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I am not sure if because I listened to this book it was a little hard to follow or if the book it's self is a little much in most areas. There were some funny parts but some were a little to much for me.
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America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction
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Jon Stewart, host of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning The Daily Show, and his coterie of patriots, deliver a hilarious look at American government.
American-style democracy is the world's most beloved form of government, which explains why so many other nations are eager for us to impose it on them. But what is American democracy? In America (The Book), Jon Stewart and The Daily Show writing staff offer their insights into our unique system of government, dissecting its institutions, explaining its history and processes, and exploring the reasons why concepts like one man, one vote, government by the people, and every vote counts have become such popular urban myths. Topics include: Ancient Rome: The First Republicans; The Founding Fathers: Young, Gifted, and White; The Media: Can it Be Stopped?; and more!
228 pages, Hardcover
First published May 18,2004
This edition
- Format
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228 pages, Hardcover
- Published
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January 1, 2004 by Allen Lane
- ISBN
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9780713998948
- ASIN
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0713998946
- Language
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English
About the author
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Jon Stewart is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is a host of The Daily Show, a satirical news program on Comedy Central, and previously hosted from 1999 to 2015, before returning as a host of the show in 2024. He hosted The Problem with Jon Stewart (2021–2023) on Apple TV+. Stewart has received numerous accolades, including 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and five Peabody Awards. He was honored with the Bronze Medallion in 2019, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2022.
Stewart started as a stand-up comedian but branched into television as host of Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central. He went on to host You Wrote It, You Watch It (1992–1993) and then The Jon Stewart Show (1993–1995), both on MTV, until The Jon Stewart Show was retooled, dropped by the network and moved to syndication. He has also appeared in several films, including Big Daddy (1999) and Death to Smoochy (2002). Stewart became host of The Daily Show in 1999, where he also was a writer and co-executive producer. Since he joined, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, and during his tenure won numerous Emmy Awards and was nominated for news and journalism awards.
Stewart hosted the 78th and 80th Academy Awards. He is the co-author of the best-selling satirical books America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction in 2004, and Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race in 2010. He executive produced The Colbert Report (2005–2014), The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015–2016), and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015–present). In January 2024, it was announced that he would return to The Daily Show for Monday episodes, as well as in the role of an executive producer.
Since leaving The Daily Show, Stewart has maintained a low profile in entertainment industry circles, but has used his celebrity and voice in a sustained advocacy for 9/11 first responders and war veterans' health benefits. In 2019, he received the New York City Bronze Medallion for his "tireless advocacy, inspiration, and leadership (helping to) pass the permanent authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act". He continued using his platform as an advocate for veterans by being instrumental in helping pass the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, which expands healthcare access and funding to veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service including burn pits.
Stewart started as a stand-up comedian but branched into television as host of Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central. He went on to host You Wrote It, You Watch It (1992–1993) and then The Jon Stewart Show (1993–1995), both on MTV, until The Jon Stewart Show was retooled, dropped by the network and moved to syndication. He has also appeared in several films, including Big Daddy (1999) and Death to Smoochy (2002). Stewart became host of The Daily Show in 1999, where he also was a writer and co-executive producer. Since he joined, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, and during his tenure won numerous Emmy Awards and was nominated for news and journalism awards.
Stewart hosted the 78th and 80th Academy Awards. He is the co-author of the best-selling satirical books America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction in 2004, and Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race in 2010. He executive produced The Colbert Report (2005–2014), The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015–2016), and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015–present). In January 2024, it was announced that he would return to The Daily Show for Monday episodes, as well as in the role of an executive producer.
Since leaving The Daily Show, Stewart has maintained a low profile in entertainment industry circles, but has used his celebrity and voice in a sustained advocacy for 9/11 first responders and war veterans' health benefits. In 2019, he received the New York City Bronze Medallion for his "tireless advocacy, inspiration, and leadership (helping to) pass the permanent authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act". He continued using his platform as an advocate for veterans by being instrumental in helping pass the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, which expands healthcare access and funding to veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service including burn pits.
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John Stewart, in his Daily Show tone, takes us on an irreverent tour of the inner workings of the US Government. A little history, a little political science, and a lot of snarky commentary comprise the majority of this book, which is formatted much like a high school textbook. After telling us the story of Greek Democracy, the Roman Forum, and the Magna Carta, John shows us how it all came together with the proverbial "Founding Fathers," who he notes, would be totally unelectable in this day and age (what with all their philandering, cavalier religious views, pock-marked faces and bad teeth and all...) and how they came up with the Declaration of Independence and Aricles of Confederation, the latter which was aptly replaced by the now-holy Constitution.
John spares no expense to identify the sharp contrast between the ideals expressed in these documents and the stark realities of a slave-holding, misogynistic, [insert trait here:]-ist world. He goes through each branch of the Government, examines how each has outgrown its stated responsibilities, and brings us to the present day, through sarcastic vignettes, ridiculous chapter recaps by Stephen Colbert, and outrageous "classroom activities."
Ultimately, though, John notes that if you think America is an awful place to live, then clearly you've lived nowhere else. For all its failures to live up to its ideology and principles, America is the best we've ever had.
The last segment of the book is a bit dated. It has a profile on George W. Bush and one on John Kerry. This section was clearly intended for a 2004 audience, but, from a 2009 Obama-anxious point of view, it's a rare glimpse in the zeitgeist of the previous election cycle.
John spares no expense to identify the sharp contrast between the ideals expressed in these documents and the stark realities of a slave-holding, misogynistic, [insert trait here:]-ist world. He goes through each branch of the Government, examines how each has outgrown its stated responsibilities, and brings us to the present day, through sarcastic vignettes, ridiculous chapter recaps by Stephen Colbert, and outrageous "classroom activities."
Ultimately, though, John notes that if you think America is an awful place to live, then clearly you've lived nowhere else. For all its failures to live up to its ideology and principles, America is the best we've ever had.
The last segment of the book is a bit dated. It has a profile on George W. Bush and one on John Kerry. This section was clearly intended for a 2004 audience, but, from a 2009 Obama-anxious point of view, it's a rare glimpse in the zeitgeist of the previous election cycle.
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This book, not to sound like one of those who constantly praise every book they read, was the funniest book I have ever read. And another plus to reading this book was that I felt smart doing so. I love political satyre especially from the mind of Jon Stewart. In the very beginning John or apparently the corpse of Thomas Jefferson writes a foreword to the book. My favorite line in the foreward was "Sally may not like it, but as we used to say in the back parlours of 18th-century Paris, 'tough titties' ." The quote is completely meaningless and irrelevant to the book but I guess I'm just immature in thinking such crude humor as... Humorous. In the middle of the book however, John makes a good observation of our congress "Lawmaking is tedious and never-ending. If not for the good salary and godlike sense of ultimate power it would hardly seem worth it." This makes me feel like I'm not alone when I concluded that "congressman are either okay or power-hungry belligerents," which made me feel comfortable lol (sorry it's too tempting to type like I would on a social netowrking site). Honestly, this book was named one of the worst books of the year in 2005 but I don't understand how you could give such a title to literature which is an art in itself so... I don't know, I think It's a great book, It takes about a week to read. It's very funny if you're not a conservative republican. Jonathan Stewart is a comedic genius and this is everything he doesn't dare to put out on the Daily Show. Pick it up... Read it.
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This book is hilarious. I love that it’s formatted like a textbook. Also, the naked “pics” section of the Supreme Court justices is outrageous.
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This is probably the best way to learn about the American political system. Three audio CDs in the car with Jon Stewart saying profanities. I laughed so hard on disk 2 track 12 that I had to try hard to see where I was driving.
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This was pretty cute. I liked the "Earth" audiobook a bit better
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A funny read for a little while. You really can not sit down and read it like a normal book or anything, so getting it from the library is kind of annoying. The humor kind of gets lost in the pages and your left with a nihilistic view on American politics (with no solutions :p) But I liked the general approach and ideas in the book.
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Hilarious textbook style guide to American history and politics. Also includes 'rest of the world' section in the back (wayyy back lol). The graphics, polls, and sidebars really add to the experience. Just like reading a real textbook - only with satirical honesty and funny.
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