I Am America (And So Can You!)

I Am America (And So Can You!) is the funniest book ever written in a false television persona’s voice by a master satirist.  It’s also the first and only book ever written in a false television persona’s voice by a master satirist, but that is (obviously) beyond the point.  Stephen Tyrone Colbert, presidential candidate and satirical superstar has rocketed to the top of the Bestseller list, with his combination memoir/manifesto/vanity project. 

     I can say, with some certainty, that there has never been a book like this one.  If you’re familiar with the Colbert Report, the format and tone of this book will be as familiar as the smarmy mug on the cover.  It’s written in the first person, and Colbert’s signature delivery and inflection are present on every page; the Report’s signature piece “The Word” also makes appearances throughout, in the form of sarcastic marginalia, which sometimes seem to represent Colbert’s voice (unlike on the show), and sometimes takes The Word’s more familiar, Colbert-hating tone. 

     The structure of the book is mostly that of a memoir, consisting of three main sections, “My American Childhood,” “My American Adolescence,” and “My American Maturity”; in each, Cobert waxes sarcastic in chapters like “Religion,” “Sex & Dating,” and “Immigrants.”  There’s even a “Note to the Future,” and instructions on how to retire the book when you put it away for the evening.  Colbert has also included cool bonuses like the full text of his famous White House Correspondent’s Dinner Speech, and an entire sheet of Newberry Award-like stickers, which read “The Stephen T. Colbert Award For the Literary Excellence,” so you can mark your favorite books with his seal of approval.

     To be honest, I expected to like this book more than I did.  I eagerly bought it on the day it came out (first time I’ve done that with a book in a while), and read it over the next few days.  It’s not that it isn’t funny, because it is, and it will absolutely provide enough laughs to cover the price of the hardcover.  It’s just that I expected it to live up to the Daily Show’s America: The Book, one of my favorite humor volumes of all time, and an important moment for the legitimization of satire in modern America.  That book appealed to an audience beyond that of the show, because it took the whole country as its subject; Colbert’s book focuses on the same thing his show does: Colbert.  Granted, I love the show, but I don’t see this as having the same crossover appeal that the Daily Show’s did.  However, if you’re a fan of the show, and you’re looking for another way to get your Colbert fix during the miserable 23 and a half hours he’s not on the air, I would highly recommend this book to you.  For better or worse, you’re getting pretty much the exact same thing you’d get from watching the tv show.