The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) : A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction

Rating:
Summary: Get Five of Them!
Review:
I do not watch The Daily Show but the book is great! You will like it no matter if you are pro Democrat or pro Republican. It is safe to give as a gift to almost anyone. If you want to add something more serious to the package, throw in "Can We Live 150 Years?" by M. Tombak.

Rating:
Summary: America (The Book): 228 Pages of Comedy in Action
Review:
If real textbooks were this fun, I wouldn't mind paying $150 for them.

America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction is essentially a print version of the Daily Show, written to look and read like an elementary school history book.

The book has everything your old textbooks would have, from quizzes and activities, to information boxes and graphs.

The only difference is that this book has the same brand of sarcastic, cynical humor that makes the Daily Show great.

While the Daily Show typically takes shots at Republicans, America spares no political group, which is good because it probably makes the book appeal to a wider audience, as long as readers are willing to have their political ideologies taken behind the woodshed.

It criticizes Democrats for being sissies and Republicans for being bullies, it even calls Warring G. Harding the worst president ever, which probably came as a surprise to George W. Bush, who is grilled on the Daily Show quite often.

My favorite quote from the book came from a map of the United States. The caption said, "By holding the first contests in the race for the presidency, Iowa and New Hampshire wield enormous power. This makes perfect sense, considering their size." The map shows Iowa and New Hampshire taking up most of the area of the country.

The thing I liked most about America was that the authors did a good job of making this seem like an actual textbook (it even has the property box on the front cover), which increased the comedic value of this book.

From a chart that shows European War records, such as France (17 wins, 9 losses, 16-1 pre-Napoleon, 1-8 post-Napoleon, to a match quiz where you have to match a network anchor to his or her hair, this looks like an authentic textbook.

The only downer about this book was the "Dress the Supreme Court" exercise, which has cut-out robes to place on naked pictures of the Supreme Court justices to "restore their dignity."

I just thought that section could have been omitted, and the book would have been just as good, if not better. I have a feeling the inclusion of that section was just a marketing ploy, which undoubtedly worked when Wal-Mart refused to sell the book because of the pictures.

Nevertheless, if you are like sarcasm, like bashing the status quo and enjoy the Daily Show (and I do), then you'll probably like America (The Book).

If you like mug shots of Supreme Court justices superimposed over naked bodies (and I most certainly do not), you'll definitely like this book.


Rating:
Summary: Seriously, it's only a joke!
Review: "America", a book edited and authored by the popular talk show host Jon Stewart, presents a cynical and tongue-in-cheek view of democracy as it practiced now in the United States. He has co-authored and edited the book with several members of the staff of his popular talk-show, "The Jon Stewart Show".

As the anchor of the fake news show, the author is well known for his political satire and keen awareness of current issues. The fact that this show won the Television Critics Association's award for outstanding news and public affairs series shows his understanding of political and social issues.

The book itself has a very interesting format. It is written as a high school or college history text book, complete with lessons, assignments, discussion questions, and class room activities. It even includes an interesting board game which portrays the activities and events (the expected and the unexpected) of a presidential term. The provides a chronological evolution of democracy, starting with pre-historic times, tracing beginnings of American democracy to times of Greek philosophers, following its development through the years of birth and growth of parliamentary democracy in Britain all the way to the recently concluded election between George Bush and John Kerry.

The main thrust of the book is to show the sometimes glaring divergence between intent of democracy and how it is practiced by governments. If the book is to be believed one walks away with the impression that the deviations are the norm. Whether one subscribes to Jon's version of the reality or not, it is undeniable that the contents are extremely funny and make enjoyable reading. Funnily enough, they also make you think. My particular favorites are chapters 1, 3, and 9.

There were several things I liked about this book. As one reads through the book, the diagrams, the illustrations, and the political humor make the reading thoroughly enjoyable. However, some readers might have a hard time with it since Jon adopts a formal, academic, and sophisticated manner expression quite frequently. He tends to use a lot of long and pompous words in his sentences and some times this makes the satire difficult to understand and the reading very arduous. This is not a good idea if the intent is to reach a very large audience.
I would highly recommend this book for the people who watch, like, and enjoy Jon Stewart's shows. This is almost a "must have" for them, since it contains the same kind of political criticism he includes in his shows. Interestingly, I would also strongly recommend it for those who are new to this type of genre and haven't watched any of Jon Stewart's shows before - the book is an education in itself and an eye-opener. You don't get this kind of education in any school or college. Trust me.

And pray that Jon is only joking.


Rating:
Summary: Juvenile Humor and Unnecessary Profanity Obscure Pithy Wit
Review: America (The Book) is the most elaborate satire you will ever see of a civics text. I found myself marveling over the detail and the amazing amount of work that must have gone into producing something so original.

It would be easy to write such a satire without having a profound understanding of the weaknesses of American government processes and leaders. But America (The Book) is blessed with writers who obviously know their history and subject well. As a result, for those who do not know American government and history very well, this book will be a real eye-opener.

American democracy has achieved a near-religious status in American culture, and it's very healthy to have some air taken out of the pomposity that often surrounds that kind of awe. Our system's greatest strength is that it happens to be better than the alternatives . . . but has plenty of room for improvement. I applaud the authors and designers of this book for creating a book model that will undoubtedly spawn many look-alikes focused on other subjects. All of that will be to the good.

At its best, the book is both witty and insightful. At its worst, it is mindlessly profane to no purpose and panders to the lowest common denominator (such as the extensive use of sexual and bathroom humor). Unfortunately, the profanity and pandering dominate the wit. The authors clearly have the talent to have produced a book that was virtually all wit . . . but elected not to do so. That's a shame.

The Foreword by Thomas Jefferson raises the reader's hopes. It's a brilliant satire.

But the book quickly falls down in chapter 1 with a not very thrilling section on Democracy before America. The founding of America is more history than most people will want to read a satire of.

The sections on the president, Congress and the judiciary are average and predictable.

The book is best in its look at campaigns, elections and the media. Those sections are ruthlessly bright and leave their subjects headless without drawing any obvious blood.

The Future of Democracy section is disconnected from reality a bit too much for my taste. The Rest of the World chapter feels like filler material.

The final section on the Bush-Kerry campaign is genuinely funny and almost worth the price of the book by itself.

Some people have told me that they couldn't get through the first two chapters at first. If you are having that problem, jump ahead to chapters 6 and 7 . . . and then come back. You'll probably enjoy the book more that way.

My favorite parts of the book came in brief sections where Samantha Bee briefly contrasts the American approach to that of Canada. The observations are intelligent, well-chosen, focused and beautifully presented. These are fascinating commentaries on the U.S. and Canada that speak volumes in just a few words. Brilliant work!


Rating:
Summary: Jon Stewart for President!
Review: Does anybody disagree that Jon Stewart is the new liberal hero, maybe our only reliable voice on the television airwaves? Who'd have expected Comedy Central to provide us the anti-Fox News?

"America" is the coffee table book everybody had to have after the 2004 election. It's a nice way to keep Stewart's bracing wit available at all times, to pick you up from the latest depressing news from Washington.

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious, yet Terrifyingly truthful
Review: I nominate John Stewart for President of the Universe. This was the funniest book I have read in years, yet, also one of the most terrifyingly truthful and prophetic books ever. Stewart is liberally biased (obviously) but accepetable to Republicans due to his equal-opportunity political bashing. Yet, he still manages to work in his jibes against the system and the inherently ridicolous manevolence of the always-frightning Republican party. Plus (this can be a boon or bane depending on your preferences) it has naked old people.

Rating:
Summary: An American original
Review: In the great tradition of American parody, sarcasm and satire, Jon Stewart is Mad Magazine, National Lampoon and Saturday Night Live, wrapped up in one hilarious ball of 21st century humor. Far from being a Lefty poking fun at Righties (although Stewart -- the person -- certainly is that), this book doesn't discriminate. So if you're a humorless Lefty who cannot imagine anyone poking fun at your sacred cows, go buy Al Franken's book and allow your sensibilities to remain unchallenged. (And the same goes for the Right ... except you might want to pick up Anne Coulter or Bill O'Reilly's books.) But if you aren't on the unthinking fringe of Left OR Right, check out this book and get a laugh or two ... or three ... or more.

Rating:
Summary: If You Enjoy Jon Stewart's Humor, You'll Love This Book
Review: The controversy surrounding America (The Book) began when Wal Mart canceled its order for the book because of a parody of nine Supreme Court Justices pictured nude on page 99. That picture lead to even more controversy when two Mississippi libraries called the picture "pornographic" and banned the book from their libraries. The outrage from people around the country resulted in the library board reversing the decision and deciding to allow the book into circulation by a 5-2 vote.

There's no doubt you've heard of this bestseller. With all of the controversy surrounding the nude picture, you probably haven't heard about the rest of the content in this book.

First of all, you have to know what you're getting into with Jon Stewart. His type of humor isn't for everyone and it fills the pages. If you don't like his type of humor, you probably won't enjoy this book.

This is one of those books you can pick up, flip through and start reading at any point. Stewart and his The Daily Show colleagues take a look at everything from the founding of America to the media. You'll find pages that look like they've been scribbled on with notes, diagrams, sidebars with little "factoids," quizzes, discussion questions and polls all done in The Daily Show style.

America (The Book) is a lot like something you'd see in Mad magazine. If you're not easily offended by foul language or a picture of nine naked people with the heads of the Supreme Court Justices superimposed over their bodies, then America (The Book) is definitely worth picking up.

This book has received harsh criticism and strong praise. The media buzz and controversy of the nude picture have put this book on the map. Randomly scanning the pages at your local bookstore will give you enough info on whether this book is right for you.

If you're even considering purchasing America (The Book), then you'd probably laugh non-stop while reading it. Most people who wouldn't like it, wouldn't even consider reading a review for it.

The "F" word and other cuss words are sprinkled throughout the pages. It doesn't make the book any funnier and actually takes away from the really good content of the book.

Just remember, this isn't a bedtime story for your children.


Rating:
Summary: If you like the Daily Show, this is for you
Review: The great thing about Jon Stewart is not just that he is hilarious, but that he doesn't abuse his position to be a flack for the left. There's something in here for everybody, and there are enough jokes to please readers of any political belief.

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This is a very good book to read.

you don't have to be a Jon Stewart fan to like it.