I Am America (And So Can You!)
by Stephen Colbert
List Price:
Our Price: $4.24
You Save: $22.75 (84%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.58 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Stephen ColbertEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-09
ISBN: 0446580503
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of I Am America (And So Can You!)
Book Review: Stephen Colbert Is the Thinking Person's Archie Bunker for the 21st Century
Summary: 5 Stars
When the television series All in the Family came out, it was quite a sensation when Archie Bunker expressed all of the prejudices that we had come to believe were held by white working class members of society in the 1960s through the early 1980s. Just to be sure that no missed the point that the show was a satire, Archie would argue with his liberal college student son-in-law, Michael Stivic (played by Rob Reiner), to bring out the contrasts to Archie's Neanderthal beliefs. Archie (played brilliantly by Carroll O'Connor) was always happy to be right in his own mind, even when proven wrong.
Part of what made the show so funny was to hear someone espousing prejudiced views in a seemingly sincere fashion, with no apologies to anyone.
Stephen Colbert's book, I Am America, captures that same essential humor as he espouses the prejudiced views of the white conservative person . . . but with no one to argue with him except you the reader in your own mind.
If you have ever watched Mr. Colbert perform on television, I'm sure you'll be like me and hear his voice recounting the one-liners. That made it extra fun for me!
The book has an unusual design that adds to the humor, including room for margin and foot notes to spear the points even harder, fictitious essays by average citizens, humorous photographs and illustrations, puzzles, games, stickers, and even a bound-in book ribbon.
Unlike a lot of humor books, he doesn't shy away from the delicate subjects like religion, sex, homosexuals, evolution, and illegal immigrants. Having seen how much fun he had in those areas, it made me wonder why more comedians don't take these areas in "clean" ways like Mr. Colbert does.
The humor often digs into a deeper level, exposing the hypocrisy of self-serving self-promotions that many book authors shamelessly employ, those who failed to act in honorable ways (such as those who produced names of "fellow travelers" for the HUAC in the 1950s), and even the toadying that goes in with regards to Islam in the media.
The only way he could have made this book any funnier would have been to create a state-by-state version of wrong headedness. Perhaps that will be the focus for a future book.
I Am America bears close reading; many of the layers of humor are well submerged below the surface of the main gag. I found myself rereading many sections several times in appreciation for the subtle jokes.
Alas, it's all too true. If you are like me, you'll probably find yourself realizing that you, too, have room to improve.
Bravo, Mr. Colbert!
Entertainment Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in A few of my favorites, love, laugh, cry, grow with these books
Before I Dieby Jenny Downham
David Fickling Books; Published: 2009-05-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.99
Skinby Adrienne Maria Vrettos
Simon Pulse; Published: 2007-10-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.74
Price in other shops:
Bleedby Laurie Faria Stolarz
Hyperion Book CH; Published: 2008-04-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.60
Price in other shops:
The Perks of Being a Wallflowerby Stephen Chbosky
MTV; Published: 1999-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.51
Price in other shops:
Uglies (Uglies Trilogy, Book 1)by Scott Westerfeld
Simon Pulse; Published: 2005-02-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
Drugstore Cowboyby James Fogle
Delta; Published: 1990-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.93
Price in other shops:
Get Well Soonby Julie Halpern
Feiwel & Friends; Published: 2007-10-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
Better Than Running at Nightby Hillary Frank
Graphia; Published: 2002-08-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.77
Price in other shops:
Undiscoveredby Debra Winger
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2008-06-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
The Boy From the Basementby Susan Shaw
Puffin; Published: 2006-02-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.25
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of AllParamount; Release date: 2008-11-25; DVD
Best price: $7.98
Price in other shops:
BORAT: Touristic Guidings to Minor Nation of U.S. and A. and Touristic Guidings to Glorious Nation of Kazakhstanby Borat Sagdiyev
Flying Dolphin Press; Published: 2007-11-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.20
Price in other shops:
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possibleby A. J. Jacobs
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2008-09-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.95
Price in other shops:
The Daily Show and Philosophy: Moments of Zen in the Art of Fake NewsWiley-Blackwell; Published: 2007-09-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Lifeby Steve Martin
Scribner; Published: 2008-09-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Naked Pictures of Famous Peopleby Jon Stewart
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 1999-10-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.62
Price in other shops:
Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen #1by Stephen Colbert, John Layman, Tom Peyer, Jim Massey
Oni Press; Published: 2007-07-11; Comic; Book
Best price: $3.99
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) Teacher's Edition: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inactionby Jon Stewart, The Writers of The Daily Show
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2006-09-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Our Dumb Worldby The Onion
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2008-10-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.21
Price in other shops:
Best of the Colbert Report (Full Dol)Paramount; Release date: 2007-11-06; DVD
Best price: $2.59
Price in other shops: