Reviewing Whatever

Image via WikipediaI Am America (And So Can You!)
By Stephen Colbert, 2007, hardback

You should know
I got this book as a birthday present from my brother -- very appropriate, since today is his birthday. Happy birthday, Dave!

And as long as I'm doing shout-outs, I want to wish warmest congratulations to Chris, Taz, and Alli at NFC East Homers, as well as Connie, Geoff, Rebecca, Annabella, Gary, Brendan, and all the other brand-new Boston University JDs.

Right. The book.

I grew up without cable television, so there are a lot of shows that I'll watch, but that I never really followed. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are among these shows; I'll watch them and enjoy them if they're on, but if I don't see them for a year or two, I really don't care. However, I do have a copy of America (The Book) -- actually, that was a gift from my brother, too, now that I think about it...

So?
Please tell me you know better than to take Stephen Colbert seriously. Because if you take him at all seriously, you'll find this book offensive.

And that's pretty much it. Take all of Colbert's off-the-wall, contradictory, hilariously appalling (or appallingly hilarious, as you like) political positions, and roll it into book about life. We learn about Colbert's colorblindness, his dominance over the family dog, Gipper, and the secret agenda of baby carrots.

Rating
Read it if...
You like Colbert, and/or are not easily offended.

Seriously, I enjoyed the book, but really, there's not much to say about it. Either it's self-explanatory, or you won't get it. Colbert plays a character, and this book is the character's story.

The rest of the Internet
The Wikipedia page.
Janet Maslin at the New York Times enjoyed the book, but found it fell short of the show.
The book's official site.
Alynda Wheat at Entertainment Weekly gave it a "B."
Read an excerpt at ABCnews.com