America Again

Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't

By: Stephen Colbert

Narrated by: Stephen Colbert, Tim Meadows, Jordin Ruderman

Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Humor, 2013

Book store nation, in the history of mankind there has never been a greater country than America. You could say we're the number one nation at being the best at greatness.

But as perfect as America is in every single way, America is broken! And we can't exchange it because we're 236 years past the 30-day return window. Look around - we don't make anything anymore, we've mortgaged our future to China, and the Apologist-in-Chief goes on world tours just to bow before foreign leaders. Worse, the L.A. Four Seasons Hotel doesn't even have a dedicated phone button for the Spa. You have to dial an extension! Where did we lose our way?!

It's high time we restored America to the greatness it never lost!

Luckily, America Again will singlebookedly pull this country back from the brink. Covering subject's ranging from healthcare ("I shudder to think where we'd be without the wide variety of prescription drugs to treat our maladies, such as think-shuddering") to the economy ("Life is giving us lemons, and we're shipping them to the Chinese to make our lemon-flavored leadonade") to food ("Feel free to deep fry this book-it's a rich source of fiber"), Stephen gives America the dose of truth it needs to get back on track.

©2012 Stephen Colbert (P)2012 Hachette Audio

I love Colbert Report, but...

What could Stephen Colbert have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Add more substance. It seemed that most of this book was a rehash of stuff from his show, without presenting any new ideas. It's a very short book as it is, so fresh concepts would be appreciated. Also some of the sidebar "skits" were not at all interesting or clever and seemed especially juvenile, which made me want to fast forward through an already short book. .

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably not, but an equivalent would be to watch several episodes of the Colbert Report.

Any additional comments?

Stephen Colbert is an entertaining performer, and could make almost any book enjoyable. However, the way he performed it was the best thing about the book -- the content does not really stand alone as a book.

Really kinda sorta disappointing

I love Stephen Colbert, but this was such a disappointment. Every once in a while, on the Colbert Report, you realized that Stephen just stretching for time...not enough material and 4 1/2 minutes to fill. Over and over again I caught myself thinking--that's what he's doing here. Just stretching for time--in a REALLY short book to begin with. Yes there were many moments of cutting satire, but surrounding them was way too much over-cute, meaningless routines. Perhaps these were the monologues that didn't make it onto the Colbert Report.

If you've ever wondered what it would be like if the genius mind of Stephen Colbert was ever loose to go deep into American hypocracy, taking the time to connect the dots of all that we pretend to be and the liars who spin the American dream.......well, this is not that.

But if you like the Colbert Report and wish you could pay $20.00 to get 3 hours of it, then this is thePERFECT audio book for you.

Hilarious and prognostic for its time

I highly recommend this audiobook as a comedic relief to our current culture - it will keep you entertained.

The first book was better!

Where does America Again rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have listened to 5 books and this is the lowest rank after Al Gore's book.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

He talks about unemployment and benzodiazopines (?) or psychotropic drugs. His reading and jokes are a bit too angry at times for me to enjoy.

Which scene was your favorite?

When he talks about Vicodim being the wonder drug determined by the open market (high demand for the drug).

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. I listen in parts.

Any additional comments?

Cobert's first book is a better listen. So much for sequels.

Too short!

I love this book and Stephen's genius but it was too short to waste a credit on!

My first audio book!

I am a fan of the show so I was prepared for a certain level of sarcasm. The performance was just as well done as any episode of the Colbert Report. While I didn't "read" the book it was adapted very well into an audio book. The only real negative comment I have is that the sarcasm was too thick (at least for me). I never knew there was such a thing, but at times I actually forgot the topic he was even referring to because it was so obscured by sarcasm. It was a lot of fun to listen to, but it falls very short of an insightful read if that's what you're looking for. I wouldn't advise to listen or not based off of my opinion, but if you think you like sarcastic humor, this could prove you wrong.

Hits at the heart of things.

Narrator was off on chapter numbers as listed on audible book but titles of each chapter narrated helped locate subject. Note: Never said chapter 1 & actually stated chapter 3 but was actually chapter 2; made confusing to follow. Narrator did his usual great job in highlighting each topic. Very enjoyable & eye opening as well.

Amazing Naration

What made the experience of listening to America Again the most enjoyable?

I really enjoyed this because the writers put together a great book, and Colbert does an amazing job narating; it is basically a non-news based episode of his show. This is best produced audiobook I've heard.

Pretty Whitty and Funny - Light On Content

I enjoyed the few hours of lighthearted political commentary. There wasn't really anything here to make me think. I'm not saying that sort of thing is necessary. This is a funny and intelligent book, but I don't really feel I gained anything from it.

Meh.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not really. The recording couldn't hold my attention. I kept finding myself drifting off. It's basically the summation of The Colbert Report but way too long with no audience feed-back to keep Stephen lively. It's just repetitive conservative parody/bashing the whole time and it gets old after a bit. I kind of wish I used my credit to by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter instead. I'll stick to watching the TV show instead.