Home > Media > Books > Jon Stewart, David Javerbaum, Ben Karlin - America, the Book: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction With a Foreword by Thomas Jefferson
Jon Stewart, David Javerbaum, Ben Karlin - America, the Book: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction With a Foreword by Thomas Jefferson
fuche_bu's Full Review: Jon Stewart, David Javerbaum, Ben Karlin - America...
I was unsure what to expect when I ordered this book. I knew that Stewart was a successful TV host of a mock news show. The Daily Show is one that I have watched sporadically for years. The idea that Stewart would write a book on American Democracy was intriguing. It was sure to be funny. I also figured that might be some interesting pointers in the book.
The copy I ordered is the Teacher's Edition which was released two years after the original book. I have not read the original book but I believe the difference is that there is added commentary to the book. There are lines crossed out with notes written in in red ink. The book is laid out as a school text book so this is done to appear as though the teacher's edition has extra information. It is interesting because there are little sides with incorrect quotes assigned to former presidents or other inaccuracies with notes on the side.
The book has a lot of amusing sections. There is a mock introduction from former president Thomas Jefferson. The very first page upon opening the book is From the Authors. They acknowledge a lack of research techniques on the original book. The authors note they wrote the original shortly before entering drug and alcohol programs and they were trying to squeeze in as much drug and alcohol use as possible before going in. The new book includes corrections from Dr Stanley K Schultz of the U of Wisconsin-Madison. There are also addition pieces from Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee and others.
I like the way they lay out the book into different chapters. They begin with the Philosophical Roots of Democracy. They include Plato, Jesus Christ and John Locke. I like the part of Locke being the one to originate the notion that one must fight for the right to party. There is written in notation that Locke was never actually known as a party animal.
The book is obviously written tongue in cheek. I was often amused by quotes attributed to different presidents and historical figures. I like the way they include the written in corrections on inaccurate notes. They also include poll questions and charts. One chart on Reason for Decline in Participation in Democracy shows 52% do so because of unsatisfactory monetary reward. 17% because there was a game on.
There are the Founding Mothers of Democracy. For Abigail Adams, a guess is forwarded that she was an early feminist and lesbian. They quickly add a disclaimer that there is no truth to the notions she was a masculine lesbian. They also doubt that Betsy Ross was ever known as Old Ironside.
Throughout the book they tackle America history and American presidents. It is funny the way they lay the book out. Some of the corrections can be tedious but over all I find it mostly funny. Chapter Three on Presidents includes a list of Most Kennedy-esque presidents. Kennedy places third behind Clinton and Theodore Roosevelt. Grover Cleveland (2nd Term) is our gayest president. Truman is cited as fattest president with the note that he weighed 360 lbs but also posed next to his wife who weighed 400. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that that may be inaccurate.
There are many great moments throughout this book. They include a section on the Judicial Branch of government and chapters on Campaigns and Elections and The Media. The media section includes some political cartoons. Hopefully, people will know that George "The Iceman" Gervin was not nominated for the Supreme Court by Jimmy Carter.
Stewart was famous for noting how comedians like himself were providing way too many Americans with the news. That was something stated during the 2004 election. It may be just as true today. That could be one of the problems with a book like this. There is little intent for anyone to read it and believe it is exact truth. What is scary is that there are likely to be people who will believe some of the blatant inaccuracies.
This is a great book for fans of history and humor combined. I think anyone that takes history too seriously could be greatly offended by the flippant abuses in this book. I think Stewart fans will love this book. It is quite funny and includes a lot of his typical humor. The written corrections are amusing but can be a bit tedious at times. It does sometimes disrupt the continuity of the book.
I recommend this one for those who want a humorous book to place on their coffee table. It makes for a great conversation piece. It's also great to just pick up and flip through. You can read a few graphs, charts and sections each time you pick it up. If you really want to play games, make it readily available for the gullible and easily influenced.
For everyone who was too cheap to buy the hardcover, the #1 "New York Times" bestseller is now in trade paperback with a new introduction and a text c...More at HotBookSale
For everyone who was too cheap to buy the hardcover, the #1 New York Times bestseller is now in trade paperback with a new introduction and a text cor...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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