Ben Karlin

I was about one paragraph into this when I realized I had to ration my reading of it. I needed to savor the humor instead of just plowing through quickly. I was crying with laughter at points.

Oh, and I'm a conservative.

America: A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart, Ben Karlin, and David Javaerbaum reads like you would expect - like a textbook only funnier. At times, the humor takes a moment to absorb. Other times it’s laugh out loud funny. If you enjoy political satire, you will enjoy this book. The book’s humor is grounded in historical accuracies and inaccuracies often with the funnier moments rising out of actual events. At times, it feels like the writers tried too hard to show more inject humor. At other times, the humor flows naturally. America, just like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, serves to remind us all that we often take ourselves and those who are telling us what to think way too seriously. Stewart’s message, as always, seems to be one we should all take to heart. Think for yourself instead of being blindly lead by those in power. show less

Thanks to a few delayed flights, I spent most of my day the day after Christmas in airports, reading this book and giggling incessantly. So much so that I heard people around me whispering about me and giving me odd looks. I’m sure that some thought I was off my rocker. I would have shown them the book and recommended that they go get a copy themselves, but most of it was while I was in Wichita and the whisperers all looked of a certain political persuasion and I didn’t wish to be show more beaten with sticks.

Anyway, this book was as hilarious as I expected it to be and more. It’s brilliant stuff, dudes. Though
sometimes frustrating because his writing style makes it difficult to always determine what stuff is true and what is made up, which only makes you feel inferior about your lack of history knowledge, for the most part it's just crazy-sugar-high-up-all-night funny.

I have to say, my favorite parts were the ”what form of government is right for you?” chart and the section on Puritans (the latter had me laughing so hard I could barely breathe. My mother-in-law read it and didn’t even chuckle. so I guess it’s not for everyone.) show less

The strange thing about America: The Book is that it's simultaneously both one of the most hilarious, and one of the most depressing, books that I have ever read. I mean, I can say that I--one of those dreaded liberal commie pinko Europeans--have learned something about the American political process by reading it. On the other hand, while I was reading the chapter on the modern news media I thought, you know, there's something to be said for wilful ignorance.

I would still totally sex up Jon show more Stewart. show less