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I Am America (And So Can You!)
Encyclopedia
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
book by American comedian Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
and the writers of The Colbert Report. It was released on October 9, 2007, with the audiobook edition released several days earlier. The book is loosely structured around the fictional life story of Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert (character)
The Reverend / Sir / Dr. / Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A., brain-child of Google, is the persona of political satirist Stephen Colbert, as portrayed on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. Described as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot", the character is a self-obsessed right-wing...
as he appears on The Colbert Report. As of the April 6, 2008 publishing, the book had been on the New York Times Bestseller List in the Hardcover Nonfiction category for twenty-four weeks, ranking number one for fourteen of them.
Description
I Am America (And So Can You!) is described as being a "pure extension" of The Colbert Report, delving into the views of Colbert's "well-intentioned, poorly informed high statusSocial status
In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....
idiot" character on what he considers to be the most pressing issues facing America. The book draws some influence from the literary endeavors of the character's pundit models, such as Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
's book, The O'Reilly Factor (2000) and Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
's Deliver Us From Evil
Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism
Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism is a 2004 best-selling book by conservative political commentator and media personality Sean Hannity.-Summary:...
(2004), which Colbert says he forced himself to read as a reference.
Red margin
Margin (typography)
In typography, a margin is the space that surrounds the content of a page. The margin helps to define where a line of text begins and ends. When a page is justified the text is spread out to be flush with the left and right margins...
notes appear throughout the book, providing humorous reactions and counterpoints to Colbert's arguments in a style comparable to the Reports Wørd segment. The cover features a sticker depicting a burning book, declaring I Am America to be a winner of "The Stephen T. Colbert Award for the Literary Excellence." A sheet of twelve similar stickers are provided inside, with which readers are provided to nominate other books for the award. A second sheet of stickers containing positive expressions such as "Hell Yeah!", "Nailed It!" and "It's Morning In Colbert-ica" is included for readers as bookmarks to remind them "when you agreed with me most."
Colbert, whose character frequently uses his show to advertise his own fictional products, frequently promoted I Am America on screen prior to and immediately following its release, including a commercial which ended with the book emerging from an erupting volcano (similar to Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is a book by L. Ron Hubbard which sets out self-improvement techniques he developed, called Dianetics. The book is also one of the canonical texts of Scientology. It is colloquially referred to as Book One...
). On October 9, 2007, the day of the book's release, Colbert interviewed himself as the show's featured guest. On Meet the Press
Meet the Press
Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
, he signaled that his book was testing waters for a Presidential run, much like other politicians. However, although he tried to enter both the Democratic and Republican races for the nomination (but only in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
), he was promptly removed from both.
Audiobook cast and crew
Starring:- Stephen ColbertStephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
as HimselfStephen Colbert (character)The Reverend / Sir / Dr. / Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A., brain-child of Google, is the persona of political satirist Stephen Colbert, as portrayed on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. Described as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot", the character is a self-obsessed right-wing...
and as Gil Honeycomb, oldest man in the world (ch. 2, Stephen Speaks For Me) - Amy SedarisAmy SedarisAmy Louise Sedaris is an American actress, author, and comedian. She is known for playing the character Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy. Sedaris regularly collaborates with her older brother, humorist and author David Sedaris...
as Dolores Grierson, old maid (ch. 1, Stephen Speaks For Me) - Raymond Whitman as Young Stephen (ch. 2, seven-year-old's note)
- Evelyn McGee as Cow #L73NR, a cow (ch. 3, Stephen Speaks For Me)
- Paul Gilmartin as God, maker of all that is seen and unseen (ch. 4, Stephen Speaks For Me)
- Kevin DorffKevin DorffKevin Dorff is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a writer and sketch performer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Dorff co-starred as "Mike the Federal Agent" on the first season of the Adult Swim series Delocated with his former Late Night...
as The Guy Sitting Next to You at The Stadium (chs. 5 and 13, Stephen Speaks For Me) - Allison SilvermanAllison SilvermanAllison Silverman is an American comedy writer from Gainesville, Florida. She was the head writer and executive producer for The Colbert Report until 2009.-Life and awards:...
as Your Soulmate (ch. 6, Stephen Speaks For Me) - Paul DinelloPaul DinelloPaul Dinello is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and an alumnus of Chicago-based The Second City, Improv Institute, and Annoyance Theatre...
as Austin, a formerly gay man (ch. 7, Stephen Speaks For Me) - Brian StackBrian StackBrian Stack is an American actor, writer and comedian best known for his sketch comedy work on all three Conan O'Brien late-night talk shows, previously working on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, and currently on O'Brien's newest show, Conan on TBS.-Early...
as Dr. Bernard Brunner, distinguished professor (ch. 8, Stephen Speaks For Me) and as Thomas Bindlestaff, executive assistant to Mr. Stephen Colbert (ch. 11, Stephen Speaks For Me) - Jon StewartJon StewartJon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
as Mort Sinclaire, former TV comedy writer and Communist (ch. 9, Stephen Speaks For Me) - Greg HollimonGreg HollimonGreg Hollimon is an actor best known for his work on Comedy Central's Strangers with Candy.Hollimon grew up in the Chicago housing projects of Cabrini–Green with Ozone from Breakin'. In 1986, he began taking improvisation classes at Players Workshop, where he met Paul Dinello and, some time later,...
as Rev. George A. Lewis, ex-civil rights leader (ch. 12, Stephen Speaks For Me)
Abridged by Paul Dinello, directed by Paul Dinello, produced by Paul Dinello and John McElroy.
Awards
The audiobook was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word AlbumGrammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album
The Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes:*In 1959 the award was known as Best Performance, Documentary or Spoken Word...
in 2009. However, the award was won by Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
and his book on global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, the companion book to the film An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
.
The book did, however, win the fictional "Stephen T. Colbert Award For The Literary Excellence."