America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction

America the book is freakin' hilarious. No, seriously, hilarious. Yes, it points out some failings in democracy and the particular problems with Re...ehem....I mean, partisanship, but this book is also a great testament to the free speech, free media, and the unrestricted access to information by which these jokes were able to circulate. I think that Jon Stewart is a very intelligent man, and, although this satire might offend some, to me, this book is not about the flaws in the system, but the social problems we all must face as human beings living together on this planet. I recommend this read to all of those who want to learn (unfactual) information about presidential nicknames, the real duties of cabinet members, and what hijinks show more democratic nations will be up to in the future. 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 Stewart.

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.

This book has parts that are wildly funny, The Daily Show now rates with only 2 other authors that have made me LOL. (The others are Woody Allen and Hunter S. Thompson with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.)

However well before half the book I was saddened and could only laugh at off-topic jokes like the news anchorman name generator gag. Why? Because the topical jokes are how sad, confused, muddled, unfair, and ridiculous the American political system and political discourse is. And, it is so true, too true to laugh at...

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 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, show more seems to be one we should all take to heart. Think for yourself instead of being blindly lead by those in power. show less

This dead-on spoof on a high school textbook, complete with discussion questions at the end of each chapter, about American politics and history is absolutely hysterical. The writing is stellar, clear, and concise, and filled with side-splitting commentary on everything, and everyone, in the American political scene.

“Do you know why we call them amendments? Because they amend! They fix mistakes or correct omissions and they themselves can be changed. If we had meant for the Constitution to be written in stone we would have written it in stone. Most things were written in stone back then, you know. I’m not trying to be difficult but it’s bothersome when you blame your own inflexibility and extremism on us.

Not that we weren’t show more awesome. We wrote the constitution in the time it takes you nimrods to figure out which is the aye button and which is the nay.” {pg. x, aka Thomas Jefferson’s forward}

Despite it’s satire and comedy, America (The Book) has a fair amount of truth, and makes American government all the more interesting. show less

A humorous and satirical look at our country, the ideals it was based on, those who founded it, and how it compares to other areas of the world.
Unless you are already an expert on America, democracy and everything pertaining to it, you will find yourself wondering whether the information contained in this book is the truth, or a joke. The answer to that question is, "yes." I had to resort to an internet search more often than I care to admit, but I found that I learned more by being prompted by my ignorance of their point than I would have from reading a dry text book. The design is early elementary school textbook, which I found quite entertaining. The "Were You Aware" margin notes were especially hilarious, as were the footnotes. It's show more unfortunate; however, that in order to point out distressing truths about our 'great nation' the authors were forced to resort to humor. I have long been a fan of the Daily Show because, albeit in the guise of 'comedy', they are not afraid to engage in the kind of true and necessary journalism that the 'legitimate' media seems to have let fall by the wayside. This book is an extension of that aim, and accomplishes it's purpose quite well.
Note: This book sits on our coffee table, with works by Bill Maher, Michael Moore, and Al Franken. It's what we like to call 'The Coffee Table of Leftism" show less