Rating: 
Summary: The funniest thing I've ever read!
Review: I've liked the Onion since I heard about it a few years ago. It seemed to be the only decent replacement for the now impossible to find and not worth it anymore National Lampoon (they stopped being funny after Doug Kenney died). So when I saw that they were putting out Our Dumb Century, I pre-ordered it. When it showed up, I spent the next few hours reading just the headlines (it took me several hours longer than normal because I couldn't breathe sometimes). I had to call in sick the next day so I could read more, and once I showed it to my boss, he not only understood, he bought one for himself and one for his dad (turns out his dad did the same thing) I'm still reading the actually articles and have finally worked my way up to 1965.The writing is perfect - exactly the style you would expect from those particulary times in American history. They did an impeccable job of layout and design to mimic the daily newspapers of the day, with a beautiful edition from the late 1700s. This is hilarious, brilliant, well-crafted, and a must for anybody who likes good humor! I've shown it to about 40 people, many of whom are journalists, and they all love it (most of them own it now, too).
Rating:
Summary: Lives up to The Onion's reputation
Review: I've been a fan of The Onion for about 10 years since my brother brought the comedic coupon paper home from college at Madison, WI. This book delivers The Onion's wit over the whole century! Some hate The Onion's brand of humor but I love it. If you like The Onion's web page or the paper, you'll love this book. I only wish all the great stories The Onion had over the past decade were represented in this book!
Rating:
Summary: Freelance social satire at its finest!
Review: This book has some of the best social satire I've ever read. Headlines like "World War 2 Over! 50 Years of Nuclear Paranoia Begin Today!", and "German Jews Concerned About Hitler's 'Kill All Jews' Proposal", not to mention "Berlin Wall Destroyed In Doritos-Sponsored Super Bowl Halftime Spectacular". Every headline will make you laugh out loud. Some of the headlines are downright tasteless, like the one about Rosa Parks and cabs, or U.S. troops to pull out of North Vietnamese girl, but, I LIKE IT!! I'm the tasteless type of person. Buy this book, money well spent.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny satire based on historical half-truths
Review: The satire is first rate, but it seems to be applied in a way that exagerates the common stereo-types and half-baked perceptions about American history. The Reagan bashing, red-scare exageration, Black Panther sympathizing, anti-military tones and "Eat the Rich" mentality is very consistent with any newspaper coming out of Madison, Wisconsin. The real weekly Onion, however, is more balanced than this book tends to be. Still, a very original and funny work.
Rating:
Summary: The distilled essence of the Onion
Review: I have always been a little disappointed with the weekly editions of the Onion. The few comedic gems are tarnished by the more mundane body of material. Of course I have to admit that it is an immense task to publish a weekly full newspaper parody that keeps up with current events as well as the Onion does. So it is understandable that not every article reverberates with the hilarity of "Jesus converts to Islam". This book gives the writers of the Onion the opportunity to concentrate the key events of each year of the past century into one or two pages of material. The result is that all of the writers' talents shine through. The headlines and stories give an educated, irreverent, sometimes a tad offensive, and sometimes remarkably insightful twist to the most important events of the American twentieth century. The book is not perfect. I felt it faltered slightly from the mid 80s to the present (there could be a correlation between this sentiment and the fact that the period from the mid 80s to the present is the only period which I have personally experienced). Nevertheless, this is a wonderful book which I rate right up there with such classics as "Bored of the Rings".
Rating:
Summary: Taking up a grand literary tradition
Review: Aristophanes, Juvenal, Horace, Jonathan Swift, and now the Onion. "Our Dumb Century" and the Onion in general deserve a special place of honor for writing the only truly original satire of our time.Kent State, Mobsters, War (from WWI to Kosovo), environmental pollution, race relations/civil rights, and corsets are all hilarious in the proper context--hey, everything's fair game in the world of satire. Keep up the good work, Onion, and don't pull any punches in the future. It's your duty to your literary forebears.
Rating:
Summary: This book kicks it old school
Review: The Onion is the only thing that keeps me from hanging myself by my necktie as I toil in my skyscraper prison. Reviewer bnemo hits the nail on the head. Anyone who doesn't think the Onion is funny is my sworn enemy and my boring tormentor. Anyway this book kicks it on and on till the break of dawn. Enjoy it with the finest ice cream treats available anywhere. Smoove B.
Rating:
Summary: The funniest millenium book of the year--and the millenium.
Review: "Our Dumb Century" expands the scope of the Onion's wicked wit beyond the mere banalities of today to the broader banalities of the historical past. For those familiar with their style and brilliant insights it's like letting them loose on a whole new playground. The writers of the Onion stand on an even level with the comic revolutionaries of modern society: Lenny Bruce's satire of society's ills; the "intellectual silliness" of Monty Python; and the "imagine what if" brilliance of Gary Larson's Far Side. The humor of the Onion doesn't need props, TV, or drawing usually--it's all between you the reader and the words they give you. If anything, they ultimately make fun of the media, using its cliched headlines and mannerisms to boldly announce the stupidest aspects of modern culture. Their method might be disectable, but their uncommon skill at finding and describing just the right irony is, frankly, the leading edge of comedy as we know it. "Our Dumb Century" just gives them even more fodder.
Rating:
Summary: 10+ stars on a 5 star scale
Review: As a former student at the U of Wisconsin I am quite familar with the Onion newspaper and love their work. This book is humorous look at "The American Century" well worth the 12 bucks! I highly recommend this work especially to fans of authors such as P.J. O'Roark, Hunter S. Tompson or Howard Stern. To those who said this book is stupid, I'll have to admit that the humor is some what juvenile, but what did you expect New York Times articles? These peoples' criticisms just show that they have ZERO sense of humor and even less imagination. It's sad to see that these people take life so seriously that they have completely lost their sense of humor!
Rating:
Summary: Your spleen will have an outer-body experience
Review: A rave review of this book is now my litmus test for someone becoming a true friend. To not be able to find the side-wrenching humor in this book is like not being able to find a rat tail in your Kentucky Fried Chicken. Longtime fans will flip over the Onion touch on ancient (well, early 1900s) history; new adopters will be hooked for life. Before putting faith in one-star ratings make sure those reviewers haven't also awarded five stars to "Monica's Story."
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