Book Review: I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert

If you're familiar with The Colbert Report, you won't find any surprises in this book. Colbert's overblown, extreme right-wing Republican schtick is as a delicious a spoof in print as it is on live television. He and his team insert marginal notes and footnotes frequently, mimicking the popular segment, "The Word," to great affect. Random inclusions of quizzes, "common person" testimonials, "facts," and stickers continue the thematic straddle between a textbook gone wrong and TV segments structured for viewers with short attention spans. The prevalence of short attention spans, however, might be the major weakness of the book. While I Am America (And So Can You!) is a fun diversion, the joke wears thin after the first few chapters. Fans might prolong their enjoyment by imagining the text performed in its original context, but in the end, the show's brevity lends it more bite.