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"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" is highly acclaimed for its unique brand of social and political satire, mercilessly examining American culture and politics with the "fake news." With AMERICA (THE BOOK), it focuses on American political history and government. From the moment you open the cover, you know you are in for a treat. It is a wonderful replica of the glossy, condescending and vacant textbooks many of us grew up with. The table of contents is revealing; after the foreword by Thomas Jefferson you can look forward to such chapters as "The President: King of America," "The Congress: Quagmire of Freedom," and "The Future of Democracy: Four Score and Seven Years from Now."
So as "students," what do we learn about America in AMERICA (THE BOOK)? We learn that America invented democracy, that registering to vote automatically signs you up for a Land's End catalog, that in the future the country will be filled with genetically enhanced children and flesh-eating congressmen. We read about landmark Supreme Court cases such as Roe v. Wade and Godzilla v. Megalon, and all about lobbyists ("some groups deserve extra equal representation") and the media ("spineless cowards"). No aspect of American government is spared scrutiny or spared from sarcasm.
AMERICA (THE BOOK) is brash and fearless, featuring Supreme Court Justices in full frontal nudity, more swear words than any textbook ever assigned, and even a poster with an announcement for the November 2nd presidential election on one side ("the thrilla in vanilla") and a map of the shadow government, finally revealing the true role of Haliburton, on the other side. The book even features a timely election guide with crucial information on both Bush ("hurdling the lowered bar") and Kerry ("monogrammed for greatness"), and ways to justify your apathy should you choose not to vote.
It is difficult to say what is most clever about this book --- its content or its format. The content is as original, amusing and well-written as "The Daily Show" itself. Sarcastic and intelligent, it spares no one, conservative or liberal, in lampooning the government, media and American culture. It pokes fun at the spectrum of American values and beliefs quite equally (okay, it is slightly left leaning). The format is, however, what makes this book a real work of near genius. It has the look and feel, not to mention the exact size, of a school textbook complete with discussion questions and group activities. We are guided to found a country in chapter one and "lose hope" in chapter eight. We are asked to discuss what TV shows we would like to watch rather than the nightly news and five differences between a gavel and an ordinary hammer. There are even "were you aware" boxes giving us such gems as "were you aware: Delaware's status as the first state to ratify the Constitution is still, 217 years later, the only thing it has going for it."
AMERICA (THE BOOK) is laugh-out-loud funny and a great coffee table book that is sure to spark conversation. It is recommended for those who are ready to lighten up the current political climate or anyone wanting a spoofy counterpart to the myriad books on government, war and public figures so popular right now.
Subversive, sick, silly and often sadly accurate despite the thick veil of satire, AMERICA (THE BOOK) is simply great.
--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
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