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 America rocks. Jul 12, 2010
Riding on Jon Stewart's success with America: The Book, protege Stephen Colbert has released I Am America (And So Can You!), a delightful extension of Colbert's half-hour persona on The Colbert Report. Channeling Bill O'Reilly in his fear and hatred for all things not American, Colbert discusses a variety of topics, all complete with hilarious footnotes and blurbs that makes every page seem like a chocolate box full of goodies. If you are a fan of Colbert's half0hour show on Comedy Central and still crave more, this is the perfect book to solidify your opinion that Stephen Colbert was right all along: America rocks.
 There was just too much going on Jun 30, 2010
I love Stephen Colbert. I used to watch him on "Strangers with Candy," and he was so funny. I got this book, and there was just too much going on. He wrote comments on the side, as well as footnotes. I couldn't just read one paragraph without him interrupting me somewhere. I only a read a few pages in and had to give up. I was hoping he would just write from his own point of view, but it was from his character on "The Colbert Report" -- or at least that is what it seemed like. If you were hoping for just a funny book with just normal paragraphs to read, this book isn't it.
Laughed to Tears Jun 23, 2010
Honestly, the only other book that has made me laugh this way is Woody Allen's Side Effects and Phil Jackson's The Last Season (I get the giggles whenever I imagine the names Jackson called Kobe). Colbert covers everything from religion to race to sex to politics to evolution. The games and puzzles will keep you guessing and laughing too. Colbert's self-deprecating and mock-anything approach proves he's one of America's foremost satirists that can raise one eyebrow like Spock without two pointy ears nor ability to do a mind meld (well, I'm not sure about the mind meld, he is from North Carolina, so maybe he can do that).
For Colbert fans... if you've never heard of him, this may be confusing! Jun 14, 2010
I only get to watch The Colbert Report on occasion (usually over my son's shoulder while he is watching it during breakfast (Hulu) instead of finishing his homework). So I did have a sense of "Colbert humor."
I enjoy it.
So I looked forward to the opportunity to get a copy of his "I Am America (And So Can You!)." I was not disappointed.
What I wonder, however, is what a dittohead thinks when he reads this book? Does he (I say "he" intentionally) cheer and agree, then get a quizzical look on his face as Colbert does his patented slide from "fact" to fiction? Fans know what I mean.
You should recognize this flavor...
"Here's an easy way to figure out if you're in a cult. If you're wondering whether you're in a cult, the answer is yes" (p. 61).
"Ted Kaczynski's last job before he went into full time Unabombing? Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, a.k.a. University of Blame America First, Berkeley. Yes, folks, he capped off all those years of being a student by becoming a professor. Lets face it - he'd have been crazy NOT to go crazy, which only proves my point: The greatest threat facing America today - outside of flag burning, yoga, and vaccination - is higher education" (p. 119).
[What you need to learn in the collegiate course, "Introduction to Philosophy"?] "If a tree falls in the the forest, and no one hears it, I hope it falls on a philosophy professor" (p. 126).
[On immigration] "Everybody says immigrants just do the jobs Americans don't want to do, but let's test that theory. They pick our fruits and vegetables. Who wouldn't want to have a job that got them out in the fresh air more often? Hell, I pay twenty bucks a pop for the privilege of picking apples and pumpkins every October. And the hay ride is extra!" (p. 184).
[On evolution] "To put it simply, evolution is an affront to God. Anyone who believes in it will burn in eternal hellfire, probably while being prodded by flaming chimpanzees with razor-sharp bananas. Evolutionists' main claim is that one day we decided to stop being monkeys and turned ourselves into humans. Well, if that's true, why aren't more monkeys escaping from zoos? Think about it. They could turn into humans, then disguise themselves as janitors and walk out of their cages. But I guess evolution doesn't have an answer for that one. The main perpetrator of this monkey lie is Charles Darwin. He wrote all about it in his 1859 book 'The Origin of Species.' He claims to have developed this 'theory' after studying 'finches' on the Galapagos 'Islands,' but I can guess why he really came up with it. He was on the Galapagos Islands for Spring Break, got smashed, woke up in bed next to a monkey, and then had to come up with a theory that made it all okay" (p. 198).
The book ends with a transcript of his famous performance at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner with President George W, Bush. He got this right...
I can feel it in my gut.
 Watch his nightly show; it's much, much better May 22, 2010
I finally finished reading this crazy book. It was one of the most difficult books I've read, with its endless sidenotes, footnotes, footnotes to sidenotes, footnotes to those footnotes, etc. The highlight of the book is the final chapter, which contains the entire text of his speech to the White House Press Corps. I hesitate to recommend this book because it is a frozen moment in time (although he does have a chapter for people from the future reading the book) and his nightly show is much more insightful and relevant on a day-to-day basis.
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