Rating: 
Summary: How do they come up with this stuff? It's amazing!
Review: If you want to get an Onion book, but can't decide which one to get (this or "Finest News Reporting"), I suggest this one. FNR is just a rehash of archived Onion articles most of which you can retrieve online. It's good, but this is brand new stuff (as far as I know). It's presented as a selection of Onion newspaper front pages since 1900. It's a great premise as it allows them to make fun of old news the same way as they do current events. The guys behind The Onion are amazing. Keep this stuff coming.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious Satire
Review: This book is laugh out loud hilarious but it does require at least mild knowledge and/or interest in history and pop culture. A couple of my favorite stories are: "Female Orgasm Discovered" (accompanied by a picture of a bunch of scientists in lab coats) and "U.S. Troops Pull Out of Vietnamese Peasant Girl." Overall, a very biting satire of American society over the last hundred years that will almost assuredly have you laughing out loud. I find it leans slightly to the left but it pretty much dishes it out equally to both the liberals and conservatives. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: You'll laugh until snot shoots out your nose...
Review: ...or you'll be offended.To better appreciate this book, you might want to know at least a little something about the world or history (I'm sure there's a couple of you out there), but even if you don't there is something in this thing that will make anyone laugh. This book was my first exposure to The Onion and now I am a dedicated follower. To me, this is the funniest piece of media available in the world today. There's no TV show, no stand-up comic that can guarantee a weekly belly laugh like The Onion can. The greatest thing about the Onion is that it goes well beyond facts and instead reports the truth. It taps into our collective consciousness and reports, not only how things OUGHT to be, but how we all secretly know them to be. Nothing is sacred. If you are the type of person who thinks it's inappropriate to make fun of racism, poverty, disease, murder, religion, war and and all of the other countless horrors we subject ourselves and each other to day after day after day, then this book is not for you. If, on the other hand, you've realised that the only inescapable truth in the world is that people are really, really dumb as a whole... buy this book and laugh hysterically at your own stupidity. If you're going to be condemned to a world full of morons, you might as well have a good sense of humor about the whole thing.
Rating: 
Summary: Both witty and absurd.
Review: It should be known that this book is more appealing to those with at least a moderate interest in contemporary American history. In other words, it's for "Jeopardy" fans, not "Millionaire" fans. This book doesn't just lampoon American, it rips it apart and spits it back at you, all the while leaving smiling and shaking your head. The writers leave no item from the past 100 years untouched -- it's remarkably broad and thorough. After 40-50 years, the actual columns under the precious headlines (which are really the point of the book) get a bit formulaic, and I found my self skimming some of them. However, I cannot think a humor book that has more 'meat' in, making it well worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: Clever, wonderful and knowing
Review: These people are at the top of their game with this hilarious book. You can only effectively spoof what you know well and the writers of this book know their history and pop-culture touchstones. The sly references to reality are what makes this book a bit more than simply an extremely funny farce.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZON.COM REVIEWER THINKS HIS OPINIONS MATTER
Review: I see "Our Dumb Century" as the Onion's chronicle of some parallel-dimension 20th century, where 'truth in media' is held as an absolute, and our obsession with consumer/celebrity culture is amplified to the nth degree. It is a great piece of meta-media, with a sense of humour so addictive that you'll need to chew a pack of gum just to get on with your life. I read the online Onion in short spurts, quickly scanning the headlines and very rarely actually reading whole stories. The reason for this, I guess, is that I find the regular paper falls into familiar patterns in an attempt to satirize the mundane nature of everyday life. When a story begins "Area man...", I usually know where the story is going. But when they train that sharp eye on the hypocrisy of history, The Onion staff really shines. The headlines here are strong. 'Al Capone's Reign of Tax Evading Terror Comes to an End', 'Pentagon Develops A-Bomb Resistant Desk', 'Holy S--t, Man Walks on F-----g Moon', and 'CNN Deploys Troops to Iraq' are just a few examples of their Haiku-like precision in taking aim at their targets. My favourite has to be from the September 3, 1939 issue, which proclaims in bombastic 144-pt type: 'WA-', and then just underneath 'Headline continued on page 2'. The great strength of the book, though lies in its stories. They are consistently crisply written parodies of journalistic integrity, and the public's need to be pacified, with the added bonus of using hindsight's ability to reconstruct history. Witness the opening paragraph in the story of the sinking of the Titanic: "Officials of the White Star Line have confirmed the sinking, during her maiden voyage, of the R.M.S. Titanic, the world's largest symbol of man's mortality and vulnerability." Or a story in the September 6, 1997 issue: "Princess Diana is being remembered as a 'wealthy, wealthy woman' following her death in a Paris auto accident last week." Every paragraph contains one of those rare feats: a sentence that makes you think deep thoughts and laugh deep laughs. My favourite kind of writing. As the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe once said, "God is in the details". Well, the details here are what makes the parody so great. Check out the paper's changing mastheads, from the simple, patriotic icon in the 1910s, to the bombastic Eagle-infested coats-of-arms in the forties and fifties (complete with Latin motto "Tu Stultus Es", which calls attention to the foolishness of the whole modern enterprise), to the late sixties where the Eagle is replaced by a (psychedelic?) flying onion logo! And the company slogans that accompany the mastheads are great as well, my favourite being from a 1951 edition: 'Safeguard the Norm/Supporting Paranoia'. When flipping casually through the book, just don't forget to pay close attention to the marginalia. It's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Onion now in book form! Film at eleven.
Review: I almost S#!t myself! This book has more twisted one-liners than Henny Youngman on acid. A must read for anyone who's grown weary of fruitful pursuits. I haven't read a piece of literary work this funny since the Warren Report! If you enjoy sound journalistic reporting and challenging insight into modern culture, then call Dan Rather. Otherwise, you might consider buying "Our Dumb Century". I did and although that whole issue has yet to make it to The People's Court, I hear the price has dropped considerably as of late. By any means, it makes a great present (for those of you who DO drink heavily) and is unlikely to offend most people who don't actually open it. I can't wait for the sequel!
Rating:
Summary: Great Satire for liberal types
Review: This book is one of the funniest I have read in a long time. Conservatives beware, it may offend you...but the rest of us will enjoy it :)Also, many have felt that this book pokes fun at racial groups etc....well that can be included in the SATIRE that this book has, it is not ment to be taken seriously, and if you do take it that way, lighten up! Buy this book, you'll love it
Rating:
Summary: For the cynical, satire-loving news junkie in your life
Review: Throw this one into the time capsule. That'll really mess 'em up. A must.
Rating:
Summary: This is one of the funniest books ever.
Review: This is one of the funniest books ever. It's not "frat-boy" humor; it's much more intelligent than that. Anyone who thinks that this book is racist, homophobic, anti-rodeo clown, etc., doesn't understand the humor, satire, or traffic lights. I pity thee.
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