Book Description
Book Description For everyone who was too cheap to buy the hardcover, the blockbuster, award-winning No. 1 New York Times bestseller is now in trade paperback--with a new introduction, fully updated, and with equally unsettling nude photos of the newest Supreme Court justices, and a text corrected by the most reputable college professor we could find/afford.Including:#8226 Historical inaccuracies, gross distortions, complete fabrications-corrected by real-life bearded college professor#8226 A new introduction by the authors#8226 Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito--nude!#8226 Totally updated ISBN number!#8226 American-style democracy is the world's most beloved form of government, which explains why so many other nations are eager for us to impose it on them. But what is American democracy? Amazon.com ExclusivesFeaturing a foreword by Thomas Jefferson, a Dress the Supreme Court layout, and, oddly enough, a profile of George "The Iceman" Gervin, America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, from Jon Stewart and the writers of the Emmy Award-winning The Daily Show, is by far one the most irreverent and wittiest (and may we add smartest) political book you're likely to encounter. Amazon.com spoke with Jon Stewart a few days before the 2004 publication of America (The Book) and they discussed bald eagles, magical talking cats, Thor Heyerdahl, and much more #8226 Read the Amazon.com Interview with Jon Stewart #8226 Listen to the Amazon.com Interview with Jon Stewart #8226 Watch a "Vintage" Amazon.com Exclusive Video from Jon Stewart More from Jon Stewart Naked Pictures of Famous People America (The Book) [Audio CD] The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Indecision 2004 [DVD]
Customer Reviews:
Funny John Stewart.......2007-09-07
I like the Jon Stewart show immensely and this book is a good primer on the humor of our "democracy inaction". I'm giving this book and Lloyd Dangle's newly released book "Troubletown Told You So: Comics That Could've Saved Us From This Mess" to all my relatives this year. And frankly both these books should be taught in college government classes! Troubletown Told You So: Comics that Could've Saved Us from this Mess
Too funny..........2007-09-05
What can you say? Is it the old school book library feel? Is it the constant sarcasm?
The book is simply funny.
Warning -- Very much like Denis Miller, Stewart's brand of humor is somewhat intellectual in nature. If you are looking for slapstick, you a) don't watch Stewart and b) are definitely buying the wrong book.
if you like J.S, you'll like this.......2007-07-03
English is my second language and I thought I would have some problem to understand the jokes but they were clear.
Good book eve if you don't agree with everything.
Hilarious look at politics by Jon Stewart.......2007-06-10
I love "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", it's really the best comedy on TV. Therefore I bought this book. This is a mischievious deadpan comedy book, which traces not only the history of America, but of democracy and humanity. The book is written in a standard text book style which took me back to university. It was just fun reading this book.
Im my opinion if you love "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and how the host takes on politics, you really have to buy this book.
Furthermore, I recommend The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - Indecision 2004 and Naked Pictures of Famous People.
A bit juvenile...........2007-05-14
It's a bit juvenile but that's a kind of what I'd expected from John Stewart. I know he's got better stuff in his head than this. If you're looking for good political books I'd suggest Bill Maher's books though. Keep this for your backup on those long drives though. :-)
Book Description
In his thirty years with the National Park Service, Jim Burnett has seen it all: boat ramp mishaps that have sent cars into the water; skunks in the outhouse and bears at the dumpster; visitors looking for the bridge over the Grand Canyon.
Customer Reviews:
Heartwarming but..........2007-09-08
I've got to say that this book definitely made me care about the narrator and feel for the amazing amount of sacrifice and difficult situations that he and his family endured in service of our National Parks. And it's very hard to knock that ever, especially from someone who seems so genuinely likeable and friendly. However... this is not the greatest book. The combination of acronyms and Shakespeare quotes seems quirky and interesting at first, but quickly gets old. The "people are idiots" theme gets somewhat overplayed. Many of these stories and humorous anecdotes are the tough-day-at-work/funny quote type of thing I would put in an e-mail to family or laugh about with friends, not the kind of thing that I would record for posterity.
The last chapter of the book, among other things, earnestly advises you not to get high and jump off a cliff. If you are the kind of person who would responsibly read a book of back-country safety tips and stories, you are probably not also the person who would take some hits of acid and decide to roll off a cliff. Or you are. But that's on you and no books will help you at that point.
I like the author and his family. I feel for his struggles and sacrifice and find the humor in some of his stories. But I can't call this a great book.
A fun, light-hearted book.......2007-09-04
This is a great book that is fun to read, each chapter can stand alone, so you can pick it up at your leisure. A great book to take on vacation.
It tells humorous stories of misadventures in our National Parks written in a way that you feel Mr. Burnett is talking to you. It gave me a good laugh and some good advice for visiting these or any parks.
(Snake in the cold water is my favorite story!)
Milk Toast.......2007-07-09
Hey Ranger ! Is lightly entertaining & minimally informative. It is well written but the acronyms the writer makes up are corny & get old quick. It's just not that interesting !I read these type books on a regular basis & must say that it is below average & definately not on my Re Read list. I keep most of my books but this one will be gone when I'm finished. Try Jim Reardens "Alaskas Wolf Man", Pete From's book "Indian Creek Cronicles",Larry Kanuit's books or Dick Proenneke's story.
Not a bad read.......2007-07-03
The acronyms are really annoying--don't pay attention to them. At times the author used so much detail that the stories became rather boring. However, there are a few humorous stories in the book. And, I did enjoy the way he introduced his stories with "Hey Ranger, how about you ___". Good info on park history. A worthwhile read in spite of skimming though sections.
Hilarious, but educational.......2007-07-01
I don't usually buy humorous books, but this one was given to me as a Christmas present by my wife. When I finally got around to reading it, I almost died laughing and found this book most enjoyable.
Part of the success of of this book is due to the author's "down home" style of storytelling. These stories are not meant to make fun of people, but to show how easily an unprepared park visitor can quickly get into deep trouble.
Hey Ranger! will not only give you a good laugh, but make you a better camper and park visitor in the future. You will also gain some insight into how park rangers and their families live.
Buy the book, enjoy it, then pass it on to a friend. I highly recommend it!
Amazon.com
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Oy vey! You Never Call! You Never Write!: A History of the Jewish Mother author Joyce Antler talks about Jewish humor, overbearing mothers, and Sarah Silverman. Watch the video (.wmv). |
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Book Description
In You Never Call, You Never Write, Joyce Antler provides an illuminating and often amusing history of one of the best-known figures in popular culture--the Jewish Mother. Whether drawn as self-sacrificing or manipulative, in countless films, novels, radio and television programs, stand-up comedy, and psychological and historical studies, she appears as a colossal figure, intensely involved in the lives of her children. Antler traces the odyssey of this compelling personality through decades of American culture. She reminds us of a time when Jewish mothers were admired for their tenacity and nurturance, as in the early twentieth-century image of the "Yiddishe Mama," a sentimental figure popularized by entertainers such as George Jessel, Al Jolson, and Sophie Tucker, and especially by Gertrude Berg, whose amazingly successful "Molly Goldberg" ruled American radio and television for over 25 years. Antler explains the transformation of this Jewish Mother into a "brassy-voiced, smothering, and shrewish" scourge (in Irving Howe's words), detailing many variations on this negative theme, from Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint and Woody Allen's Oedipus Wrecks to television shows such as "The Nanny," "Seinfeld," and "Will and Grace." But she also uncovers a new counter-narrative, leading feminist scholars and stand-up comediennes to see the Jewish Mother in positive terms. Continually revised and reinvented, the Jewish Mother becomes in Antler's expert hands a unique lens with which to examine vital concerns of American Jews and the culture at large. A joy to read, You Never Call, You Never Write will delight anyone who has ever known or been nurtured by a "Jewish Mother," and it will be a special source of insight for modern parents. As Antler suggests, in many ways "we are all Jewish Mothers" today.
Customer Reviews:
wonderful, heart-warming book.......2007-04-27
Reading this book will be a nostalgic trip down memory lane; the book is full of funny and charming anecdotes and recaps of classic humor routines and shows of past generations. A great book that gives you the really lively, hilarious, often shocking, sometimes bawdy history of how the Jewish Mother has been portrayed in movies, books, sitcoms, etc. But then the author contrasts that negative image with accounts of real Jewish mothers and women, who are strong, spunky, and loving. The perfect gift book; I confess I've already given copies to my mom and 4 aunts!
A great read for all mothers- Jewish or not!.......2007-04-27
A friend of mine recently recommended this book to me, and let me tell you this was one of the funniest and most endearing books I've read lately!
The author talks about how the perception of the Jewish Mother has come about thru stereotypes and so forth using various examples from pop culture. Interestly, with many of the portrayals she gives- I found myself thinking of my own Italian mother doing the same things!
I think anyone with a (slightly) overnurturing mother would greatly appreciate this warm book!
Customer Reviews:
Enjoy the funny and depraved lives of stand up artists!.......2007-09-15
I Killed is a collection of real life experiences and anecdotes from today's top stand up comedians like Drew Cary, Ron White, Paul Reiser, Mike Myers, Jay Leno, Chris Rock, George Lopez, and many more. The comedians share their stories about their adventures traveling around the country. Some stories were entertaining and funny, and some were an insight into the depravity and hardship that seems to propagate from life on the comedy road. I Killed is an easy read and I enjoyed the look into the lives and mentality of the stand up artists.
Funny and depraved...I loved it!!!.......2007-09-01
When I first saw this book, I feared it would be a bunch of sanitized, corny stories, the last thing I wanted to read was cleaned up road tales watered down for the Full House loving masses. Luckily, this wasn't the case, in this book, the comedians tell it like it is, they lead NC-17 lives, and that's the stories I wanted to be told, and tell them they do.
They should do a sequel about comedian's experiences in "comedy condo's", from the few mentions we get here, it sounds like that's where there's a lot of interesting stories to be mined.
Not laugh out loud funny..........2007-08-28
While the majority of these stories are definitely entertaining, I wasn't rolling on the floor by any means. Mostly I was left with a feeling of being glad I don't live the life of a road-dog comedian! Worth the read, just not as funny as I hoped it would be.
Some Funny But Mostly Just Depraved.......2007-06-15
Some of the stories in this book are definitely funny. The llama one, for example, is hilarious and my favorite. I don't have a problem with any in which the women were willing participants, like Jay Leno's, which is also very funny. Most of the stories are depraved and the lowest form of humor. The authors could have found much better, more clever stories from the comedians they interviewed, to be sure. They just chose not to. The treatment of women is horrible and I have no idea why some customers tagged this "relationships" and "dating". These comedians think they have every right in the world to lie or manipulate women, whatever it takes to sleep with them. In one story two of them sleep with a drunk girl who turns out to be retarded. She doesn't even know her name. They drop her off in a bad part of Chicago the next day, after tricking her into getting out of their car. At what point did the authors think that was funny and belonged in a book that is supposed to be funny? There are too many depraved stories like that one in here for my tastes.
Read if you're in the mood to laugh--a lot!.......2007-05-21
I've long been a fan of stand-up comedians . . . reading I KILLED:
TRUE STORIES OF THE ROAD FROM AMERICA'S TOP COMICS
by Rich Shydner and Mark Schiff has made me appreciate them
even more.
This book includes interviews with and/or anecdotes from dozens
of top comedians, including Chris Rock, Jay Leno, Larry David,
George Lopez, and Joan Rivers . . . they talk about what it's like
to travel throughout the country just to tell jokes, and you get a real
feel about how difficult such a life must be.
For example, Shydner describes how when early in his career, he
performed regularly at a variety of bars around Washington,
D.C. . . . once he found himself opening for a riled-up crowd eager
to see the Ramones . . . nobody really wanted to see him, so those
in the audience started to throw beer . . . one of the Ramones caught
his act and thought that was his act: human beer sponge.
Hecklers were another problem faced by just about all the
comedians . . . my favorite story was this one told by Dave Coulier:
I was working PJ's, this crazy strip club in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1983.
A heckler lost an exchange with me and threatened me with a gun.
As they pulled him away, he was still waving the gun and shouting,
"I'm gonna shoot your ass." A few minutes later I was offstage and still
shaking when the bouncer consoled me with this line: "Unless the bullet
actually hits you, you got nothing to worry about."
Judy Tenuta had me laughing when she described one of her appearances
at the beginning of her career:
It's the winter of 1981 in Chicago, with maybe ten people in the audience,
when a rat (the four-legged kind) runs across the stage. Suddenly the club
owner takes out a gun and blasts it, then motions for me to continue
with my show.
Lastly, I liked this story told by Joey Novick--a real funny guy I've actually
seen perform several times:
We were three New York comedians in the Deep South, and the
directions given to us by the club were, "Go past the Italian restaurant."
We drove back and forth for an hour till we realized the "Italian restaurant"
was a Pizza Hut.
Read I KILLED if you're in the mood to laugh--a lot!
Amazon.com
A travelogue by Bill Bryson is as close to a sure thing as funny books get. The Lost Continent is no exception. Following an urge to rediscover his youth (he should know better), the author leaves his native Des Moines, Iowa, in a journey that takes him across 38 states. Lucky for us, he brought a notebook.
With a razor wit and a kind heart, Bryson serves up a colorful tale of boredom, kitsch, and beauty when you least expect it. Gentler elements aside, The Lost Continent is an amusing book. Here's Bryson on the women of his native state: "I will say this, however--and it's a strange, strange thing--the teenaged daughters of these fat women are always utterly delectable ... I don't know what it is that happens to them, but it must be awful to marry one of those nubile cuties knowing that there is a time bomb ticking away in her that will at some unknown date make her bloat out into something huge and grotesque, presumably all of a sudden and without much notice, like a self-inflating raft from which the pin has been yanked."
Yes, Bill, but be honest: what do you really think?
Book Description
An unsparing and hilarious account of one man's rediscovery of America and his search for the perfect small town.
Customer Reviews:
You'll laugh, you'll cry. You'll laugh until you cry!!!.......2007-09-13
This book is absolutely hilarious, and Bill Bryson, is, in my opinion, the best writer the planet ever produced. I'm a creative director at an ad agency, and I swear, his writing is so superb that MY writing actually gets markedly better after I read him. But only for about a week. Then it's like Flowers for Algernon...I get all average again!
Boy oh boy do I envy anyone who has not read Bill Bryson's books, because you still have all that pleasure in front of you!
Non Fiction.......2007-09-03
I read this after having been through and in a few of the places Bill Bryson mentions in The Lost Continent : Travels in Small-town America, so at the time I found parts of it highly entertaining. Accounts of Nowheresville, USA are not going to be too interesting if you get lots and lots and lots of them, though.
The Lost Continent..are we there yet?.......2007-09-02
Originally published on SensiblySassy.blogspot.com
Lost Continent:
Well a couple years ago I read Bill Bryson's book Neither Here nor There and it was a hilarious guide through Europe. So when I saw Lost Continent on the shelves I instantly wanted to read about Bill's road trip through the U.S. Within the first five pages I was chuckling to myself and out loud. (Luckily Jon was the only one sitting next to me on the plane as I read) By the time the hour and a half flight touched back down on the ground I had polished off quite a few pages.
As the book went on I began to feel less enamored with the book than I initially had. The tone shifted from funny to cranky as the trip/book wore on. Now I wonder if it is the fact that the trip began to take its toll on Bryson or if he felt that crotchety was a good tone for him to switch to-we may never know. Overall if you were to sample some of Bryson's work I would absolutley recommend Neither Here nor There over Lost Continent . Neither Here nor There gives you a hilarious and personal guide through Europe whereas Lost Continent really helps you remember what it was like to take loooong car rides with your parents-the good and the bad.
satisfied my curiosity towards small towns.......2007-08-30
We all know what big cities are like, but how about small towns? Of course Bill Bryson did not (& obviously could not) visit all small towns in his home country, this book satisfied my curiosity towards small towns in America.
I guess there's always irresistible charm of overland travel, and Bryson described his overland trip with hilarious writing style.
One suggestion: if the editor could add a route map at the beginning of book showing Bryson's itinerary, it would be even better.
A bumpy, yet scenic, road.......2007-08-03
Bill Bryson, a child of the 50s, used to spend each summer with his family on one of those all-American vacations that consisted of endless driving, sweltering heat and the inevitable destination that was, due to his father's preference, free and educational. He always longed for the chance to buy tacky hats with plastic crap on them and other tasteless souvenirs, and now that he's an adult, he finally gets that chance when he embarks on a nation-wide odyssey in the hopes of getting to know the country he left behind in The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America.
Although he was born in Des Moines, Illinois ("Someday had to," he explains on the opening page), Bryson's heart was elsewhere, and he spent most of his adult life living in England. Some 30 years after those summer journeys he's back in the states, and with no specific itinerary or time constraints, he leisurely passes from town to city, looking for the perfect place that survived from his childhood in this travelogue.
Of course, America has changed since Bryson's childhood days, and instead of finding Perfect Town, U.S.A, he encounters a deluge of faceless shopping malls, unremarkable villages and far too many gas stations. His hilarious observations usually come at the expense of the people he talks to and places he visits, which almost seems to suggest an air of British snootiness that he picked up from his years living abroad. Still, there are plenty of irreverent comments ("I only ever knew one journalist with a truly tidy desk, and he was eventually arrested for molesting small boys. Make of that what you will; but just bear it in mind that next time somebody with a tidy desk invites you camping") that are just so outlandishly amusing, that it's easy to forgive him for his treatment of the occasional small town citizen.
Traveling across America and being disgusted with the over-commercialization is hardly groundbreaking material. John Steinbeck, the quintessential American, did exactly that in 1962 with Travels with Charley: In Search of America. While Steinbeck is a folksy, talkative guy, Bryson instead bares his teeth. He travels alone and all along the way he doesn't strike up many conversations aside from brief chats with a plethora of waitresses and moronic country folk. He does meet up with a friend, and later a niece, but they're pushed into the background and the surroundings become the main characters. The closest we get to travel companions is when Bryson vividly describes what the past trips with his family were like. His mom says nothing other than "Would you like a sandwich, honey?" and "I don't know, dear."
Much of Bryson's journey on both coasts, and everything in between, brings up plenty woeful places, yet he does find some attractions worthy of his admiration. A rare few of the stops on his trip nostalgically remind him of his youth, from the sheer scope of the Grand Canyon ("Your mind, unable to deal with anything on this scare, just shuts down and for many long moments you are a human vacuum") and the "sleepy" college town of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania ("You feel at first as if you should be wearing slippers and a bathrobe"). Bryson covers so much ground (38 states) and visits so many similar towns, that at times, his travelogue almost read like a list. Even the memorable places are often described as simply "pleasant," and after a paragraph, it's off to the next destination. Like the long road trip that Bryson embarks on, The Lost Continent captures the vastness and monotony of driving across America. Because of the now-famous Bill Bryson humor, for most of it works well and there are plenty of laughs, The Lost Continent becomes more than another lackluster expressway town.
Book Description
From the irresistibly wry Larry Miller, a collection of sharp–eyed, trenchant, and very funny essays on the outrages of everyday life.
Larry Miller is one of the most enduring and irresistible comic personalities at work today. Hundreds of stand–up appearances on Leno, Letterman, Conan O'Brien, and other TV shows, and his unforgettable roles in films as diverse as Pretty Woman and Best in Show have made Larry's acerbic wit and character (he calls himself "a founding member of the Cranky Nit–Pickers of America") a staple of the American comic diet. And in recent years he has gained a new, more political following, penning a regular humor column in The Weekly Standard and making frequent appearances with TV hosts such as Bill Maher and Dennis Miller.
Now, in Spoiled Rotten America, he fixes his gaze on the outrages of contemporary life – from "pop stars thinking deeply and sharing their thoughts" to "pillow–soft Americans who stop by the Pizza Hut before collapsing into the Wide–O–Lounger just in time to watch 22 pimple–faced steroid–eaters slam into each other at 14 miles an hour."
Mixing the political with the personal as deftly as P. J. O'Rourke or George Carlin, Larry Miller is today's new voice of outrage for the little guy – for "anyone who walks into the backyard at night, lifts a proud chin, and screams, 'I am not wrong!' before going back inside to resume getting quietly hammered while his wife sits in the next room watching figure skating."
Customer Reviews:
funny to the point of being silly.......2007-08-05
This is a very funny book. However it goes beyond reality into the surreal. A very enjoyable read.
so funny and true!.......2007-06-02
I heard Larry Miller on a local radio talk show and he piqued my interest to read this book. I was not disappointed. He is funny, smart and comes at the reader from all angles. It is intelligent and very basic at the same time. My daughter saw me reading it and I read her some of the passages --she in turn shared some of it with a friend of hers and both of them couldn't wait until I finished so they could borrow my book. I loved it!
Even Better Than I Hoped For.......2007-04-15
I first became aware of Larry Miller in that sperm bank movie with Shelly Long. I don't want to give away his character, but he's terrifically funny in an innocent and understated way. That one scene where he's at his desk had me rolling on the floor.
His book is much the same way - he doesn't go for the cheap laughs. His essays are intelligent and insightful with wry looks and observations mixed in with thought provoking views. One minute I was reading over a paragraph for the third time and still cracking up hard enough to bring tears to my eyes, the next minute I was wrinkling my brow to think about my own view on something.
He's irreverent and understated and what makes him so amusing - to me - is that even when he's commenting on humanity's misplaced priorities or foibles, he juxtaposes himself almost self-deprecatingly. Only, it's obvious that he's got greater understanding and awareness than what he's speaking of. But you never get the feeling that's what HE thinks.
So the mix is masterful: intelligence, humility, irreverence, thought provoking-ness (I couldn't think of the word so I made one up), understatement, and a certain unflappability....it's definitely a repeat read!
Some good material . . . .......2007-03-21
A little too self-serving and preachy at times. Still, worth the read, if you know Mr. Miller and his brand of humor.
Larry Miller, American Hero.......2007-01-27
I will never forget Larry serving broccoli in our college cafeteria. The food was so bad I used to get about 6 servings with lemon and butter. Larry let it pass because he knew I was starving. Me and a lot of guys owe our lives to him.
Book Description
Fan-favorite creators Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting bring the most talked-about Captain America story in 40 years to a heartbreaking conclusion. Cap faces down his personal demons, in a hand-to-hand battle with the Winter Soldier. But he's not just fighting for victory, he's in a struggle for the heart and soul of everything he's ever cared about, and the results will send tragic echoes throughout his life for years to come. Collects Captain America #15-17 & Captain America 65th Anniversary Special.
Customer Reviews:
Better than I had thought.......2007-07-29
I hadn't been too impressed with Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America since the title was relaunched (his resurrection of the long dead Bucky sent collective groans down readers backs heard across the world), but Red Menace ends up being better than what he's already delivered before it. Brubaker manages to celebrate the 65th Anniversary of Captain America's first appearance in style here, as Cap and Bucky, now known as the Winter Soldier, go head to head in an emotional confrontation that is worth picking the book up for alone. There's a decent amount of action and intrigue as can be expected from the title and from Brubaker, and the art from Steve Epting is solid as always to boot. That being said, by the end of Red Menace, Cap is staring down the wall in terms of his future, which as we all know at this point by now, isn't very bright to say the least. All in all, Red Menace is worth checking out if you're a fan of Cap or Brubaker, and it's better than the first two TPB's that preceeded it.
Amazon.com
Picture a magical, sugar-fueled road trip with Willy Wonka behind the wheel and David Sedaris riding shotgun, complete with chocolate-stained roadmaps and the colorful confetti of spent candy wrappers flying in your cocoa powder dust. If you can imagine such a manic journey--better yet, if you can imagine being a hungry hitchhiker who's swept through America's forgotten candy meccas: Philadelphia (Peanut Chews), Sioux City (Twin Bing), Nashville (Goo Goo Cluster), Boise (Idaho Spud) and beyond--then Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America, Steve Almond's impossible-to-put down portrait of regional candy makers and the author's own obsession with all-things sweet, would be your Fodor's guide to this gonzo tour.
With the aptly named Almond (don't even think of bringing up the Almond Joy bit--coconut is Almond's kryptonite), obsession is putting it mildly. Almond loves candy like no other man in America. To wit: the author has "three to seven pounds" of candy in his house at all times. And then there's the Kit Kat Darks incident; Almond has a case of the short-lived confection squirreled away in an undisclosed warehouse. "I had decided to write about candy because I assumed it would be fun and frivolous and distracting," confesses Almond. "It would allow me to reconnect to the single, untarnished pleasure of my childhood. But, of course, there are no untarnished pleasures. That is only something the admen of our time would like us to believe." Almond's bittersweet nostalgia is balanced by a fiercely independent spirit--the same underdog quality on display by the small candy makers whose entire existence (and livelihood) is forever shadowed by the Big Three: Hershey's, Mars, and Nestle.
Almond possesses an original, heartfelt, passionate voice; a writer brave enough to express sheer joy. Early on his tour he becomes entranced with that candy factory staple, the "enrober"--imagine an industrial-size version of the glaze waterfall on the production line at your local Krispy Kreme, but oozing chocolate--dubbing it "the money shot of candy production." And while he writes about candy with the sensibilities of a serious food critic (complimenting his beloved Kit Kat Dark for its "dignified sheen," "puddinglike creaminess," "coffee overtones," and "slightly cloying wafer") words like "nutmeats" and "rack fees" send him into an adolescent twitter.
...the Marathon Bar, which stormed the racks in 1974, enjoyed a meteoric rise, died young, and left a beautiful corpse. The Marathon: a rope of caramel covered in chocolate, not even a solid piece that is, half air holes, an obvious rip-off to anyone who has mastered the basic Piagetian stages, but we couldn't resist the gimmick. And then, as if we weren't bamboozled enough, there was the sleek red package, which included a ruler on the back and thereby affirmed the First Rule of Male Adolescence: If you give a teenage boy a candy bar with a ruler on the back of the package, he will measure his dick
Candyfreak is one of those endearing, quirky titles that defy swift categorization. One of those rare books that you'll want to tear right through, one you won't soon stop talking about. And eager readers beware: It's impossible to flip through ten pages of this sweet little book without reaching for a piece of chocolate. --Brad Thomas Parsons
Book Description
A self-professed candyfreak, Steve Almond set out in search of a much-loved candy from his childhood and found himself on a tour of the small candy companies that are persevering in a marketplace where big corporations dominate.
From the Twin Bing to the Idaho Spud, the Valomilk to the Abba-Zaba, and discontinued bars such as the Caravelle, Marathon, and Choco-Lite, Almond uncovers a trove of singular candy bars made by unsung heroes working in old-fashioned factories to produce something they love. And in true candyfreak fashion, Almond lusciously describes the rich tastes that he has loved since childhood and continues to crave today. Steve Almond has written a comic but ultimately bittersweet story of how he grew up on candy-and how, for better and worse, the candy industry has grown up, too.
Candyfreak is the delicious story of one man's lifelong obsession with candy and his quest to discover its origins in America.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic.......2007-08-06
Plot: Candy lover tours several candy factories
Pros: Funny, well-written, interesting, mouth-watering
Cons: None
Other Thoughts: One of the most satisfying books I have ever read. I laughed out loud a few times. I want to try several of the candy bars he mentions that I've never heard of.
Grade: A+
Hypocrite.......2007-07-21
First, the bad stuff. The guy just rails the G.W. Bush administration. He pontificates against big business. He has diatribes against the whole cocoa industry. He decries the monstrous evil of the big three candy bar companies: Nestle, Mars, and Hershey. However, he explains that he is a candy freak and he can't help himself from buying their product. He writes about his moral quagmire several times. His friends even listed some politically correct candy bars and he still can't help himself. He is a self-absorbed, little twit. It wore on me.
The good things about the book are the guy can write and he is funny. However, the book goes on way too long. He goes to all these independent candy bar companies. It was interesting, but he also wrote about himself, which was a very boring topic. Both topics, candy bars and the author, are both inconsequential. Who really cares about the history of either subject? The people he meets were interesting. Some of the stories he tells were good. His political diatribes since he didn't even vote in the mid-term election were a little hard to take. He can't even give up any candy bar that he likes as a symbolic gesture. C. S. Lewis wrote about "Men without Chests." Almond would be a prime example.
Get me a candybar, stat!.......2007-07-01
This book was amazing and made me salivate regularly. I wanted candy more than I have wanted candy in a very long time. Almond writes about the evolution of candy bars and tours a number of candy bar factories. He does not tour any of the big three, however, because they are too secretive and denied him access. The book is basically a nostalgic look at the candy bar industry and shows that, just like in every other American industry, the little guys are being pushed out by the big guys.
One thing I learned is that candy companies have to pay grocery stores a "stocking fee" to put their candies in the register line. The fee is $20,000 or more (I don't know how often this is paid though). This should explain why we only see Hershey's and Mars products at the front of the store. No independent candy companies can afford such a large amount of money.
The book itself is amazingly well written. The author is hilarious and the book never gets too dry even when he's feeding us statistics instead of candy descriptions. I recommend it for a fun read.
UMM, pot and a candy bar .......2007-06-28
This book caused us to take a trip to our local Cracker Barrel to buy as much of the candy mentioned in the book as possible. We had Cherry Mash, Mallow Cups, ValoMilk, and SkyBar all piled into small brown paper sacks. We munched on the chocolate covered goodies as we set on the porch of the Cracker Barrel playing checkers. By far, my favorite are the ValoMilk cups. They are two slightly dark chocolate cups, perfectly ratio-ed with the vanilla flavored filling. I also enjoyed the SkyBar that offered a different filling in each piece. Every time the author toured another factory I was craving the candy that he discussed. I thought it was a great idea to have a candy bar party where you get to try all sorts of old-time candy, but I would leave out the pot. They just don't seem to go together very well.
Candy Freak.......2007-05-29
This book demonstrates all the secrets about all the different candies in the worldm and Steve Almond keeps you extremely interested. This is a book i lvoed ,and im not a big reader. I reccomend this book to anyone because you will get a kick out of it. The funny facts on how he doesnt go wone day without eating candy keeps you laughing. It is an amazing book and would be funny for adults and teenagers.
Book Description
A must-have for anyone with a passion for shopping carts and a love of the great outdoors.
In The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America author Julian Montague has created an elaborate classification system of abandoned shopping carts, accompanied by photographic documentation of actual stray cart sightings. These sightings include bucolically littered locations such as the Niagara River Gorge (where many a cart has been pushed to its untimely death) and mundane settings that look suspiciously like a suburb near you.
Working in the naturalist's tradition, the photographs depict the diversity of the phenomenon and carry a surprising emotional charge; readers inevitably begin to see these carts as human, at times poignant in their abandoned, decrepit state, hilariously incapacitated, or ingeniously co-opted. The result is at once rigorous and absurd, enabling the layperson to identify and classify their own cart spottings based on the situation in which they were found.
Customer Reviews:
Very amusing read- but possibly too complicated for comedy........2007-10-01
Received the book last week- funny read and the pictures are amusing for a while...then the "field guide" aspect of the book may be a bit too complicated for a "fun read". It's quite a complicated work-up that the author had contrived, and while impressive- I was using too much brain power while reading something that should be entertaining. I don't think I have enough room left in my brain to store field guide info on shopping carts- even just to make it til the end of this book! But maybe YOU do! :)
Wonderfully arcane.......2007-04-06
There's no bio for the author, but I hope it helped him get tenure! Designed like a birding guide, it is funny beyond belief. Library of Congress classifies it as an "artistic photography" book, but it has a very droll social anthropology feel about it.
A Must Read.......2007-03-11
Though this may be well trod territory, I enjoyed his original take on the shopping cart epidemic. Between his witicisms and his arcane research approach, I found it a hilariously depresing work. One of the best novels I've read in years.
I'm over the age of thirteen.
Audubon? Peterson? Has-beens!.......2006-04-16
One of the most complete and well thought out works I have ever encountered. Montague's language coupled with his beautiful photography give the lowly carts individual personalities. Refreshing, for an art piece, it never takes itself too seriously. It will change the way you look at the urban environment, and most importantly it's endlessly fun.
'Shoppers...we're gonna get you for doing this to us' UBSC local 501*.......2006-04-10
Flick through this book and many of you might think Julian Montague needs to get a life, roaming round the North Eastern states snapping the death throes of shopping carts, indeed. The book is a bit of fun though and quite cleverly thought out, but maybe the joke wears a bit thin by page 176.
The five sections explain all you'll need to know to about classifying carts, section two lists Class A: False Strays, Types 1-11 and section three Class B: True Strays, Types 1-22. Each type gets a page with a cool photo and details about what to look for. The longest section is four, titled Selected Specimens, with more than three hundred photos of battered and dead carts in the environment, I think the ones in snow look best and they are categorized according to either Class A or B. It won't surprise you to know that the author toiled for six years creating all this.
The design and printing of the book is fine and the author takes a pretty good cart photo. The only thing missing, I thought, was some reference to their manufactures, there can't be too many and they most likely all have unique features. This would certainly have added to the thrill of spotting a Class B, Type 11 (train damaged cart) made by A N Other Inc.
*United Brotherhood of Shopping Carts. Affiliated to AFL/CIO.
***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
Amazon.com
Roadside America is a Baedeker to the junkiest attractions on America's major, minor, and nearly forgotten highways. Planning to see Graceland? Why not let this delightful volume direct you on the complete Elvis tour, including a miniature "Elvis City" in Roanoke, Virginia; the Elvis-theme McDonald's in Elvis's birthplace of Tupelo, Mississippi; and the Elvis Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Learn about the Curse of the Pyramids, and see the many unfinished pyramids that litter America's heartland. Jump into the debate about which town has the largest ball of string, the biggest tree stump, or America's true weather-forecasting groundhog. The locations of giant statues of the Jolly Green Giant, an "African village" in South Carolina claiming to be an independent kingdom, and the mysterious "Thing" of the Sonoran Desert are all found here. Buy it and drive west, young trendies.
Customer Reviews:
Not very practical.......2006-08-24
This books gives you a lot of sites to see on your Road Trip but doesn't give you very practical advice how to get to them or their exact locations. There are a lot better books out there.
Make your trip eccentric and different!.......2006-01-01
A great source of ideas, oddball locations, and "home of the largest" collections, this book is nearly perfect for a long trip that needs some spice.
While it would have been nice to see a state-by-state organizational method (and some contact information) besides the index, the facts and details are nonetheless perfect for anyone wanting to make a trip different. The largest ball of twine, the Jack Daniel's museum and distillery, Punxsutawney Phil, Superman's hometown, and a plethora of pyramids; it's all there. (By the way, the aforementioned attractions are just a few of the ones I have seen personally - but not all the pyramids of course.)
With that said, the authors provide an interesting take on the idea of eccentric traveling. They organize based upon the type of trip a traveler might like. If you want an all religion tour or a "boring" tour, they provide the itinerary.
Along with a highlighter, this book goes along with me on every trip. I want to make sure I don't miss anything. It's great and I'm crossing them off as I see them.
Sardonic putdowns ruin the content of this book........2005-12-30
I bought this book thinking it would guide me to fun and funky places to visit that were off the beaten track. Instead, it seemed to be more of an excuse to mock the very places it purported to be interested in. The topper was when Roadside America described the Aviation Museum in Ohio as if it were a joke, when in fact it is a memorable and inspiring museum. Overall, I didn't enjoy the tone of the book, which to me, seemed to be one of derisive put-downs. I think many of the places described in this book would be fun to visit, but it's hard to pick out the good from the bad, with the way this book is written.
A great guide to take on a road trip.......2005-09-21
Even though it lacks a bit of organization, the places are true Americana -- the essence of a real road trip. This book is a great accompaniment to Live Your Road Trip Dream - Travel for a year for the cost of staying home -- the ultimate road trip planner.
Be sure to check out some of these great places on your next long distance road trip.
New Roadside America .......2005-08-16
I thought I was buying a new book. When I received, I found a golf score card from The Woodlands At Hawks Prairie completed with the names of Dino and Brad filled out on Fathers Day '05.
The book was in excellent condition even with the score card.
Also, the John Dillinger Museum is no longer in Nashville, IN (hasn't been for some time). The museum is now located in Hammond, Indiana.
Books:
- The Friars Club Encyclopaedia of Jokes: 2,000 One-Liners, Straight Lines, Stories, Gags, Roasts, Ribs and Put-Downs
- The Friday Night Knitting Club
- The Genius of Flexibility: The Smart Way to Stretch and Strengthen Your Body
- The Great Divorce
- The Joy of Reflexology: Healing Techniques for the Hands and Feet to Reduce Stress and Reclaim Life
- The Magic Bottle: A BLAB! Storybook
- The New Rules of Marriage: What You Need to Know to Make Love Work
- The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't
- The Nuts and Bolts of Organic Chemistry: A Student's Guide to Success
- The Paper Bag Princess (Classic Munsch)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Turning Hurts into Halos and Scars into Stars
- Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble
- Officer Friendly: and Other Stories
- Portrait of a Priestess: Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece
- Simple Path
- Quantum Field Theory: From Operators to Path Integrals
- The Art of Landscape Detail: Fundamentals, Practices, and Case Studies
- The State of Working America 2000-2001
- Look Back to Get Ahead: Life Lessons from History's Heroes
- Building Your Debt-Free Life 2000
General
| Humor
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Naked Pictures of Famous People
The Truth (with jokes)
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
The Areas of My Expertise
Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis
Featuring a foreword by Thomas Jefferson, a Dress the Supreme Court layout, and, oddly enough, a profile of George "The Iceman" Gervin, America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, from Jon Stewart and the writers of the Emmy Award-winning The Daily Show, is by far one the most irreverent and wittiest (and may we add smartest) political book you're likely to encounter. Amazon.com spoke with Jon Stewart a few days before the 2004 publication of America (The Book) and they discussed bald eagles, magical talking cats, Thor Heyerdahl, and much more
