The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) Teacher's Edition: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction [Paperback]

Jon Stewart (Author), The Writers of The Daily Show (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Book Description
For everyone who was too cheap to buy the hardcover, the blockbuster, award-winning No. 1 New York Times bestseller is now in trade paperback--with a new introduction, fully updated, and with equally unsettling nude photos of the newest Supreme Court justices, and a text corrected by the most reputable college professor we could find/afford.

Including:

• Historical inaccuracies, gross distortions, complete fabrications-corrected by real-life bearded college professor
• A new introduction by the authors
• Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito--nude!
• Totally updated ISBN number!
• 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?

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Amazon.com Exclusives
Featuring a foreword by Thomas Jefferson, a Dress the Supreme Court layout, and, oddly enough, a profile of George "The Iceman" Gervin, America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, from Jon Stewart and the writers of the Emmy Award-winning The Daily Show, is by far one the most irreverent and wittiest (and may we add smartest) political book you're likely to encounter. Amazon.com spoke with Jon Stewart a few days before the 2004 publication of America (The Book) and they discussed bald eagles, magical talking cats, Thor Heyerdahl, and much more

• Read the Amazon.com Interview with Jon Stewart
• Listen to the Amazon.com Interview with Jon Stewart
• Watch a "Vintage" Amazon.com Exclusive Video from Jon Stewart

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More from Jon Stewart

Naked Pictures of Famous People

America (The Book) [Audio CD]

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Indecision 2004 [DVD]

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From Publishers Weekly

Cheeky, irreverent and playfully ingenuous, this abbreviated history of democracy is everything one would expect from the writers of Comedy Central's fake news program, which recently (and somewhat scandalously) won the Television Critics Association's award for outstanding news and public affairs series. The book is laid out like a textbook, with "Discussion Questions" ("Why do you think the Framers made the Constitution so soul-crushingly boring?"), "Classroom Activities" ("Using felt and yarn, make a hand puppet of Clarence Thomas. Ta-da! You're Antonin Scalia!") and plenty of amusing graphics, including a board game that resembles the game Life but which follows a presidential term: "Optimistic press release on economy ineffective. Spin again." No one evades the authors' scrutiny, not even the Pilgrims, who came to America "to escape religious persecution... create a society where they could worship as they pleased and one day, God willing, even do some persecuting of their own." The media fares the worst, however. An entire chapter is devoted to telling the "inspirational" story of how the media "transformed itself from a mere public necessity into an entertaining profit center for ever-expanding corporate empires." But if this and other criticisms kindle a few unpatriotic feelings, a section describing how worse off the rest of the world is should buoy spirits. From its dedication ("To the huddled masses—Keep yearnin'!") to its final chapter, which lampoons the 2004 presidential candidates, this humorous sendup of American politics never fails to entertain, poke fun and provoke thought.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Tch edition (September 25, 2006) Language: English ISBN-10: 0446691860 ISBN-13: 978-0446691864 Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (644 customer reviews) Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #7,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #20 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Humor #7 in  Books > Entertainment > Humor > Political #46 in  Books > Entertainment > Humor > Satire, General

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More About the Authors

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Jon Stewart

Ben Karlin

David Javerbaum

The Writers of The Daily Show

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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First Sentence:
It is often said that America "invented" democracy. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
tipping point

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Supreme Court, Founding Fathers, Hidden Agenda, Money Given, Magna Carta, Ronald Reagan, Vice President, White House, Middle East, Stephen Colbert, John Adams, Congressional Cafeteria, Southern Asia, Thomas Jefferson, Democracy's Future, Diane Sawyer, George Washington, Health Care Initiative, King George, Paul Revere, Rhode Island, Uncle Sam, Betsy Ross, Dred Scott, John Hancock

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 30 books:

• American Studies: Esssays in Honour of Marcus Cunliffe by John White on page 39
• Human Biology, Study Guide by Michael D. Johnson in Front Matter
• Benjamin Franklin by Rh Value Publishing in Back Matter
• Snow White by Play a Sound Classics on page 152
• Civil Wars by June Jordan on page 209

See all 30 books this book cites

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	86% buy the item featured on this page: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) Teacher's Edition: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart Paperback 4.4 out of 5 stars (644) $10.87
	8% buy The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race by Jon Stewart Hardcover $16.79
	4% buy I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert Hardcover 4.2 out of 5 stars (462) $10.80
	1% buy Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins Hardcover 3.7 out of 5 stars (476) $8.44

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Customer Reviews

644 Reviews 5 star:  (443) 4 star:  (123) 3 star:  (29) 2 star:  (17) 1 star:  (32)           Average Customer Review 4.4 out of 5 stars (644 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 504 of 546 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Buoyantly profane, actually thoughtful, supremely funny, October 14, 2004 By  bensmomma "bensmomma" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    This review is from: America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Hardcover) Jon Stewart and his Daily Show writers would have you believe this is humor masquerading as a "fake" civics textbook, but they undersell themselves. It's both funnier and smarter than that premise. It actually does spell out, chapter by chapter, the workings of the branches of government, the election process, and the role of journalism in creating and destroying all these (complete with in-class exercises and homework!) If you're a fan of the show, you will enjoy listening to Stewart riff on journalism's loss of integrity, to Samantha Bee's apologetic asides about "do you mind if I tell you how we do it in Canada?", Ed Helms' presentation of his qualifications to be Supreme Court justice, etc. The book is, however, not just a rehash of pieces from the TV show; the book form allows the writers to make their favorite comedic jabs against our system's foibles with more historical and literary support. (Who knew, for example, the role that the rivalry between newspaper magnates William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer played in instigating the Spanish-American war?) Coming from any source but the Daily Show, this premise might have been tedious, but from this team it is consistently and hysterically funny. Free of the time and vocabulary limits of TV, they really cut loose. The seven-dirty-words-you-can't-say-on-television here are put to good use, amended by such popular modifiers as bat, horse, bull, and mother. So don't bring it home to the kiddos, or listen to the audiobook on your mini-van stereo, and avoid it altogether if you don't yourself throw a good hearty @*$%&% around every now and then. But remember the best, funniest lines about the preservation of democracy and repeat these lessons to your kids. It's funny and important stuff. 104 of 113 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Funny (period), October 16, 2004 By  G Mason (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews This review is from: America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Hardcover) This is Jon Stewart at his best. And let's be honest, folks, he rips both sides of the aisle in this mock-textbook of American history. Man, how I wish this was my history book back in high school. I would've studied then. So there's truth here, as well as good political humor. And a clever pull-out poster comes with it on the shadow democracy we have. Now, who can say that doesn't bear some truth! 107 of 117 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Take My Government, Please!...ba-bum-bum, September 20, 2004 By  Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (REAL NAME)    This review is from: America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Hardcover) This book may not be the most incisive in its examination of the performance of the Bush administration, but it sure is the funniest. We are talking laugh-out-loud funny, not the bemused chuckling of Maureen Dowd's "Bushworld: Enter at Your Own Risk" or the laughter-through-fears treatment of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11". But Bush is hardly the only target in this consistently clever, brightly illustrated book. This may very well be the textbook you wish you had while you were pretending to listen to your civics teacher in high school. Even if you don't get the Comedy Central cable channel and watch the "Daily Show", you can still enjoy this book for its shamelessly funny but sadly accurate observations of our government at work. However, if you have seen the clever antics of Jon Stewart and his crew, you know what you're in for, and you won't be disappointed. All you miss with the book is the clever editing of TV news clips, press conferences and convention speeches, which they love to skewer. Any cynical thought you have had about government bureaucracy and the execution of democratic principles will be supported wholeheartedly here. The writers go as far as illustrating the timeline for democracy from its supposed birth in prehistoric times through the lightning-striking Biblical period to early American history and then of course, to the current political landscape. It all has a strong Mel Brooksian feeling of Borscht Belt schtick and frat house humor topped off with some tasty zingers like "...it turns out if Betsy Ross was alive and sewing American flags today, she'd be a 13-year-old Laotian boy". By all means, get this book as we all need a good laugh considering the paucity of options we have come November. You may find something sadly ironic when you read it and absorb the abuses and absurdities built into our political processes and institutions. But then again, any book that introduces a potential Bush-Kerry boxing match as "The Thrilla in Vanilla" is aces with me.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars My first review I'm a big fan of the show, so when I saw this book by Jon Stewart I had to buy it even though I am not American and figured I would be lost during most of it. Read more Published 8 days ago by Reader 4.0 out of 5 stars Just like the TV Show I love the Daily Show and so I decided to get the book by the very same people responsible for giving us our nightly dose of political satire. Read more Published 1 month ago by C. Washington 3.0 out of 5 stars Good content, pointless commentary I enjoyed this book, but the extra comments added in the "teachers edition" were pointless. It's essentially the same schtick on every page of the entire book: the "historian"... Read more Published 1 month ago by Matthew Beyer 5.0 out of 5 stars Out dated It was a great production but is a bit outdated as I write this review. John needs to do another one now. His humor is clever. Published 2 months ago by J. Spoor 4.0 out of 5 stars Funny This is a very funny satire of a textbook on American Democracy, replete with hilarious class activities and discussion items delivered deadpan. Read more Published 3 months ago by CJA 4.0 out of 5 stars A very funny book Jon Stewart, of The Daily Show fame, has written a very funny book that might also teach you something about the way our government works. Read more Published 3 months ago by Indian Prairie Public Library 4.0 out of 5 stars Amusing, but Non-Essential Reading Published during the heat of the 2004 election cycle, "America (The Book)" took a unique approach to participating in our national political discussion. Read more Published 3 months ago by Travis S. Mcclain 4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good! Thank you, Jon Stewart! See also George and Condi: The Last Decayed: A Collection of Poems from the Last Decade Beaver Tales and a Canada Goosing: Poems Illustrating a Uniquely... Read more Published 3 months ago by Reign Chelsin 4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book! even though this book is about 6 years old it still gets me thinking about government policies and how our nation could if people would take a look and occasionally a risk to get... Read more Published 3 months ago by T. Williams 4.0 out of 5 stars Funny, but thank God for the editing As you would expect from any Daily Show creation, lots of funny bits, but you can't deny that you are reading about history so it will get boring at some points, but then there... Read more Published 4 months ago by Marzana Ahmed Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Customer Discussions

This product's forum Discussion Replies Latest Post Dear John we don't have a democracy we have a Representative Republic. 0 29 days ago The naked pictures of the Supreme Court justices was quite disturbing... 1 March 2008 which book is better 1 August 2007 Incorrect ISBN listed by Amazon.com 0 September 2006 Welcome to the America (The Book) forum 0 October 2005 › See all 5 discussions...   [Start the discussion] Start a new discussion Topic: First post: Receive e-mail when new posts are made Prompts for sign-in   Guidelines Active discussions in related forums Discussion Replies Latest Post politics Arrest "Pastor" Terry Jones! 73 9 seconds ago politics Bye Bye Democrats, Bye Bye Socialism... and GOOD RIDDANCE to bad rubbish! 82 15 seconds ago textbook buyback trade in = scam 22 1 hour ago textbook buyback Is it OK if I used it to nudge several people towards Death Valley with it? 1291 1 hour ago humor Funniest first novels -- list and spread the word! 39 21 hours ago comedy Benny Hill considered funnier than Monty Python by a UHF station that ran both! 53 1 day ago Search Customer Discussions Only search this product's forum

The Comedy community Latest activity 3 minutes ago 37,554 customers have contributed 22,878 products, 3,023 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community The Satire community Latest activity 37 minutes ago 6,576 customers have contributed 4,209 products, 439 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community The Liberalism community Latest activity 59 minutes ago 996 customers have contributed 828 products, 73 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community Related forums comedy (166 discussions) humor (163 discussions) jon stewart (1 discussion) liberalism (1 discussion) politics (1023 discussions) satire (12 discussions) textbook... (92 discussions) Explore more › See all Customer Communities › Your communities

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Tch edition (September 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446691860
• ISBN-13: 978-0446691864
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (644 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #7,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #20 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Humor
  #7 in	Books > Entertainment > Humor > Political
  #46 in	Books > Entertainment > Humor > Satire, General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

504 of 546 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buoyantly profane, actually thoughtful, supremely funny, October 14, 2004

By	bensmomma "bensmomma" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Hardcover)

Jon Stewart and his Daily Show writers would have you believe this is humor masquerading as a "fake" civics textbook, but they undersell themselves. It's both funnier and smarter than that premise. It actually does spell out, chapter by chapter, the workings of the branches of government, the election process, and the role of journalism in creating and destroying all these (complete with in-class exercises and homework!)

If you're a fan of the show, you will enjoy listening to Stewart riff on journalism's loss of integrity, to Samantha Bee's apologetic asides about "do you mind if I tell you how we do it in Canada?", Ed Helms' presentation of his qualifications to be Supreme Court justice, etc. The book is, however, not just a rehash of pieces from the TV show; the book form allows the writers to make their favorite comedic jabs against our system's foibles with more historical and literary support. (Who knew, for example, the role that the rivalry between newspaper magnates William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer played in instigating the Spanish-American war?)

Coming from any source but the Daily Show, this premise might have been tedious, but from this team it is consistently and hysterically funny. Free of the time and vocabulary limits of TV, they really cut loose. The seven-dirty-words-you-can't-say-on-television here are put to good use, amended by such popular modifiers as bat, horse, bull, and mother. So don't bring it home to the kiddos, or listen to the audiobook on your mini-van stereo, and avoid it altogether if you don't yourself throw a good hearty @*$%&% around every now and then. But remember the best, funniest lines about the preservation of democracy and repeat these lessons to your kids. It's funny and important stuff.

104 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny (period), October 16, 2004

By	G Mason (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Hardcover)

This is Jon Stewart at his best. And let's be honest, folks, he rips both sides of the aisle in this mock-textbook of American history. Man, how I wish this was my history book back in high school. I would've studied then. So there's truth here, as well as good political humor. And a clever pull-out poster comes with it on the shadow democracy we have. Now, who can say that doesn't bear some truth!

107 of 117 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Take My Government, Please!...ba-bum-bum, September 20, 2004

By	Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Hardcover)

This book may not be the most incisive in its examination of the performance of the Bush administration, but it sure is the funniest. We are talking laugh-out-loud funny, not the bemused chuckling of Maureen Dowd's "Bushworld: Enter at Your Own Risk" or the laughter-through-fears treatment of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11". But Bush is hardly the only target in this consistently clever, brightly illustrated book. This may very well be the textbook you wish you had while you were pretending to listen to your civics teacher in high school. Even if you don't get the Comedy Central cable channel and watch the "Daily Show", you can still enjoy this book for its shamelessly funny but sadly accurate observations of our government at work. However, if you have seen the clever antics of Jon Stewart and his crew, you know what you're in for, and you won't be disappointed. All you miss with the book is the clever editing of TV news clips, press conferences and convention speeches, which they love to skewer.

Any cynical thought you have had about government bureaucracy and the execution of democratic principles will be supported wholeheartedly here. The writers go as far as illustrating the timeline for democracy from its supposed birth in prehistoric times through the lightning-striking Biblical period to early American history and then of course, to the current political landscape. It all has a strong Mel Brooksian feeling of Borscht Belt schtick and frat house humor topped off with some tasty zingers like "...it turns out if Betsy Ross was alive and sewing American flags today, she'd be a 13-year-old Laotian boy". By all means, get this book as we all need a good laugh considering the paucity of options we have come November. You may find something sadly ironic when you read it and absorb the abuses and absurdities built into our political processes and institutions. But then again, any book that introduces a potential Bush-Kerry boxing match as "The Thrilla in Vanilla" is aces with me.