I Am America (and So Can You!)

Tue, January 26 2010

I make no secret of it. I love Stephen Colbert, not because I actually agree with anything he says but because he satirical portrayal of a right wing pundit is easily one of the more entertaining things one can spot on TV these days. I’m not so informed or interested that I love every minute of every show or appreciate all the guests but his 30 minutes of political commentary makes me chuckle and sometimes shake my head on a frequent basis.

Thus, it wasn’t a stretch for me to pick up his New York Times bestseller, I Am America (and So Can You!) and, if I had any qualms, the shiny silver Stephen T Colbert Award For Literary Excellence would have convinced me otherwise. Like all things Colbert does, the entire production of this book is tongue in cheek, self-absorbed, ridiculous, incredulous. In short, it is the persona Colbert has worked so hard to create. Even the over the top face he makes in the cover image appears like he is trying not to laugh at how ridiculous this persona is. And the back cover? And image of Colbert holding I Am America and the quote:

I great read!
I laughed, I cried, I lost 15 pounds!
I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

And that’s really what makes Colbert so easy to take: the impression that he is only ever 5 seconds away from hysterical laughter.

I Am America reads exactly like the tone Colbert uses in his show, probably because it uses some of the same writers as the show (at least I would assume, like Colbert, I am not checking my facts). Stephen’s introduction explains that, while he isn’t a fan of books, he wrote this one to present the public with all the opinions which do not fit into the time slot of The Colbert Report. Thus, the book is separated into 3 sections based on Colbert’s American Childhood, American Adolescence and American Maturity. Within these sections are chapters which each focus on a subject like family, religion, sex & dating, race and science. In true Colbert fashion, Stephen explains why these subjects themselves or elements within them are pro or Anti-American and gives entertaining reasons why.

But that’s not all! The book is filled with notes in the margin and footnotes to add to your reading experience. These read just like the little side comments Colbert makes on his show. It’s really hard not to hear his amused voice in your head as you read. Chapters begin with a photo of Colbert doing something which relates to the content and each chapter also ends with two features; “Stephen Speaks for Me” tells a chapter-relevant tale of an “average American” via Stephen Colbert and “Fun Zone” provides the reader with a pertinent activity. More often than not, these Fun Zone activities are not able to be completed. That’s just the nature of the crazy right wing attitude. It doesn’t make sense. ;)

And don’t expect any of his arguments in the text to make sense either. He freely admits to manipulating or creating “facts” which is par the course for Colbert on his show and adds to the entertainment value in my opinion. Some of the statements are absolutely ridiculous and I found myself Tweeting them because I needed to tell someone.

Guess what? There’s stickers! At the beginning of the book are bookmark style stickers with comments like “How true” and “USA! USA!” They are red or blue (how patriotic) and provided to “remind you when you agree with [Colbert] most.” Toward the back is a page full of silver “Stephen T Colbert Award” stickers which he encourages us to put any book that “embodies the values of the Colbert Nation.” The writers, designers and publishers really went the extra mile, adding “Colbert” to all the details, just like his desk on the show is “C” shaped. Really, had they done it any other way, this book would not be worthy of having his picture on the front and it does feel a part of the Colbert legacy.

On the note of design, there is a definite red, white and black theme going on. The margin and footnotes are done in red as well as some other details. Each chapter begins with a block of text formatted to look like the American flag, several lines of which are printed red. The photos in the softcover version I have are printed in greyscale as well as much of the clipart and other graphic aids. The first and last pages are decorated with something akin to a tessellation of Stephen Colbert in black and red on white, too. Overall, the look is very sleek.

With all that in mind, this is not a book to be read in one sitting. There’s a certain time and place for Colbert’s wisdom and I usually read about a chapter a day. Because they vary in length, sometimes I would read more or less. The book is only a little over 200 pages long, however; even at that page, it didn’t take me long to finish.

Really, if you are a fan of Colbert, you’ll be a fan of I Am America and will more than likely be impressed with the attention to detail that sets it apart from other books. This a not just any book, it is Stephen Colbert’s book.

I’d like to leave you with some bits of information and entertainment I gleaned from I Am America (and So Can You!).

• “Some Ivy Leaguers claim that sports,in face, originated in Ancient Greece. But athletes back then were nude men covered in oil which means that Ancient Greek sports were pretty gay, and therefore, not sports “as we know them.” There are no gays in modern sports, with the one exception being all of women’s sports.”
• Buddhists hate Mountain Dew!
• (in the margin, about class war) Don’t ruin the text. Let your tears fall here
• “In the same way I assume that everybody is White, I assume that every traffic light is green. This sort of positive thinking gets me home 15 minutes sooner.”
• Magic is Colbert’s all time favourite kind of science.