More of the Colbert Report. Which I like, but nothing earth shattering. ( )

humor, politics, united states, satire

Not so much laugh out loud funny as it is consistently amusing, I enjoyed I Am America but felt that it would probably have worked better for me as an abridged audio book. The jokes lose a lot without Colbert's delivery, and expanded over two hundred pages, a parody like this does start to wear rather thin and become rather meandering. The chapters on immigration and sexuality are probably the best, possibly because they're so topical at the moment and therefore those sections had more of a sense of focus. I did appreciate the inclusion of the transcript of the White House Correspondents' Dinner speech at the end, though; that was truly one of the best moments of political satire of recent years, and felt a lot less safe than the material in the rest of this book. ( )

If you like The Colbert Report there's a good chance you will enjoy this book. If not, well you get the idea. Written word has never been the best medium for laugh-out-loud humor. This is because there is no way to transfer what is possibly the most important part of any joke: the delivery. Things like timing, facial expression, and tone play a much bigger role in creating laughs than most people realize. So any funny book that tries to emulate a TV show already has one strike against.Nevertheless, Stephen and his staff writers did manage to pound together a very funny book. And the style seemed so familiar that I often imagined Stephen talking as I was reading. That helped ease the handicap a bit. They also managed to take advantage of the new medium's unique attributes. For example, the routines tend to be longer than they could ever be on the show.Reading this book is sure to put a smile anyone's face -- as long they don't take things so seriously. This book, like the corresponding show, is one big joke. Everything in it, from the fake award medallion on the front to the fake review blurb on the back, is designed solely to bring a smile to your face. If you take anything in this book seriously, you're obviously reading it wrong. ( )

Fun book. Note: I listened to the audiobook version. It is read, more like performed, by Stephen Colbert and he relies on a cast of others for parts of the book. ( )