestseller
It’s time we get back to common sense.It’s time to cancel the cancel culture.It’s time to Wake Up.
If, like me, you’re sick and tired of being told how to think, speak, eat and behave, then this book is for you.
If, like me, you think the world’s going absolutely nuts, then this book is for you.
If, like me, you think NHS heroes and Captain Tom are the real stars of our society, not self-obsessed tone-deaf celebrities (and royal renegades!), then this book is for you. If, like me, you’re sickened by the cancel culture bullies destroying people’s careers and lives, then this book is for you. From feminism to masculinity, racism to gender, body image to veganism, mental health to competitiveness at school, the right to free speech and expressing an honestly held opinion is being crushed at the altar of ‘woke’ political correctness.
In 2020, the world faced its biggest crisis in a a global pandemic. In the UK, it exposed deep divisions within society and laid bare a toxic culture war that had been raging beneath the surface. From the outset, Piers Morgan urged the nation to come to its senses, once and for all, and held the Government to often ferocious account over its handling of the crisis.
COVID-19 shed shocking light on the problems that plague our country. Stockpilers and lockdown-cheats revealed our grotesque levels of self-interest and the virtue-signalling woke brigade continued their furious assault on free speech, shutting down debate on important issues like gender, racism and feminism. Yet just as coronavirus exposed our flaws, it also showcased our strengths. We saw selfless bravery in the heroic efforts of our healthcare staff. A greater appreciation of migrant workers. A return of local community spirit. And inspiring, noble acts from members of the public such as Captain Sir Tom Moore. Wake Up is Piers’ rallying cry for a united future in which we reconsider what really matters in life. It is a plea for the return of true liberalism, where freedom of speech is king. Most of all, it is a powerful account of how the world finally started to wake up, and why it mustn’t go back to sleep again.
It’s time we get back to common sense.It’s time to cancel the cancel culture.It’s time to Wake Up.
If, like me, you’re sick and tired of being told how to think, speak, eat and behave, then this book is for you.
If, like me, you think the world’s going absolutely nuts, then this book is for you.
If, like me, you think NHS heroes and Captain Tom are the real stars of our society, not self-obsessed tone-deaf celebrities (and royal renegades!), then this book is for you. If, like me, you’re sickened by the cancel culture bullies destroying people’s careers and lives, then this book is for you. From feminism to masculinity, racism to gender, body image to veganism, mental health to competitiveness at school, the right to free speech and expressing an honestly held opinion is being crushed at the altar of ‘woke’ political correctness.
In 2020, the world faced its biggest crisis in a a global pandemic. In the UK, it exposed deep divisions within society and laid bare a toxic culture war that had been raging beneath the surface. From the outset, Piers Morgan urged the nation to come to its senses, once and for all, and held the Government to often ferocious account over its handling of the crisis.
COVID-19 shed shocking light on the problems that plague our country. Stockpilers and lockdown-cheats revealed our grotesque levels of self-interest and the virtue-signalling woke brigade continued their furious assault on free speech, shutting down debate on important issues like gender, racism and feminism. Yet just as coronavirus exposed our flaws, it also showcased our strengths. We saw selfless bravery in the heroic efforts of our healthcare staff. A greater appreciation of migrant workers. A return of local community spirit. And inspiring, noble acts from members of the public such as Captain Sir Tom Moore. Wake Up is Piers’ rallying cry for a united future in which we reconsider what really matters in life. It is a plea for the return of true liberalism, where freedom of speech is king. Most of all, it is a powerful account of how the world finally started to wake up, and why it mustn’t go back to sleep again.
325 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2020
560 people are currently reading
1129 people want to read
About the author
Piers Morgan
26 books39 followersPiers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (born Piers Stefan O'Meara), known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children.
Morgan branched into television mainly as a presenter, but has become best known as a judge or contestant in reality television programmes. In the UK, he was a judge on Britain's Got Talent. Morgan is best-known in the United States as a judge on the show America's Got Talent, and as the winner of The Celebrity Apprentice. On 17 January 2011, he began hosting Piers Morgan Tonight for CNN in the timeslot previously occupied by Larry King Live before the retirement of host Larry King.
Morgan has authored eight books, including three volumes of his memoirs.
Morgan branched into television mainly as a presenter, but has become best known as a judge or contestant in reality television programmes. In the UK, he was a judge on Britain's Got Talent. Morgan is best-known in the United States as a judge on the show America's Got Talent, and as the winner of The Celebrity Apprentice. On 17 January 2011, he began hosting Piers Morgan Tonight for CNN in the timeslot previously occupied by Larry King Live before the retirement of host Larry King.
Morgan has authored eight books, including three volumes of his memoirs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 273 reviews
January 22, 2021
Listen, I know giving him attention is exactly what he wants and his smug self probably revels in bad reviews. But I truly couldn’t help myself.
Baffles me how this man made a career from writing when his writing is this bad. It was so repetitive and all over the place. He haphazardly jumped from topic to topic without even offering explanation for half of the things he discusses. It was such a mess. The amount of contradictions I spotted in here was borderline ridiculous. He actually can’t make his mind up as to who he’s trying to appeal to.
Spent the whole book name dropping as many famous people he’s ‘friendly’ with as he could. Simultaneously, he detached himself from the label of ‘celebrity’ and spoke of rich and privileged people as though he’s not actively part of that group. It was pretty amazing to witness. Half of this book is literally him quoting other people and talking about ‘research’ with no references. It felt so tedious to slog through paragraphs and paragraphs of other peoples words with him adding virtually nothing to the conversation.
He seems to get off on making a massive issue out of things ‘wokies’ never asked for. E.g. the Marks and Spencer ‘LGBT’ sandwich which he branded nuts. Literally nobody asked or advocated for that. Trying to undermine movements by nit-picking silly examples of ‘activism’ is just poor debate. Sorry.
For someone who stressed the importance of mental health:
- Ridiculed the idea that clapping could be an anxiety trigger
- Made fun of someone coming forward and talking about their struggle with hypochondria
- Makes fun of the use of trigger warnings and calls people who ask for them ‘snowflakes’
For someone who claimed he wasn’t transphobic:
- Had an issue with a trans woman being Athlete of the Year
- Said he supports trans rights then laughs at alternative pronouns
- Talks about trans people as ‘transgenders’
- Separate boys and girls sports are based on biological differences, he says, but never talks about how trans people are literally on hormone blockers
- Constantly makes a joke of trans pronouns, using ‘he’ and ‘ she’ interchangeably and creating bizarre fake scenarios to fuel his transphobia
- Cites TUMBLR as saying there are 112 genders…. Can’t even begin to unpack this one lads
- Starts babbling on about kids as young as five having reassignment surgery which just isn’t the case
- Says trans girls in schools will make cis girls uncomfortable, while ignoring how uncomfortable it must be for a trans girl
- Constantly talking about men who pretend to be trans to attack women and blaming it on trans women instead of cis men being predators
- Called they/them pronouns ‘ridiculous language’
- Talks about why sports shouts be separated due to biological differences then later praises cis women who dominate in male sports?!
- Called JKRs rubbish a ‘difference of opinion’
- ‘Rowling made some perfectly reasonable points, many of which I happen to agree with’
For someone who called himself a liberal:
- Literally is obsessed with talking about how he loves Trump, Farage, Johnson etc.
- He said he wants ‘freedom to pursue one’s lawful life as one sees fit’ but doesn’t believe in a deviation of two genders…
- Voted for Johnson to somehow make a point about Brexit (which he voted Remain for, apparently)
- Obsessed with the queen and praising her in every other sentence
- Says Ghandi and Churchill really changed the world for the better hahahahah
For someone who called himself a feminist:
- Is literally transphobic and supports JKR
- Has been friends with Trump for ’13 years’ and has always ‘liked him personally’…
- Sexualised some trousers his co-host wore live on air
- Obsessed with the ‘not all men’ rhetoric and highlighting that some women can be terrible
- Berates women 24/7 for their choice to post topless selfies, though he literally has a naked BK advert
- Says women should only feel empowered by certain types of women
- Makes fun of Kim Kardashian for being overly feminine saying she’d have a breakdown if she broke a ‘diamond-encrusted toenail’
For someone who kept banging on about free speech:
- Gets annoyed when people freely speak on their identity
- Has an issue with literally every left wing activist on the planet
- Irony of him talking about free speech all the time and then raging about opinions he doesn’t agree with
- Angry that he’s confused as to how many ‘genders actually exist’ when moments before said it was a social construct…Thought we loved free speech and expression?
For someone who says they don’t have a prejudiced bone in their body:
- ‘purple-haired, ring-nosed, Trump-loathing, meat-hating, men-detesting lunatics’ lol
For someone who says they’re not fatphobic:
- Misunderstood an entire fatphobic debate and somehow took from it that Adele was ‘not allowed’ to stop being fat
- ‘Nobody could see their weight surge over 300lb and be genuinely happy’
- States some people are born with a naturally high metabolism which makes them really skinny but ignores the possible counter for that
General stupidity:
- ‘The media, dominated by liberals’ LMAO
- Said the Queen is the most powerful, respected woman in Britain (she’s not gonna marry you babe x)
- Said Meghan Markle was welcomed with ‘warm, open, tolerate arms’
- Literally spent a whole chapter talking about how the medias portrayal of Meghan wasn’t racist, yet later emphasises how white people shouldn’t tell Black people what is or isn’t racism
- ‘There was no intent to be offensive’ doesn’t make it not offensive
- Talks about how he’s so angry people won’t listen to science, then gets angry when science finds a connection between extreme masculinity and other social issues
- Gets annoyed at people being offended by everything but said he found the Gilette advert ‘so offensive’
- ‘Why should all men be tarred with the same monstrous brush’ says the man who spends his entire book making sweeping statements about everybody
- Says he doesn’t want men to be crying and snivelling in public 24/7 but also talks about how suppressing emotions is damaging
- ‘ I have the capacity to sleep with 1,000 supermodels, but I’m not sleeping with any’ the delusion
This isn’t even everything I highlighted while reading. Brb going to give myself a lobotomy.
Baffles me how this man made a career from writing when his writing is this bad. It was so repetitive and all over the place. He haphazardly jumped from topic to topic without even offering explanation for half of the things he discusses. It was such a mess. The amount of contradictions I spotted in here was borderline ridiculous. He actually can’t make his mind up as to who he’s trying to appeal to.
Spent the whole book name dropping as many famous people he’s ‘friendly’ with as he could. Simultaneously, he detached himself from the label of ‘celebrity’ and spoke of rich and privileged people as though he’s not actively part of that group. It was pretty amazing to witness. Half of this book is literally him quoting other people and talking about ‘research’ with no references. It felt so tedious to slog through paragraphs and paragraphs of other peoples words with him adding virtually nothing to the conversation.
He seems to get off on making a massive issue out of things ‘wokies’ never asked for. E.g. the Marks and Spencer ‘LGBT’ sandwich which he branded nuts. Literally nobody asked or advocated for that. Trying to undermine movements by nit-picking silly examples of ‘activism’ is just poor debate. Sorry.
For someone who stressed the importance of mental health:
- Ridiculed the idea that clapping could be an anxiety trigger
- Made fun of someone coming forward and talking about their struggle with hypochondria
- Makes fun of the use of trigger warnings and calls people who ask for them ‘snowflakes’
For someone who claimed he wasn’t transphobic:
- Had an issue with a trans woman being Athlete of the Year
- Said he supports trans rights then laughs at alternative pronouns
- Talks about trans people as ‘transgenders’
- Separate boys and girls sports are based on biological differences, he says, but never talks about how trans people are literally on hormone blockers
- Constantly makes a joke of trans pronouns, using ‘he’ and ‘ she’ interchangeably and creating bizarre fake scenarios to fuel his transphobia
- Cites TUMBLR as saying there are 112 genders…. Can’t even begin to unpack this one lads
- Starts babbling on about kids as young as five having reassignment surgery which just isn’t the case
- Says trans girls in schools will make cis girls uncomfortable, while ignoring how uncomfortable it must be for a trans girl
- Constantly talking about men who pretend to be trans to attack women and blaming it on trans women instead of cis men being predators
- Called they/them pronouns ‘ridiculous language’
- Talks about why sports shouts be separated due to biological differences then later praises cis women who dominate in male sports?!
- Called JKRs rubbish a ‘difference of opinion’
- ‘Rowling made some perfectly reasonable points, many of which I happen to agree with’
For someone who called himself a liberal:
- Literally is obsessed with talking about how he loves Trump, Farage, Johnson etc.
- He said he wants ‘freedom to pursue one’s lawful life as one sees fit’ but doesn’t believe in a deviation of two genders…
- Voted for Johnson to somehow make a point about Brexit (which he voted Remain for, apparently)
- Obsessed with the queen and praising her in every other sentence
- Says Ghandi and Churchill really changed the world for the better hahahahah
For someone who called himself a feminist:
- Is literally transphobic and supports JKR
- Has been friends with Trump for ’13 years’ and has always ‘liked him personally’…
- Sexualised some trousers his co-host wore live on air
- Obsessed with the ‘not all men’ rhetoric and highlighting that some women can be terrible
- Berates women 24/7 for their choice to post topless selfies, though he literally has a naked BK advert
- Says women should only feel empowered by certain types of women
- Makes fun of Kim Kardashian for being overly feminine saying she’d have a breakdown if she broke a ‘diamond-encrusted toenail’
For someone who kept banging on about free speech:
- Gets annoyed when people freely speak on their identity
- Has an issue with literally every left wing activist on the planet
- Irony of him talking about free speech all the time and then raging about opinions he doesn’t agree with
- Angry that he’s confused as to how many ‘genders actually exist’ when moments before said it was a social construct…Thought we loved free speech and expression?
For someone who says they don’t have a prejudiced bone in their body:
- ‘purple-haired, ring-nosed, Trump-loathing, meat-hating, men-detesting lunatics’ lol
For someone who says they’re not fatphobic:
- Misunderstood an entire fatphobic debate and somehow took from it that Adele was ‘not allowed’ to stop being fat
- ‘Nobody could see their weight surge over 300lb and be genuinely happy’
- States some people are born with a naturally high metabolism which makes them really skinny but ignores the possible counter for that
General stupidity:
- ‘The media, dominated by liberals’ LMAO
- Said the Queen is the most powerful, respected woman in Britain (she’s not gonna marry you babe x)
- Said Meghan Markle was welcomed with ‘warm, open, tolerate arms’
- Literally spent a whole chapter talking about how the medias portrayal of Meghan wasn’t racist, yet later emphasises how white people shouldn’t tell Black people what is or isn’t racism
- ‘There was no intent to be offensive’ doesn’t make it not offensive
- Talks about how he’s so angry people won’t listen to science, then gets angry when science finds a connection between extreme masculinity and other social issues
- Gets annoyed at people being offended by everything but said he found the Gilette advert ‘so offensive’
- ‘Why should all men be tarred with the same monstrous brush’ says the man who spends his entire book making sweeping statements about everybody
- Says he doesn’t want men to be crying and snivelling in public 24/7 but also talks about how suppressing emotions is damaging
- ‘ I have the capacity to sleep with 1,000 supermodels, but I’m not sleeping with any’ the delusion
This isn’t even everything I highlighted while reading. Brb going to give myself a lobotomy.
March 24, 2022
Sometimes life is stranger and more fascinating than fiction. I am not a huge Piers Morgan fan. My first memory of him was the judge on BGT that picked Flawless over Diversity in the final. Then I knew he did the celebrity interviews and life stories, so I did not pay much attention to him and his career. Now during the pandemic I find myself agreeing with him more than not so I gave the book a try. The book extremely well written. It is a page turner.
What make the book even more interesting is the event are current an fresh in my mind. As I read about each day's event I remembered the outrage of another UK government mess up, and the inspiration of the people who did so much a d really stood out. Unfortunately there are not everyone is mentioned here, I think simply out of space, but reading about the days event remembered them.
I think Piers is in a strange bubble and he puts it best himself. Even though he hates much of what celebrities do, it is news and he has to report, but can choose to comment on it. Most of the time making him almost as much part of the news/story.
I don't agree with everything and views expressed in the book. I did find it interesting in a couple of cases Piers claims some people wear an armour of an antagonist personality but might not be that bad where as another wears a disguise of being liked. Like always we do have to make up our own minds this.
A great book reliving many of the issues that happened the first half of this year. Piers Morgan might not be the hero we wanted, but became the hero we needed to take incompetent ministers to task. I know others did as well but the do not quite have the same platform that Piers does. This is an emotion filled book, that strong opinions, but also encourages thinking. I personally prefer Piers on the political spear point than arguing with celebrities.
What make the book even more interesting is the event are current an fresh in my mind. As I read about each day's event I remembered the outrage of another UK government mess up, and the inspiration of the people who did so much a d really stood out. Unfortunately there are not everyone is mentioned here, I think simply out of space, but reading about the days event remembered them.
I think Piers is in a strange bubble and he puts it best himself. Even though he hates much of what celebrities do, it is news and he has to report, but can choose to comment on it. Most of the time making him almost as much part of the news/story.
I don't agree with everything and views expressed in the book. I did find it interesting in a couple of cases Piers claims some people wear an armour of an antagonist personality but might not be that bad where as another wears a disguise of being liked. Like always we do have to make up our own minds this.
A great book reliving many of the issues that happened the first half of this year. Piers Morgan might not be the hero we wanted, but became the hero we needed to take incompetent ministers to task. I know others did as well but the do not quite have the same platform that Piers does. This is an emotion filled book, that strong opinions, but also encourages thinking. I personally prefer Piers on the political spear point than arguing with celebrities.
October 19, 2020
Piers Morgan is one of those controversial people that you either like him or you don’t. But whether you do or don’t this book is one I feel that’s important to read. Of course he talks from his own opinions but there’s a lot of very interesting facts supporting what he says. It’s like it’s fine to believe what you want to believe but here’s some other points to think about before you make your decisions.
A lot of the things he talks about, personally I also agree on. Of course there are some things I don’t but quite a few things that have been going on lately I also feel very much the same way. For me this book has helped me to know that I am not alone.
Lately it’s felt very much that freedom of speech means it only works if you agree with what others say. If you don’t you then get branded a racist, a sexist, a transphobic etc etc which is certainly not the case at all. I myself always like to look at both sides of things before I make a decision on what to believe.
This book certainly gives you food for thought.
A lot of the things he talks about, personally I also agree on. Of course there are some things I don’t but quite a few things that have been going on lately I also feel very much the same way. For me this book has helped me to know that I am not alone.
Lately it’s felt very much that freedom of speech means it only works if you agree with what others say. If you don’t you then get branded a racist, a sexist, a transphobic etc etc which is certainly not the case at all. I myself always like to look at both sides of things before I make a decision on what to believe.
This book certainly gives you food for thought.
January 31, 2021
This is a love or hate read, I can't see anyone being on the fence with this one!
As I don't live in the UK and have had very little exposure to Piers Morgan (bar knowing his political stance and seeing his interviews) - I began this read without the daily influence of his rather oversized ego. For me, this book really makes you think and rethink where we are as a society right now. What has the world come to and why? Why do we feel the need to agree with the loudest voices? The power of social media, to both make and break people, is out of control...so what do we need to do to "wake up" to some of the messes we've created as humans?
I think many of the haters of this book are hating the author more than the ideas. There is posturing and grandstanding, and there is no doubt what his ideologies are, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be debated. Being 'woke' is definitely an ongoing societal issue. Cancel Culture does significant harm to many groups and individuals, class and racial struggles are still issues, and he makes the reader consider all of these concepts (and many more). Piers is right that culture wars can overshadow more important class-based struggles, environmental issues and the current pandemic but think for yourself...this book doesn't demand you adopt his position, it demands we look at those with power and what they are doing with it (Piers included).
The most thought-provoking read I've had in a long while!
As I don't live in the UK and have had very little exposure to Piers Morgan (bar knowing his political stance and seeing his interviews) - I began this read without the daily influence of his rather oversized ego. For me, this book really makes you think and rethink where we are as a society right now. What has the world come to and why? Why do we feel the need to agree with the loudest voices? The power of social media, to both make and break people, is out of control...so what do we need to do to "wake up" to some of the messes we've created as humans?
I think many of the haters of this book are hating the author more than the ideas. There is posturing and grandstanding, and there is no doubt what his ideologies are, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be debated. Being 'woke' is definitely an ongoing societal issue. Cancel Culture does significant harm to many groups and individuals, class and racial struggles are still issues, and he makes the reader consider all of these concepts (and many more). Piers is right that culture wars can overshadow more important class-based struggles, environmental issues and the current pandemic but think for yourself...this book doesn't demand you adopt his position, it demands we look at those with power and what they are doing with it (Piers included).
The most thought-provoking read I've had in a long while!
March 26, 2022
Marmite.
Love it or hate it?
This is the reaction that confronts Piers Morgan.
You can ditch him.
You can raise you’re eyes to the ceiling over something he’s saying, but, someone somewhere is thinking the same thing as him and wants to know these things, needs to know these things.
He’s in a position to “challenge” high up people. People who affect others lives in some way or another.
I’m a fan.
Yes I cringe sometimes, but I also like the reactions of the person in the “hot seat”
He says what many are afraid to say.
I absolutely loved that he read this for himself.
He covers several topics and I thoroughly loved listening to it.
Love it or hate it?
This is the reaction that confronts Piers Morgan.
You can ditch him.
You can raise you’re eyes to the ceiling over something he’s saying, but, someone somewhere is thinking the same thing as him and wants to know these things, needs to know these things.
He’s in a position to “challenge” high up people. People who affect others lives in some way or another.
I’m a fan.
Yes I cringe sometimes, but I also like the reactions of the person in the “hot seat”
He says what many are afraid to say.
I absolutely loved that he read this for himself.
He covers several topics and I thoroughly loved listening to it.
October 22, 2020
In the normal run of things, I’d no more read a book by Piers Morgan than I would vote Tory or masturbate with sandpaper. But 2020 hasn’t given us the normal run of things, and Morgan - a right-wing schill trading on the public persona of an only slightly more self-aware version of Jeremy Clarkson - suddenly morphed into a crusading journalist who did what no other journo in the country could be bothered to do: he held the collective feet of the government over the fire and demanded, on behalf of the whole country, accountability for their corrosive and incompetent handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Likewise, he turned on former pal Donald Trump and publicly lambasted him for his failings. For this reason - this astounding volte face from his erstwhile contrarian agenda - I gave ‘Wake Up’ a day of my time (it’s a swift, if repetitive, read). The best parts are the Piers vs the government sections. Elsewhere, disingenuity and double standards aren’t far from the surface, but Morgan does have the decency to admit, in fulminating against the entrenched partisan divisions that now constitute political debate in this country, that he’s been part of the problem. Freedom of speech is a theme he returns to repeatedly, flashing his self-declared liberal credentials as oleaginously as Nigel Farage claiming to be a libertarian. But what’s for sure is that cancel culture and the sillier excesses of the woke brigade have given Morgan and open goal and with ‘Wake Up’ he thunders it into the back of the net.
November 25, 2020
Couldn't stand Piers until this year. Still think he's unbearable much of the time when "interviewing". But this book was fascinating, a breath of fresh air, made me think a lot and made me a Piers fan. Who'd have thought.
March 17, 2021
P. Morgans ir britu žurnālists TV raidījumu vadītājs, slavens ar savu aso mēli un diezgan brutālu intervēšanas veidu. Arī man viņš ne īpaši tīk, tomēr šī grāmata likās ļoti interesanta. Tās centrā ir runas brīvība (kas tomēr nedod tiesības apvainot un draudēt), slavenu cilvēku liekulība, mūsdienu sniegpārsliņas soc.tiklos un politkorektuma pārspīlēšana.
‘Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.’ (V.Čērčils)
‘If we do not believe in freedom of speech for people we despise, we do not believe in it at all.’(N.Čomskis)
‘Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.’ (V.Čērčils)
‘If we do not believe in freedom of speech for people we despise, we do not believe in it at all.’(N.Čomskis)
October 20, 2020
The sub-title of this book should be ‘do as I say not as I do.’ This is a man who wants us to return to the art of reasonable debate and then go down the pub for a drink together. Except, he’ll bombard Twitter with repeated diatribes in inflammatory language about anyone he doesn’t like or doesn’t agree with. He knows he’s pointing a guiding light for all the Twitter trolls who’ll pile in behind him but he doesn’t care. As far as he’s concerned his hands are clean.
There are numerous examples of double standards throughout the book but the most appalling comes in the aftermath of Caroline Flack’s sad death. Piers can’t understand why people are blaming him. True, he’s not directly responsible but he has used his platforms to attack those he disagrees with and he works for a newspaper which specialises in fermenting hatred and outrage. He has been a frontline player in the form of social media that throws individuals to the dogs with all the consequences that follow. So, does Caroline’s death cause him to rethink or show some caution. Not a bit. He decides to throw actress Jameela Jamil under the Twitter bus because he’s decided she’s a hypocrite in posting about Flacks death. He does this to close down her freedom of speech because he disagrees with her!! The very thing he spends the entire book complaining about!! (And then on the very next page he expresses his disappointment that nobody is respecting Caroline Flack’s final entreaty to ‘Be Kind!’) Morgan’s lack of self-awareness is breathtaking.
There are numerous examples of double standards throughout the book but the most appalling comes in the aftermath of Caroline Flack’s sad death. Piers can’t understand why people are blaming him. True, he’s not directly responsible but he has used his platforms to attack those he disagrees with and he works for a newspaper which specialises in fermenting hatred and outrage. He has been a frontline player in the form of social media that throws individuals to the dogs with all the consequences that follow. So, does Caroline’s death cause him to rethink or show some caution. Not a bit. He decides to throw actress Jameela Jamil under the Twitter bus because he’s decided she’s a hypocrite in posting about Flacks death. He does this to close down her freedom of speech because he disagrees with her!! The very thing he spends the entire book complaining about!! (And then on the very next page he expresses his disappointment that nobody is respecting Caroline Flack’s final entreaty to ‘Be Kind!’) Morgan’s lack of self-awareness is breathtaking.
December 27, 2020
How can Piers Morgan be so right about the horrible "cancel culture" but so wrong about pretty much everything else? No one will be satisfied reading this book, because Morgan acts like a right-wing freedom of speech supporter on one hand, then uses his free speech to condemn right-wingers, 2nd Amendment supporters, and his own friend Donald Trump. All while slamming fellow liberals. None of it makes any sense and in the end it's a waste of time.
Morgan is wrong about just about every opinion he has regarding America. He doesn't understand American culture and how it differs from Britain. He thinks both countries stand for the same thing and have the same freedoms--they don't! Wake Up Piers Morgan! America isn't England and we have some serious doctrines embedded in our Constitution that can't be compromised, no matter how hard Morgan wants us to bend them.
Instead he interprets everything through his British eyes and fails in his conclusions at almost every point. Yes, he's right about the cancel culture and about liberals doing the opposite of what they say by keeping conservatives silenced. But that is only a tiny part of this book. He turns around and slams every conservative he knows. So basically this book is about him getting criticized and not liking it, people want to silence him, and he just wants to be able to spew whatever warped opinions he has.
Half of the book (at least) is about British topics and will bore Americans. The other half is his factually incorrect stories of American issues in 2020. His take on George Floyd and Donald Trump contain many incorrect factual statements that he got from listening to liberal media talking points, not studying the actual facts. His ridiculous obsession with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is embarrassing.
The book was obviously rushed into production and his day-by-day diary ends in mid-July. This needs serious editing (ironic since he was an editor), more supporting research, and a lot more outside perspective. Instead this is just him ranting off the top of his head about what comes out in each day's news. It's misguided, filled with errors, and proves what a buffoon Piers Morgan is. Just because he makes a couple of good points doesn't make a good book--most of it is junk. Instead of Wake Up it should be called Shut Up.
Morgan is wrong about just about every opinion he has regarding America. He doesn't understand American culture and how it differs from Britain. He thinks both countries stand for the same thing and have the same freedoms--they don't! Wake Up Piers Morgan! America isn't England and we have some serious doctrines embedded in our Constitution that can't be compromised, no matter how hard Morgan wants us to bend them.
Instead he interprets everything through his British eyes and fails in his conclusions at almost every point. Yes, he's right about the cancel culture and about liberals doing the opposite of what they say by keeping conservatives silenced. But that is only a tiny part of this book. He turns around and slams every conservative he knows. So basically this book is about him getting criticized and not liking it, people want to silence him, and he just wants to be able to spew whatever warped opinions he has.
Half of the book (at least) is about British topics and will bore Americans. The other half is his factually incorrect stories of American issues in 2020. His take on George Floyd and Donald Trump contain many incorrect factual statements that he got from listening to liberal media talking points, not studying the actual facts. His ridiculous obsession with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is embarrassing.
The book was obviously rushed into production and his day-by-day diary ends in mid-July. This needs serious editing (ironic since he was an editor), more supporting research, and a lot more outside perspective. Instead this is just him ranting off the top of his head about what comes out in each day's news. It's misguided, filled with errors, and proves what a buffoon Piers Morgan is. Just because he makes a couple of good points doesn't make a good book--most of it is junk. Instead of Wake Up it should be called Shut Up.
January 11, 2021
Firstly, let me start with @piersmorgan is not my favourite personality/presenter/journalist whatever, but the subject of this book is about the ever-growing political correctness. If like me, you are fed up with the woke/PC society telling us what we should or should not think or say. The content in this book is put across in an excellent manner and I find myself agreeing with virtually everything. This is a must read, please do not be narrow minded not to read this book just because you do not like the author. You will not regret it.
April 12, 2021
Terrible
June 3, 2021
Well, this was surprisingly good. Not the most well written - Piers has a love for adjectives and adverbs that would make Strunk and White weep - but the content is interesting and emotive, and, in today's world of cancellation and censorship, the message is absolutely necessary.
I used to hate Piers Morgan with a passion... I was, I now realise, "woke". I've spent the last 2 years educating myself, confronting my own deeply held beliefs (some more shallow than I care to admit), and listening to arguments from the whole of the political spectrum instead of just the left. I used to hate Piers Morgan because *occasionally* I'd hear he said something that conflicted with something I believed. I didn't listen to his argument, or even consider listening to him; instead, I labelled him a bigot and shut him out. How childish.
My recent re-education could not avoid the so-called "culture war", and the identity politics that fuels it. I very quickly realised the woke mob is crazy. The problem is definitely not all liberals, but the far-left radical "liberals", who embrace Marxist ideas without the faintest notion of what they actually mean, the consequences and costs of such ideologies, or the fascist tendencies that come part and parcel.
I would never have read this book if I hadn't seen so many YouTube clips of Piers on GMB arguing with left-wing crazies... and winning (winning, at least, to rational ears; to the woke he is simply too privileged / straight / cis / white / male to understand that they are "right"). Piers isn't always right, and he'll be the first to admit it; he's as fallible as the next man. But he is brave enough to say what the silent majority wish they could say. If someone is talking bullshit he'll call them out on it, whether it's Benjamin Butterworth (an obnoxious little twerp) talking nonsense about the million and one gender identities that are supposedly valid "because compassion" (oh, the irony), or Matt Hancock's outright lies about the incompetent handling of the Covid pandemic by the UK govt. The way he argues is often abrasive and redolent of bullying, and he admits this is sometimes the case, but when you're often arguing against people with entrenched, harmful ideas, often disingenuous, who refuse to see reason or be challenged and hurl accusations of bigotry for daring to have an opinion that differs with theirs, one can understand why things get heated.
Anyway, this book is about two things really: woke bullshit, and coronavirus. Piers hoped that with the world facing a global pandemic, people would learn to be kinder and more compassionate and dispense with the vicious intolerance of woke culture; sadly it has exacerbated beyond recognition - and that's with the book ending before the second half of 2020!
Apparently it's acceptable now to say that "white = evil"; how people do not see this for what it is - RACISM - is beyond me; and for people fighting for racial equality to resort to racism is hypocritical, unproductive, and simply not justifiable. Yes, I accept that I am privileged (though I use that word grudgingly now) as a straight white male, but no, I do not accept that I am inherently evil, responsible for the sins of European colonisers, and must renounce my whiteness and strive to be "less white" - f*ck off. If we were all to be held accountable for the slaving of our ancestors, not one person alive would be left without a bill.
Most of these woke fools live in progressive, liberal, tolerant societies where discrimination is illegal. They don't know how lucky they are. There are many countries where slavery is ongoing, racism is genuinely systemic, being gay or trans is punishable by death, and being female gives you less rights than livestock. Oh, and shouting and screaming how oppressed you are is likely to see you disappeared overnight to a forced labour camp or a hole in the ground. The West isn't perfect, but it is (in my opinion) the best we've got right now.
And so ends my barely-review, mostly-rant of Wake Up. Read it: you might learn something.
EDIT: P.S. I absolutely have the right to say this because FREE SPEECH IS AWESOME :)
I used to hate Piers Morgan with a passion... I was, I now realise, "woke". I've spent the last 2 years educating myself, confronting my own deeply held beliefs (some more shallow than I care to admit), and listening to arguments from the whole of the political spectrum instead of just the left. I used to hate Piers Morgan because *occasionally* I'd hear he said something that conflicted with something I believed. I didn't listen to his argument, or even consider listening to him; instead, I labelled him a bigot and shut him out. How childish.
My recent re-education could not avoid the so-called "culture war", and the identity politics that fuels it. I very quickly realised the woke mob is crazy. The problem is definitely not all liberals, but the far-left radical "liberals", who embrace Marxist ideas without the faintest notion of what they actually mean, the consequences and costs of such ideologies, or the fascist tendencies that come part and parcel.
I would never have read this book if I hadn't seen so many YouTube clips of Piers on GMB arguing with left-wing crazies... and winning (winning, at least, to rational ears; to the woke he is simply too privileged / straight / cis / white / male to understand that they are "right"). Piers isn't always right, and he'll be the first to admit it; he's as fallible as the next man. But he is brave enough to say what the silent majority wish they could say. If someone is talking bullshit he'll call them out on it, whether it's Benjamin Butterworth (an obnoxious little twerp) talking nonsense about the million and one gender identities that are supposedly valid "because compassion" (oh, the irony), or Matt Hancock's outright lies about the incompetent handling of the Covid pandemic by the UK govt. The way he argues is often abrasive and redolent of bullying, and he admits this is sometimes the case, but when you're often arguing against people with entrenched, harmful ideas, often disingenuous, who refuse to see reason or be challenged and hurl accusations of bigotry for daring to have an opinion that differs with theirs, one can understand why things get heated.
Anyway, this book is about two things really: woke bullshit, and coronavirus. Piers hoped that with the world facing a global pandemic, people would learn to be kinder and more compassionate and dispense with the vicious intolerance of woke culture; sadly it has exacerbated beyond recognition - and that's with the book ending before the second half of 2020!
Apparently it's acceptable now to say that "white = evil"; how people do not see this for what it is - RACISM - is beyond me; and for people fighting for racial equality to resort to racism is hypocritical, unproductive, and simply not justifiable. Yes, I accept that I am privileged (though I use that word grudgingly now) as a straight white male, but no, I do not accept that I am inherently evil, responsible for the sins of European colonisers, and must renounce my whiteness and strive to be "less white" - f*ck off. If we were all to be held accountable for the slaving of our ancestors, not one person alive would be left without a bill.
Most of these woke fools live in progressive, liberal, tolerant societies where discrimination is illegal. They don't know how lucky they are. There are many countries where slavery is ongoing, racism is genuinely systemic, being gay or trans is punishable by death, and being female gives you less rights than livestock. Oh, and shouting and screaming how oppressed you are is likely to see you disappeared overnight to a forced labour camp or a hole in the ground. The West isn't perfect, but it is (in my opinion) the best we've got right now.
And so ends my barely-review, mostly-rant of Wake Up. Read it: you might learn something.
EDIT: P.S. I absolutely have the right to say this because FREE SPEECH IS AWESOME :)
April 13, 2023
we’re all living in minecraft hardcore mode and this book made me grateful for that
December 14, 2020
2020 has been a strange year and Piers' book is a somewhat welcome addition to it. A strange mix of moments of Piers being quite reasonable, closely followed by either him contradicting himself or tone policing others for things he does as well.
'Wake Up' flip flops between some rational arguments, irrational dribble and outlays the bizarre journey of a middle age white man becoming "woke" to some of the issues long faced by others in society all whilst virtue signalling about virtue signalling. Piers is right that culture wars can overshadow more important class based struggles, environmental issues and the current pandemic but he spends a lot of time being outraged about outrage without always really looking into why some are outraged. He also spends a fair amount of time exclaiming he's a real liberal and other's should return to his version of liberalism.
If you're wondering if you should read this book, well, in the acknowledgements he claims the book was fact checked yet he ran the old 'Gillette lost $8B after going woke' which is straight up not true. soooo, maybe skip this one.
'Wake Up' flip flops between some rational arguments, irrational dribble and outlays the bizarre journey of a middle age white man becoming "woke" to some of the issues long faced by others in society all whilst virtue signalling about virtue signalling. Piers is right that culture wars can overshadow more important class based struggles, environmental issues and the current pandemic but he spends a lot of time being outraged about outrage without always really looking into why some are outraged. He also spends a fair amount of time exclaiming he's a real liberal and other's should return to his version of liberalism.
If you're wondering if you should read this book, well, in the acknowledgements he claims the book was fact checked yet he ran the old 'Gillette lost $8B after going woke' which is straight up not true. soooo, maybe skip this one.
November 14, 2020
I wouldnt have bought this but I quite enjoy watching Piers on Good Morning Britain and my wife thought it would be a good idea to buy me a copy. I then started reading it not because i wanted to but to placate my wife and make her feel she hadnt wasted her money. I surprised myself and really enjoyed it. I didnt agree with all of Morgan's arguments - but isnt that the point?
October 28, 2020
Love him or hate him - his arguments are timely mostly bang on!
January 2, 2023
Given Piers is a controversial and outspoken character this book is unsurprisingly an entertaining read, I found myself chuckling at his tirades on multiple occasions. It tackles some of the major events of 2020 as well as arguing eloquently against ‘cancel culture’. I think at times the book is repetitive - why does he care so much about Harry and Meghan? And at other times his commentary serves to inflate his own ego. However, Piers does raise some important arguments in particular that society must move away from its polar extreme views of the world.
February 25, 2021
Heavy is the head that bears the burden of being called a twat on Twitter.
Wake Up is a lesson about a barking dog. Maybe he’ll bark at the burglars. Maybe he’ll bark at passing cars. When do you say “Good boy”?
Passing Cars
There is a group of people who are woke. Woke people do things that Morgan does not like.
This makes them objectively bad.
Sometimes these illiberal liberals tell Morgan to shut up.
This is also objectively bad, perhaps even as bad as publishing falsified pictures of British soldiers committing warcrimes.
I question the value in debating Morgan about trans people in sports, or vegan sausages, or whatever point he’s making when he writes that James Bond will remain a man. Is it right to post “RIP feminism” every time a model posts nudes? Probably not the first line I’d go for but hey, I’m not going to argue with a guy charming enough to let his colleagues know when they sexually arouse him:
“They’re certainly sustaining me”.
Quite
Delving into each of his points is to be a dog on the other side of the road barking back. If you are an expert on the issues he deems noteworthy, go for it. But don’t feel compelled to debate him on the ground of his choosing. In either case, there can be no true victory against someone with his platform, instead he’ll take his ball home and moan about a vicious mob intent on ‘cancelling’ anyone on Twitter… at length.
The point (made often) is that Morgan is intellectually lazy. He sees something pass before his eyes and instinctually reacts. He barks. The things he does not see do not exist. Causes for a liberal like Morgan such as the imposition of Gender Recognition Certificates or the ethics of journalists filming immigrants bailing water from dinghies are apparently not worth mentioning. Causes such as whether darkening the colour of the Wombles makes them more ‘relatable’ apparently are.
Burglars
Morgan lets us know, at length, what a good job he did with holding the government to account over COVID-19 along with supporting immigrant front line workers and a scintilla of empathy for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Congrats to Morgan for using his gigantic platform to do the bare minimum. Nice of him to then immediately turn those crises as tools to vaguely bash at the wokery, also known as a new form of fascism. Major events are no more than interlude that do not materially change his views.
My point is that Morgan should not get much, if any credit, for occasionally appearing to be a helpful character. Nothing about his processes for making the “good” decisions are any better than when he decides that the main societal problem with rape cases is where their female accusers had lied. Morgan is the constantly barking dog, who could turn on you after the next ad break. Coincidental convergences do not an ally make.
Sometimes you have to send those types of dogs to a farm upstate.
Wake Up is a lesson about a barking dog. Maybe he’ll bark at the burglars. Maybe he’ll bark at passing cars. When do you say “Good boy”?
Passing Cars
There is a group of people who are woke. Woke people do things that Morgan does not like.
This makes them objectively bad.
Sometimes these illiberal liberals tell Morgan to shut up.
This is also objectively bad, perhaps even as bad as publishing falsified pictures of British soldiers committing warcrimes.
I question the value in debating Morgan about trans people in sports, or vegan sausages, or whatever point he’s making when he writes that James Bond will remain a man. Is it right to post “RIP feminism” every time a model posts nudes? Probably not the first line I’d go for but hey, I’m not going to argue with a guy charming enough to let his colleagues know when they sexually arouse him:
“They’re certainly sustaining me”.
Quite
Delving into each of his points is to be a dog on the other side of the road barking back. If you are an expert on the issues he deems noteworthy, go for it. But don’t feel compelled to debate him on the ground of his choosing. In either case, there can be no true victory against someone with his platform, instead he’ll take his ball home and moan about a vicious mob intent on ‘cancelling’ anyone on Twitter… at length.
The point (made often) is that Morgan is intellectually lazy. He sees something pass before his eyes and instinctually reacts. He barks. The things he does not see do not exist. Causes for a liberal like Morgan such as the imposition of Gender Recognition Certificates or the ethics of journalists filming immigrants bailing water from dinghies are apparently not worth mentioning. Causes such as whether darkening the colour of the Wombles makes them more ‘relatable’ apparently are.
Burglars
Morgan lets us know, at length, what a good job he did with holding the government to account over COVID-19 along with supporting immigrant front line workers and a scintilla of empathy for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Congrats to Morgan for using his gigantic platform to do the bare minimum. Nice of him to then immediately turn those crises as tools to vaguely bash at the wokery, also known as a new form of fascism. Major events are no more than interlude that do not materially change his views.
My point is that Morgan should not get much, if any credit, for occasionally appearing to be a helpful character. Nothing about his processes for making the “good” decisions are any better than when he decides that the main societal problem with rape cases is where their female accusers had lied. Morgan is the constantly barking dog, who could turn on you after the next ad break. Coincidental convergences do not an ally make.
Sometimes you have to send those types of dogs to a farm upstate.
October 18, 2020
I was hoping to learn some really good and well-researched points about the problems with the modern psyche that's driving the world to the state that it is today. However the whole book is just mainly about the author trying to address past arguments and pointing out the issues he faced in his Twitter-world, written in the style of a diary, with no clear direction and issues being brought up all over the place. It's probably a good read for those who's more interested to know what he's been up to and what his thoughts are with the issues and dramas that involved him recently, but other than that I failed to see any real substance in the book.
November 24, 2020
My grandson introduced me to this book, one I would not normally look at. I was intrigued because I get very cross at some of the stupid hypocrisy I see around me every day. I always think my small opinion will make no difference in this crazy high tech world, but Piers shows me that I must not be afraid to speak out honestly. I am in my 70s and though never a particular fan of Piers I must thank him for reminding me that I am not alone in believing it's a crazy world today. My opinion does matter.
December 31, 2020
Definitely not my normal read, but genuinely had some interesting insights into the COVID journey (as a result of Piers' work in the media, and his close contact with numerous Government ministers). A strong reminder of the failures of Government throughout the pandemic. Equally, you do have to put up with his glamorisation of himself, alongside some frankly dull gossip-based stories, which does take away from some of the genuinely powerful insights.
December 12, 2020
‘Wake Up’ is a challenging and disturbing appraisal of life in the UK during 2020 - the year of Covid-19. Naturally, the global Pandemic figures very significantly throughout the book, but it also confronts some of the most dangerous and frightening aspects of British life in the 21st Century –amongst them the increasing threat to free speech and personal freedom, the obsession with ‘political correctness’, power wielded by unelected government advisers, online abuse and bullying, and poor parental upbringing creating a weak, anxiety ridden and disaffected youth.
Piers Morgan attacks the ‘cancel culture’ of the Woke brigade’s ‘illiberal liberalism’ – an aggressive, ruthless, uncompromising and extremist agenda which is destroying free speech, stifling debate and leading its hapless victims to social ostracism, job loss and a ruined life – a sad recent example being the suicide of TV presenter Carolyn Flack, who had become an ongoing target for vitriolic online attacks by vicious ‘trollers’.
“Wake Up’ also maintains an ongoing and highly effective onslaught on the ineptitude of the British government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis– clearly confirmed by 60,000 + deaths. Government bungling is also exposed through a series of disastrous interviews with government ministers on the breakfast TV show ‘Good Morning Britain’, which is hosted by Piers Morgan. Apart from Chancellor of The Exchequer Rishi Sunak, all of Boris Johnson’s ministers are written off as ‘useless’.
Unlike the UK government – which took no action against Covid-19 until it was too late – Piers has been more than aware of its potentially deadly outcome and has given massive exposure to the government’s failings on his morning TV programme. The highly predictable outcome has been sustained attacks from the Wokes, accusing him of the bullying at which they themselves are past masters. In their twisted thinking, free speech is bullying! Unbelievably, when Prime Minister Boris Johnson contracted Covid-19, that twisted thinking generated trolls on Twitter wishing him dead.
At one time a supporter of Donald Trump, Piers Morgan now laments his appalling handling of Covid-19 in America, including his bizarre and totally unproven claims that he knew of an effective treatment. The deaths this ignorant nonsense might have encouraged do not bear thinking about. America’s horrendous toll of Covid-19 deaths already exceeds 290,000.
The self righteous and frequently hypocritical babblings of virtue-signalling ‘celebs’ are another target in ‘Wake Up’, with their fake ‘caring’ described as ‘shameless, self absorbed antics aimed at helping them prop up their brands while they are currently unable to maintain their lucrative star status’.
The celebrity hit list includes Madonna, Victoria and David Beckham, John Legend, Justin Trudeau, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – the last two referred to as ‘whining ego crazed leeches using private jets while lecturing the rest of us to watch our carbon footprint’.
Positioning the pair as having ‘swapped royal duty for money grabbing celebrity stardom’, he adds: ‘I’ve seen some disgraceful royal antics in my time, but for pure arrogance, entitlement, greed and wilful disrespect nothing has ever matched this nonsense from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’.
‘Wake Up’ offers a perceptive, succinct but very comprehensive history of Britain during the difficult and depressing year 2020. It is not a happy document. It shows a nation very much divided, strangled by political correctness, and locked in a toxic environment of hate, anger and abuse – much of it generated through social media.
But on a more cheerful and positive note, Piers pays tribute to the heroes of Britain’s National Health Service who saved so many lives while risking their own. He also reminds us that the global pandemic has led to a greater appreciation of migrant workers, many of whom are on the NHS payroll.
While these people were saving lives, the wokes were busy destroying another breed of hero by endeavouring to destroy statues in their honour, while screaming that Sir Winston Churchill was a ‘racist’.
Very sad. Britain used to be a beautiful country - but the book does offer some hope at the end:
Unity is the biggest casualty of the wokery epidemic. We’ve forgotten how to argue without rancour, to reach compromise, and to forgive. Liberals need to go back to being liberals again. Then people might really wake up.
Piers Morgan attacks the ‘cancel culture’ of the Woke brigade’s ‘illiberal liberalism’ – an aggressive, ruthless, uncompromising and extremist agenda which is destroying free speech, stifling debate and leading its hapless victims to social ostracism, job loss and a ruined life – a sad recent example being the suicide of TV presenter Carolyn Flack, who had become an ongoing target for vitriolic online attacks by vicious ‘trollers’.
“Wake Up’ also maintains an ongoing and highly effective onslaught on the ineptitude of the British government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis– clearly confirmed by 60,000 + deaths. Government bungling is also exposed through a series of disastrous interviews with government ministers on the breakfast TV show ‘Good Morning Britain’, which is hosted by Piers Morgan. Apart from Chancellor of The Exchequer Rishi Sunak, all of Boris Johnson’s ministers are written off as ‘useless’.
Unlike the UK government – which took no action against Covid-19 until it was too late – Piers has been more than aware of its potentially deadly outcome and has given massive exposure to the government’s failings on his morning TV programme. The highly predictable outcome has been sustained attacks from the Wokes, accusing him of the bullying at which they themselves are past masters. In their twisted thinking, free speech is bullying! Unbelievably, when Prime Minister Boris Johnson contracted Covid-19, that twisted thinking generated trolls on Twitter wishing him dead.
At one time a supporter of Donald Trump, Piers Morgan now laments his appalling handling of Covid-19 in America, including his bizarre and totally unproven claims that he knew of an effective treatment. The deaths this ignorant nonsense might have encouraged do not bear thinking about. America’s horrendous toll of Covid-19 deaths already exceeds 290,000.
The self righteous and frequently hypocritical babblings of virtue-signalling ‘celebs’ are another target in ‘Wake Up’, with their fake ‘caring’ described as ‘shameless, self absorbed antics aimed at helping them prop up their brands while they are currently unable to maintain their lucrative star status’.
The celebrity hit list includes Madonna, Victoria and David Beckham, John Legend, Justin Trudeau, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – the last two referred to as ‘whining ego crazed leeches using private jets while lecturing the rest of us to watch our carbon footprint’.
Positioning the pair as having ‘swapped royal duty for money grabbing celebrity stardom’, he adds: ‘I’ve seen some disgraceful royal antics in my time, but for pure arrogance, entitlement, greed and wilful disrespect nothing has ever matched this nonsense from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’.
‘Wake Up’ offers a perceptive, succinct but very comprehensive history of Britain during the difficult and depressing year 2020. It is not a happy document. It shows a nation very much divided, strangled by political correctness, and locked in a toxic environment of hate, anger and abuse – much of it generated through social media.
But on a more cheerful and positive note, Piers pays tribute to the heroes of Britain’s National Health Service who saved so many lives while risking their own. He also reminds us that the global pandemic has led to a greater appreciation of migrant workers, many of whom are on the NHS payroll.
While these people were saving lives, the wokes were busy destroying another breed of hero by endeavouring to destroy statues in their honour, while screaming that Sir Winston Churchill was a ‘racist’.
Very sad. Britain used to be a beautiful country - but the book does offer some hope at the end:
Unity is the biggest casualty of the wokery epidemic. We’ve forgotten how to argue without rancour, to reach compromise, and to forgive. Liberals need to go back to being liberals again. Then people might really wake up.
December 12, 2020
I will begin by saying that I do not agree with everything Morgan believes in. Most importantly on the 2nd Amendment. Ironically, we are on the same page when it comes to freedom of speech. Additionally, we share the same views on the woke society we see today. Ridiculous woke sentiment such as pronouns, and the offensive word or any word containing "man" (e.g. mankind, woman, human, etc.). We are becoming the most moronic society on the planet. We are allowing a small group of loud people define us as people. I am glad I will not be around in another 80 years to see it devolve even further into the abyss.
Morgan does not understand the American way of doing things. This is exactly why the 13 colonies of farmers and peasants kicked the crap out of the, at the time unbeatable army. He is for unlimited lock downs. I understand that for the anti-Trumpers, his comments about bleach is a godsend. I can agree that Trump should not think out loud and talk about ideas without being, but I do believe that they are holding him to a different standard. There ARE different synthetic compounds that COULD have the same affect on something in the body that would not in fact be Clorox Bleach.
He seems to have a fixation on Meghan Markle and Harry and its in the book ad nauseam. He goes into multiple tirades. Maybe since I am not British and don't really care about the "Royals" so maybe I am being too critical.
Later in the book he speaks about Adele, the singer and her weight loss. It only goes to show that you cannot make everyone happy in this society. "They" "fat-shame" her and then when she loses weight for her health, they shame her again for turning her back on the overweight people. I am not into the Super Model, super thin look. I feel a woman should have curves. Also women have children and put on weight and get stretchmarks for the miracle they performed. They should not be judged on either having more or less weight. My opinion is who wants to lay in bed or on (pardon visual) on a pack of bones. I am not into morbidly obese women either. I had gastric bypass 6 years ago and lost 150lbs so I know the struggle.... still do.
This is a great book if you are opposed to the ridiculous, moronic "wokeness" that has contaminated our society. We have not prepared our kids to survive the real world. These dolts think that by removing racist or perceived racist words from our lexicon that somehow their will be no more racism. They feel that if you remove any words that offends someone for something that somehow offense will be removed. It only allows for closeted feelings to be stored away and affect people and no one is going to know. For instance, I am American but my family is from Cuba. If there is someone that thinks I am a "wetback" or a "spick" and I remove those words for the lexicon, I am at a disadvantage from knowing who truly hates me. I would much rather be offended by them calling me something like that and choosing to disassociate from them, than to think they like me when they truly don't.
On George Floyd, he is wrong. I understand the book was written before the full video was released. However after watching the video in its "REAL" entirety (not the one Morgan saw at the time of the incident). There was nothing in the video that showed race being reason for Floyd's death. However it does show the sadistic negligence by an overzealous police office that did not have concern or the sense to remove his knee from the knee of a criminal. Floyd was not a saint, he was not an innocent man. He did not however deserve to die for his crime at least it was not for the police officer to decide that. Had he committed a crime, tried and found guilty and that crime was found to carry a punishment of death then that is a different story. The cop was a a-hole and deserves what he has coming. With that said, the BLM movement had an opportunity to bring more people into their movement but instead chose to alienate more people during a time that there was unanimous support for the movement. Make you wonder if there was a movement to divide instead of unite people.
Again, I agree with a lot of his views, but also disagree with many things as well. The beauty of freedom is that I can read his book and agree and disagree but still allow him to exist even if he is not lock-step with me. I hate that the word "privilege" has been weaponized as have other benign words. I hope people wake up. This is not liberalism, it is a new form of fascism, ironically coming from a group that espouse how they are against the very same.
Morgan does not understand the American way of doing things. This is exactly why the 13 colonies of farmers and peasants kicked the crap out of the, at the time unbeatable army. He is for unlimited lock downs. I understand that for the anti-Trumpers, his comments about bleach is a godsend. I can agree that Trump should not think out loud and talk about ideas without being, but I do believe that they are holding him to a different standard. There ARE different synthetic compounds that COULD have the same affect on something in the body that would not in fact be Clorox Bleach.
He seems to have a fixation on Meghan Markle and Harry and its in the book ad nauseam. He goes into multiple tirades. Maybe since I am not British and don't really care about the "Royals" so maybe I am being too critical.
Later in the book he speaks about Adele, the singer and her weight loss. It only goes to show that you cannot make everyone happy in this society. "They" "fat-shame" her and then when she loses weight for her health, they shame her again for turning her back on the overweight people. I am not into the Super Model, super thin look. I feel a woman should have curves. Also women have children and put on weight and get stretchmarks for the miracle they performed. They should not be judged on either having more or less weight. My opinion is who wants to lay in bed or on (pardon visual) on a pack of bones. I am not into morbidly obese women either. I had gastric bypass 6 years ago and lost 150lbs so I know the struggle.... still do.
This is a great book if you are opposed to the ridiculous, moronic "wokeness" that has contaminated our society. We have not prepared our kids to survive the real world. These dolts think that by removing racist or perceived racist words from our lexicon that somehow their will be no more racism. They feel that if you remove any words that offends someone for something that somehow offense will be removed. It only allows for closeted feelings to be stored away and affect people and no one is going to know. For instance, I am American but my family is from Cuba. If there is someone that thinks I am a "wetback" or a "spick" and I remove those words for the lexicon, I am at a disadvantage from knowing who truly hates me. I would much rather be offended by them calling me something like that and choosing to disassociate from them, than to think they like me when they truly don't.
On George Floyd, he is wrong. I understand the book was written before the full video was released. However after watching the video in its "REAL" entirety (not the one Morgan saw at the time of the incident). There was nothing in the video that showed race being reason for Floyd's death. However it does show the sadistic negligence by an overzealous police office that did not have concern or the sense to remove his knee from the knee of a criminal. Floyd was not a saint, he was not an innocent man. He did not however deserve to die for his crime at least it was not for the police officer to decide that. Had he committed a crime, tried and found guilty and that crime was found to carry a punishment of death then that is a different story. The cop was a a-hole and deserves what he has coming. With that said, the BLM movement had an opportunity to bring more people into their movement but instead chose to alienate more people during a time that there was unanimous support for the movement. Make you wonder if there was a movement to divide instead of unite people.
Again, I agree with a lot of his views, but also disagree with many things as well. The beauty of freedom is that I can read his book and agree and disagree but still allow him to exist even if he is not lock-step with me. I hate that the word "privilege" has been weaponized as have other benign words. I hope people wake up. This is not liberalism, it is a new form of fascism, ironically coming from a group that espouse how they are against the very same.
February 1, 2021
Like many I didn’t particularly like Piers Morgan until coronavirus hit and he seemed to be one of the few who took a stance and began holding the government to account on their shocking handling of the pandemic.
I was intrigued with this book however as I have always classed myself as a tolerant liberal and it seemed from the outset this book was going to challenge people who see themselves as this but are in fact the exact opposite.
I didn’t agree with all his opinions as I read but found myself questioning whether I thought I was right or not on certain issues as Morgan backs up his opinions with facts (many of which I wasn’t aware of)
This is a thought provoking book and demonstrates both the good and bad of social media particularly on issues that people choose to be offended about and a reminder that not everything we read on social media is true.
The one thing that does annoy me about this book is the hypocrisy of Morgan as he’s always having a pop at “celebs” for self promotion but spends a large part of this book promoting himself as some kind of saviour.
In saying that I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone whether you love him, loathe him or like me are an inbetweener. It might make you question some of your beliefs as well which can only be a good thing.
I was intrigued with this book however as I have always classed myself as a tolerant liberal and it seemed from the outset this book was going to challenge people who see themselves as this but are in fact the exact opposite.
I didn’t agree with all his opinions as I read but found myself questioning whether I thought I was right or not on certain issues as Morgan backs up his opinions with facts (many of which I wasn’t aware of)
This is a thought provoking book and demonstrates both the good and bad of social media particularly on issues that people choose to be offended about and a reminder that not everything we read on social media is true.
The one thing that does annoy me about this book is the hypocrisy of Morgan as he’s always having a pop at “celebs” for self promotion but spends a large part of this book promoting himself as some kind of saviour.
In saying that I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone whether you love him, loathe him or like me are an inbetweener. It might make you question some of your beliefs as well which can only be a good thing.
December 2, 2020
Before this year I was pretty ambivalent about Piers Morgan. But then when my usual breakfast telly presenters started letting me down by not challenging the MPs that they were interviewing about various aspects of the CoronaVirus, I switched over to the other side as I had heard that Morgan did just that.
But not only that, I also discovered that he also challenges other things that I am also interested in. Things that really shouldn't matter in the big picture of the global crisis that we are all living at the moment. The biggest crisis that the world has faced in peace time and we should be all pulling together and not be worrying about some of the small stuff that the faceless keyboard warriors seem to be high horsing.
That said, there are some really important topics being debated and these are repeatedly getting lost in the noise of all the fuss and kerfuffle surrounding them.
In this book Morgan highlights a lot of what is wrong in the world today - but he also focuses on what is right too. He has used his platform to speak out and challenge, and dare I say, change things for the better. Yes, he's still a bit up himself, he still speaks over people and interrupts in a bit of a rude fashion, but maybe that's not a bad thing at the moment as this is being used for good.
OK so following his twitter and watching him on TV shows that he doesn't always practice what he preaches in this book but, to be fair, who does...?
Oh and it's also very funny in places and also extremely readable. It also provides a great timeline for the horrible time that has been the first half of 2020...
But not only that, I also discovered that he also challenges other things that I am also interested in. Things that really shouldn't matter in the big picture of the global crisis that we are all living at the moment. The biggest crisis that the world has faced in peace time and we should be all pulling together and not be worrying about some of the small stuff that the faceless keyboard warriors seem to be high horsing.
That said, there are some really important topics being debated and these are repeatedly getting lost in the noise of all the fuss and kerfuffle surrounding them.
In this book Morgan highlights a lot of what is wrong in the world today - but he also focuses on what is right too. He has used his platform to speak out and challenge, and dare I say, change things for the better. Yes, he's still a bit up himself, he still speaks over people and interrupts in a bit of a rude fashion, but maybe that's not a bad thing at the moment as this is being used for good.
OK so following his twitter and watching him on TV shows that he doesn't always practice what he preaches in this book but, to be fair, who does...?
Oh and it's also very funny in places and also extremely readable. It also provides a great timeline for the horrible time that has been the first half of 2020...
January 13, 2021
Full Review - https://megs-world.com/wake-up-by-pie...
For me, this book was brilliant. I highly recommend for everyone. I personally think everyone should read thing regardless of your opinions, beliefs or feelings towards Piers Morgan himself. I find a lot of the time Piers gets worked up on TV and doesn't get his point across that well. Here, he's articulated it perfectly. To the point where almost all of it I agree with (apart from the odd comment). He has hit the nail on the head with an accurate description of society and what needs to be done.
His main topic in the book is what it means to be a liberal and how liberalism is dying out due to the 'woke' community and cancel culture. I can speak from personal experience with regards to cancel culture. If you so much as question the consensus because you don't understand, people jump on you, make you feel like you shouldn't be on the conversation. I was very quick to be called names and 'cancelled' out of the conversation and really, out of society. All because it questioned what everyone else was saying. This cancel culture is preventing free speech which is Piers' main point.
This book is in the format of a diary spanning the first 7 months of 2020. It's quite a nice memorabilia of COVID. Something you can read back and think 'gosh all of this happened in one year' while obviously mentioning all the key points and news that happened. I cannot recommend this book enough!
For me, this book was brilliant. I highly recommend for everyone. I personally think everyone should read thing regardless of your opinions, beliefs or feelings towards Piers Morgan himself. I find a lot of the time Piers gets worked up on TV and doesn't get his point across that well. Here, he's articulated it perfectly. To the point where almost all of it I agree with (apart from the odd comment). He has hit the nail on the head with an accurate description of society and what needs to be done.
His main topic in the book is what it means to be a liberal and how liberalism is dying out due to the 'woke' community and cancel culture. I can speak from personal experience with regards to cancel culture. If you so much as question the consensus because you don't understand, people jump on you, make you feel like you shouldn't be on the conversation. I was very quick to be called names and 'cancelled' out of the conversation and really, out of society. All because it questioned what everyone else was saying. This cancel culture is preventing free speech which is Piers' main point.
This book is in the format of a diary spanning the first 7 months of 2020. It's quite a nice memorabilia of COVID. Something you can read back and think 'gosh all of this happened in one year' while obviously mentioning all the key points and news that happened. I cannot recommend this book enough!
March 18, 2022
DNF. Lost me with the transphobia.
January 12, 2021
I think it is important to engage with people and material that you disagree with. So to avoid being hypocritical in my beliefs I decided to pick up this book. This book met many of my expectations – it was often frustrating, self congratulatory and melodramatic.
However, I learned a lot by reading this book. It was an important and necessary exercise in challenging one’s own opinions, and listening (rather than reacting) to different opinions. Moreover, I found myself agreeing with some of Morgan’s points and empathising with some of his views - I did not expect I would do this.
The book tracks the months between Jan - Jul 2020. There’s a lot of copied & pasted tweets (mainly from Morgan himself) which I think is lazy and self-centred writing. Structuring the book as so reminded me of the crazy times we have lived through & continue to live through in the UK.
Themes covered include: race, gender, covid-19, weight, free speech, woke culture.
However, I learned a lot by reading this book. It was an important and necessary exercise in challenging one’s own opinions, and listening (rather than reacting) to different opinions. Moreover, I found myself agreeing with some of Morgan’s points and empathising with some of his views - I did not expect I would do this.
The book tracks the months between Jan - Jul 2020. There’s a lot of copied & pasted tweets (mainly from Morgan himself) which I think is lazy and self-centred writing. Structuring the book as so reminded me of the crazy times we have lived through & continue to live through in the UK.
Themes covered include: race, gender, covid-19, weight, free speech, woke culture.
January 16, 2021
I didn’t know what to expect when turning the first page but a diary style entry was certainly low on my list. It did however make for an extremely well put together look back at 2020, which alongside more trivial events that have highlighted just how tribal and partisan society has become, really visualises the failings and hypocrisy of the UK government during the pandemic in a cyclical manner.
Furthermore, the exploration into how society is seeing a shift from your classic liberals who encourage debate, discussion and hopefully a compromise or change of view, to the illiberal liberalists who see screaming and cancelling as the way forward, makes for a particularly interesting read.
Love him or hate him, agree with him or counter his ideology, the important thing to remember is we must listen to each other, engage in debate and hopefully arrive in a better place.
Furthermore, the exploration into how society is seeing a shift from your classic liberals who encourage debate, discussion and hopefully a compromise or change of view, to the illiberal liberalists who see screaming and cancelling as the way forward, makes for a particularly interesting read.
Love him or hate him, agree with him or counter his ideology, the important thing to remember is we must listen to each other, engage in debate and hopefully arrive in a better place.
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