America:
A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, presented by
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Any audio book that starts
off with a forward by Thomas Jefferson (it is only an unsubstantiated
rumor that he has been dead for nearly 180 years) is worthy
of further consideration. Jon Stewart and the cast of the
Emmy award-winning "The Daily Show" presents an
extraordinary and enjoyably funny look at the development
of America's version of democracy. In The Daily Show with
Jon Stewart Presents America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy
Inaction, Jon and his other TV show cohorts succeed brilliantly
in delivering a history lesson together with biting sarcasm
about the roles of the media, government and religion in the
creation of the modern day American political scene.
Two of the cleverest elements of
the book are the "Discussion Questions" and "Classroom
Activities" that follow each chapter. These pretend work
assignments are structured like the ones we all hated in our
elementary school lessons and enable the authors to weave
in current political and social misfires (sexual indiscretions
of certain presidents for instance) with historical figures.
Samantha Bee's lighthearted ridicule of Canada's political
system throughout the book is quite funny and softens the
often too-harsh criticism that Jon levels at the modern media
for their "failure to provide objective reporting."
The end of the work "slices and dices"
the 2004 Presidential candidates and provides a thought-provoking
background for evaluating the role of American citizens in
preserving the on-going social experiment known as Democracy.
This very entertaining audio CD will keep you enthralled on
any four-hour road trip you may be envisioning this year.
Mark
9/26/04
|
