Book Report: I Am America (And So Can You!)

Image from source, Amazon.com

I was a little skeptical when they spun off The Colbert Report from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Sure, I thought, Colbert is talented, smart and funny, but he's doing a character. Could he maintain that character nightly, and not become grating and annoying? Well, if you're a fan, you know that it turned out just fine. Hilarious in fact. Stephen's devotion to his character is so ingrained, he even managed to hold on to it through an infamously ill-received White House Correspondence Dinner performance. He's utterly unflappable.

So I shouldn't have had any concerns about his foray into publishing, I Am America (And So Can You!). But I did. Rather than buy it--and Colbert's character would blanch at the thought--I borrowed it from the library. In short, it's fantastic.

Even the cover is funny, with a review (by Colbert) and a literary excellence award (also from Colbert). The book is broken into various chapters (Religion, Homosexuality, and my favorite The Future), with notes written in the margins (much like his "Word" segment on the show). Even the footnotes are funny. And for you die hard fans, the entire dinner speech is included, also with notes.

If you're looking for a fun book to read on a plane, or on a lazy Sunday, this one is just the ticket.

Highly recommended (and so can you!)