America (The Book)
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''America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction'' is a 2004
humor Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...
book written by
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...
and other writers of ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
'' that parodies and satirizes American politics and worldview. It has won several awards, and generated some controversy. An updated trade paperback edition was published in 2006 as a "''Teacher's Edition''", with updated coverage of the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
Justices A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
(including
Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...
and
John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including ''Nati ...
, who were appointed after the 2004 book's publication), and
fact checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying factual information, in order to promote the veracity and correctness of reporting. Fact-checking can be conducted before (''ante hoc'') or after (''post hoc'') the text is published or otherwise dissem ...
by Stanley K. Schultz,
professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
of history at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
, with red marks and remarks appearing throughout, correcting the satirical "mistakes" (and a few honest errors) of the original edition.


Description

''America (The Book)'' was written and edited by
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...
,
Ben Karlin Ben Karlin (born c. 1971) is an American television producer and writer. He has won eight Emmy awards, and is best known for his work in ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' and ''The Colbert Report''. He is one of three co-creators of ''The Colbe ...
,
David Javerbaum David Adam Javerbaum (born August 5, 1971) is an American comedy writer and lyricist. Javerbaum has won 13 Emmy Awards in his career, 11 of them for his work on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He runs the popular Twitter account @TheTweet ...
, and other writers of ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
''. Karlin was the show's
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
and Javerbaum its head writer. The book is written as a
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
of a United States
high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
civics Civics is the study of the rights and obligations of citizens in society. The term derives from the Latin word ''civicus'', meaning "relating to a citizen". The term relates to behavior affecting other citizens, particularly in the context of u ...
textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textboo ...
, complete with study guides, questions, and class exercises. Also included are scholarly "Were You Aware?" boxes, one of which explains that "the term 'Did You Know' is copyrighted by a rival publisher". The book provides discussion questions to mock history study guide books, with ridiculous questions such as: "Would you rather be a king or slave? Why or why not?" It pokes fun at the American political system, and includes a chapter caricaturing stereotypical American views of the rest of the world. People affiliated with ''The Daily Show'' during publication in 2004, such as
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
,
Samantha Bee Samantha Anne Bee (born October 25, 1969) is a Canadian-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actress, and television host. Bee rose to fame as a correspondent on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'', where she became the ...
, and
Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom ''The Offic ...
, contributed small articles. Bee's articles related the "Canadian view point" on topics, such as "We have media in Canada, too!" Stephen Colbert gives heavily biased viewpoints on topics such as
Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...
(who is often considered one of the worst American presidents). Ed Helms wrote articles stating what he would do if afforded certain positions of power and references the death of a specific individual for reasons never revealed to the reader. One page contains mock campaign stickers for various candidates. These include "Lifelong Democrat Retired Palm Beach
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
s for Buchanan" (referencing the
butterfly ballot A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16t ...
fracas that brought about the 2000 recount in Florida), "I cast my five slaves' three votes for
James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
" and "Undecided Voters for Candidate". Another has "
Humphrey Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of P ...
in '68" in large print, then in much smaller print "Because otherwise, in four years, Nixon's boys will be caught breaking into the Watergate office trying to sabotage their opponents, creating unprecedented scandal and ushering in an era of cynicism that will shape politics for decades to come. Call it a hunch. So, to repeat: Humphrey in '68". Appearing shortly before the
2004 US presidential election The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Chene ...
, the book originally included several pages of an "Election Guide" making fun of both candidates. Printings of the book made after the election do not have this insert. ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' (PW) chose it as its "Book of the Year"; it noted that "in a year defined by political
polemic Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...
s, it seems fitting that PW's Book of the Year be one in which the authors survey the entire political system and laugh." The
audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
version won the
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
in 2005 for "
Best Comedy Album The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement in comedy." The award was awarded yearly from 1959 to 1993 and then from 2004 to presen ...
." The book, published in September 2004, remained a bestseller even after the election. In addition to ''America (The Audiobook)'', it has also spun off into ''America (The Calendar)''.


Controversy

The fifth chapter contains obviously doctored photographs with the heads of then-current
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
justices superimposed on appropriately aged naked bodies. An adjacent page invites the reader to cover each justice with a cutout of his or her robe to "restore their dignity".
Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
canceled its order for ''America (The Book)'' because it "felt a majority of our customers would not be comfortable with the image". Some
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
public libraries A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamenta ...
removed the book from their shelves, but the ban was lifted the next day, after the library board had received numerous complaints. Cartoonist
Bruce Tinsley Edward Bruce Tinsley IV (born 1958) is an American cartoonist best known for his Conservatism in the United States, conservative comic strip ''Mallard Fillmore''. Early life and education Tinsley was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a graduat ...
objected to the book's parody of his comic strip ''
Mallard Fillmore ''Mallard Fillmore'' is a comic strip written and illustrated by Bruce Tinsley until 2019 and Loren Fishman since 2020. It has been syndicated by King Features Syndicate since June 6, 1994. The strip follows the exploits of its title charact ...
'', which appears among six other cartoon parodies, captioned as dating from 1998. Tinsley referenced the parody in the July 5–8, 2005 editions of ''Fillmore'', with the title character stating that Jon Stewart "tried to deceive people into thinking" that the book's phony ''Fillmore'' was real. The strip went on to imply that Stewart was a pedophile. Stewart responded in the ''Teacher's Edition'' by having Schultz note that although it is not a real Mallard Fillmore strip, it shows about the same level of humor as Tinsley.


Table of contents

* Study Guide * Foreword: by
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
* Ch. 1: Democracy Before America * Ch. 2: The Founding of America * Ch. 3: The President: King of Democracy * Ch. 4: Congress: Quagmire of Freedom * Ch. 5: The Judicial Branch: It Rules * Ch. 6: Campaigns and Elections: America Changes the Sheets * Ch. 7: The Media: Democracy's Guardian Angels (retitled two pages later as "The Media: Democracy's Valiant Vulgarians") * Ch. 8: The Future of Democracy: Four Score and Seven Years from Now * Ch. 9: The Rest of the World: International House of Horrors * Afterword * Acknowledgments * Credits * Election 2004 (unlisted bonus section, not included in post-election printings)


Cultural impact

Denise Dresser and
Jorge Volpi Jorge Volpi (full name Jorge Volpi Escalante, born July 10, 1968) is a Mexican novelist and essayist, best known for his novels such as ''In Search of Klingsor ( En busca de Klingsor)''. Trained as a lawyer, he gained notice in the 1990s wi ...
co-wrote ''Mexico, lo que todo ciudadano quisiera (no) saber de su patria'' ("Mexico, what every citizen would otlike to know about his fatherland"). The book is heavily based on Stewart's book. Jon Stewart is thanked in the book "for giving the authors the idea". The book appears in the background of a bookstore scene of the film ''
Mr. Woodcock ''Mr. Woodcock'' is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Craig Gillespie, and starring Seann William Scott, Billy Bob Thornton, Susan Sarandon, Amy Poehler, and Ethan Suplee. The film was released on September 14, 2007 to mostly negative review ...
.''


See also

* ''
Earth (The Book) ''Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race'' is a 2010 humor book written by Jon Stewart and other writers of ''The Daily Show'', and is a sequel to ''America (The Book)''. Synopsis Written in the past tense, the book's stated purpos ...
'' * ''
I Am America (And So Can You!) ''I Am America (And So Can You!)'' is a 2007 satirical book by American comedian Stephen Colbert and the writers of ''The Colbert Report''. It was released on October 9, 2007, with the audiobook edition released several days earlier. The book ...
'' * ''
I Am a Pole (And So Can You!) ''I Am a Pole (And So Can You!)'' is a 2012 spoof of inspirational children's books. It was written by Stephen Colbert and illustrated by Paul Hildebrand. The book tells the story of a fictional pole finding his purpose in life. The title is a pl ...
'' * '' America Again: Re-becoming The Greatness We Never Weren't''


References

{{Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album 2004 non-fiction books 2006 non-fiction books Political satire books The Daily Show Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album Parody books Books by Jon Stewart Warner Books books Books by Stephen Colbert