Stephen Colbert is not a fan of books. The comedian and self fashioned tongue-in-cheek “conservative watchdog” is fond of saying that reading is for pantywaists or liberals. So it’s a bit surprising that the ever excitable fake news pundit has now released a book of his own, humorously entitled, “I am America (and so can you!).”
Colbert’s night-time comedy show, “The Colbert Report” is riding high in the ratings, and the lovable, self-promoting comedian hasn’t been shy about pushing his new book on the air. In true Colbert style, his face beams exuberantly from the cover of the new book, inviting the reader to dive in to the world of his comically misguided altar ego to discover the “real America.”
You see, there are actually two Stephen Colberts. One is the mild-mannered South Carolina native who cut his teeth portraying a bumbling news reporter in a recurring role on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” The other Stephen Colbert is his alter-ego: the brash but ultimately lovable mock conservative pundit with an ego as big as the nation he claims to adore. And oddly enough, both Stephen Colberts show up in the new book.
“I am America” is written “in character,” as Colbert’s on-air persona, laying waste to all manner of hypocritical political punditry in Colbert’s well-known style. He covers most of the big issues, such as family, religion and race in a bumbling everyman style that very closely imitates the writing of his late-night show. But ultimately, the book is neither as inspired nor as funny as his nightly broadcasts on Comedy Central.
It is surprising in some ways that the excellent writing of “the Colbert Report” TV show doesn’t seem to always translate that well to a flat page of text. Of course there are high points–the comical annotations in the margins help to spice things up somewhat, for example. But in the end, the reader gets the feeling that most of this material would be better presented by Colbert himself as part of his nightly show.
But regardless of what readers may take away from “I am America,” Colbert’s book is sure to be a huge commercial success, debuting high on the Amazon.com list in its first 24 hours. And there is no doubt the so-called “Colbert bump” will also apply to Colbert’s first book. Expect to see it near the top of the New York Times that seller list in the coming weeks.
Love him or hate him, you might as well get used to Stephen Colbert, because it’s a safe bet you will be seeing much more of him in the future.
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