Near the end of an election year in which everyone who was anyone parlayed their opinions into hardcover format, The Daily Show's Jon Stewart wasn't going to be left out. America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction is a wholly irreverent guide to the absurdity that is American democracy today.
True to Daily Show style, Stewart says everything you wish you had thought of first, or were afraid to say for fear of losing your highbrow reputation.
So make room on your shelves now full of pretentious coffee table books and Kafka novels, and stop taking everything so seriously -- after all, your vote only counts 0.00000049%. (If interested, see Chapter 6.) Plus, who can resist making fun of Ralph Nader?
The answer is no one. No one with bursar, anyway.
The format of the book is essentially the same as that of your fifth grade history book. Each chapter outlines a particular facet of the American political system, followed by 'Classroom Activities', quizzes, and the ever-present opinion polls that bombard us daily.
Also featured are 'Discussion Questions', which dare to inquire about the Top 100 TV Shows you would rather watch than the nightly news.
The Daily Show correspondents appear sporadically with their own brand of ridiculous commentary.
Stephen Colbert's 'Guide to Dressing and Expressing like a TV Journalist' highlights the ability of news anchors to get away without wearing pants, as well as the inherent fashion dilemmas of an undercover reporter covering stories within the S&M community. If nothing else, the accompanying photos provide some great ideas for Halloween costumes.
Beyond the aforementioned topics, Stewart finds various ways to highlight the hypocrisy which constitutes today's political climate, from the judicial system to the media, from international relations to the campaign trail.
As always with Stewart, no one is safe from ridicule, and the book makes every effort to offend everyone equally, reducing them to their most generic stereotypes. If that's not the true spirit of democracy, then I don't know what is.
