Garmin nüvi 350 Pocket Vehicle GPS Navigator with Maps for North America

Product Features

• Compact 700 MB GPS navigator with bundled MP3/audiobook player, photo viewer, and world travel clock
• Preloaded with City Navigator NT V.8 with maps of U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico
• Turn-by-turn directions, automatic routing, and 320 x 240 color touchscreen display
• Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot; measures 3.87 x 2.91 x 0.87 inches (W x H x D); 1-year warranty

Technical Details

• Model number: 010-00455-00
• Display: TFT, 64K colors, with touch screen
• Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels
• Backlighting: White backlight
• Antenna: Flip-up antenna; includes MCX-type connector for optional external GPS antenna connection
• Receiver: High-sensitivity SiRF receiver/WAAS-enabled
• Built-in mapping database: City Navigator NT v.8 (includes detailed maps of U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico)
• Travel kit: Language guide, MP3 player, audible book player, picture viewer, world clock, currency and measurement converters, and calculator functions
• Memory: 700 MB internal; SD memory expansion slot
• Speakers: Built-in
• Traffic alerts: Optional GTM 10 FM TMC traffic receiver
• Navigation prompts: Audio (text-to-speech) and visual (on-screen)
• Viewing perspectives: Three-dimensional or two-dimensional (overhead)
• Dimensions: 3.87 x 2.91 x 0.87 inches / 98.3 x 73.9 x 22.1 millimeters (WxHxD)
• Weight: 5.1 ounces / 144.6 grams
• Battery: Built-in 800 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery
• Battery life: 4 to 8 hours
• Other power supply: 12-volt power adapter cable
• Usage: 15 W max at 13.8 VDC
• Headphone jack: Standard 3.5 millimeter
• PC connectivity: USB mass storage (SD card slot or internal memory)
• Warranty: Limited one-year parts and labor
• In the Box: Nuvi 350, travel kit, vehicle suction cup mount, carrying case, 12-24 volt adapter cable, dashboard disk, USB interface cable, sample language guide content, sample MP3s, and quick reference guide

Product Description
What if one device could help you navigate anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, while offering travel tips, storing your favorite tunes and photos, providing translation assistance, and more? That device is here, and it's not much bigger than a deck of cards. The Garmin nüvi 350 is set to revolutionize what we expect from a GPS navigation device, or from any device for that matter.

Design
With a total weight of 5.1 ounces and slim measurements of 3.87 x 2.91 x 0.87 inches (WxHxD), the nüvi 350 is just right for the pocket or purse. A bright, 64,000-color display dominates the front of the device and a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels means that there's plenty of room for displaying map data and other elements of the device's interface. An SD memory card slot is provided for expansion software, such as a points of interest database, media files and electronic guides (see below). The flip-up antenna includes an MCX-type connector for connecting the unit to an external GPS antenna. Meanwhile, a powerful built-in speaker resides on the back of device. A built-in lithium ion battery will give you for to eight hours of battery life, depending on use. In addition to an AC charger, the unit also ships with a 12-volt power adapter for vehicle charging, as well as a windshield suction cup mount.

Fortunately, Garmin has made it easy to interface with the nüvi 350's 700 megabytes of onboard memory, thanks to "plug-and-play" USB mass storage support. Just plug the device into your computer's USB port and you've got instantaneous access to all the audio books, music, photos, supplemental maps and other data on the nüvi 350's internal and SD card memory.

Navigation
The nüvi 350 is first and foremost a personal GPS device. Wherever you go -- in your car or on foot-- the device offers extremely accurate position data, thanks to a high-sensitivity integrated GPS receiver by SiRF and WAAS-enabled, 12-satellite reception. Combined with detailed maps of the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico the nüvi 350 provides automatic routing, turn-by-turn voice directions, and touchscreen control-- making it easy to find your way anywhere. Plus, the unique "text-to-speech" feature calls out turns by street name, and you can choose from either 2D or 3D mapping perspectives when you're viewing your route on the display. Additionally, the nüvi 350 is compatible with Garmin's GTM 10 FM TMC traffic receiver*, which allows users to avoid traffic tie-ups by simply pushing a button that will calculate a new route.

As mentioned, the nüvi 350 comes packed with mapping data for North America, but you can can also load up your custom points of interest. Set up proximity alerts for school zones, safety cameras, and more using Garmin's free POI (points of interest) loader program (available from garmin.com).

Tools for the Journey
Navigation is just part of the journey, and the nüvi 350 is one of the first devices to recognize that. The built-in "Travel Kit" offers an MP3 player, an audio book player from Audible.com, a jpeg-format picture viewer, a world travel clock with time zones, a currency converter, a measurement converter, and a calculator.

In addition to the included travel tools, additional software add-ons are available, such as the Garmin Language Guide, with data provided by Oxford University Press. This software suite contains a multilingual word bank, phrase bank, and five bilingual dictionaries. The multilingual word bank and phrase bank supports nine languages and dialects, including American English, British English, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, European Spanish, and Latin American Spanish. Now you can look up and translate more than 17,000 words or 20,000 phrases per language -- right in the palm of your hand. Through the unit's text-to-speech interface, users can get a spoken pronunciation of each entry in the word bank, along with gender and part of speech information.

Another useful add-on software package, the Garmin Travel Guide, is loaded with information provided by Marco Polo. These guides put in-depth travel information such as reviews and recommendations for restaurants, tourist attractions, and more at your fingertips. The software allows you to navigate to an address or search points of interest-- places like hotels, restaurants, shopping, and tourist attractions. The nüvi 350 automatically calculates the fastest route and provides voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions along the way. The unit also audibly announces the name of upcoming streets-- letting you keep your eyes on the road while navigating through busy traffic and tricky roadways. And if you stray off course, the nüvi 350 automatically calculates the quickest way to get back on track.

What's in the Box
nüvi 350, travel kit, vehicle suction cup mount, carrying case, 12-24 volt adapter cable, dashboard disk, USB interface cable, sample language guide content, sample MP3s, and quick reference guide.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews 846 of 862 people found the following review helpful: By A's Fan (California)
After trying both Garmin's i3 and c340 GPS units, this is the one I'm keeping. Simply wonderful.

It has all the characteristics that I was looking for:

1) VERY compact -- easily able to fit in a breast pocket
2) Text-to-Speech -- announces proper street names, not just "turn left in 500 feet"; radically reduces how much you need to look at the screen to figure out the real instructions; wouldn't own a GPS unit wihtout this
3) Bright Screen -- readable in virtually every situation

AND

Faster location of the GPS satellites. This turns out to be quite important in day-to-day use. In the other systems, it wasn't unusual that we could be driving for a couple minutes before it located the satellites and could give us directions. With this unit, the satellites are located almost as quickly as the unit fully starts up.

One comment on how we use this: We don't mount it on the dash board or on the window (which is technically illegal here in California). Instead we just lay this on the center console in our van or car. The antenna system is plenty sensitive to work just like this and we've never lost the satellite signals except in tunnels.

We also like all the potential of the traveling features (clock, calculator, etc.), but this is the one to own even if you just use it for the basic GPS features.

Very impressed.

[July 2006 Update]
How Its Ease-of-Use Enhanced Our Vacation: We were recently on a vacation combined with a business conference. While I was at the conference, my family had the confidence to explore the city without ever getting lost. Even our kids were able to help enter addreses and find locations.

Factoring In Added Cost: Just a warning about upgrade costs. Although Garmin does a good job of releasing updates to their system software that either fixes bugs or adds enhancements, the cost to update the built-in maps is extra. And they issue updates about once a year.

385 of 388 people found the following review helpful: By Martin Anderson "Martin" (Santa Ana, CA United States)
I spent a lot of time trying out GPS units, and have compared Garmin, Tom Tom, Magellan, and several factory GPS units. All of these GPS units tell you how to get somewhere and will re-route if you make a wrong turn. However, Garmin is my absolute favorite, and here's why:

1. The most important thing about Garmin units is the user interface. It is simple to understand and easy to use.

2. The Garmin unit uses a built in database of sunrise and sunset times (based upon your location) to automatically change from daylight mode to night-time mode. This is important because the daylight screen is much too bright for use at night. With the Tom Tom, you must make this change manually.

3. If you have the Garmin unit plugged into your car power, when you turn off the car (and the cigarette lighter power goes off), the Garmin unit will detect that and automatically turn itself off (it gives you 30 seconds to override and keep the unit on).

4. When you start your car again, the Garmin unit will detect that too and automatically power up. If you were in the middle of a trip, the Garmin unit will pick up where you left off, and you won't have to tell it where you were going again.

5. Unlike most factory GPS units, Garmin will allow you to select your route and make changes while you are moving.

6. The Garmin units have an extensive database of locations and the excellent interface makes it easy to search the database to find what you want. Do you want food or gas? Just click three buttons and a list of locations (sorted by distance) will appear. If you know the name of the place you want, you can type it in on the on-screen keypad and Garmin will find it for you. You can even add your own locations using the favorites feature. I first started using this when I was out of town, but its amazing what you'll find near you when you look.

7. While you are driving, the Garmin unit will both prompt you to turn and give you a written explanation of the turn (including the street or highway name and direction) at the top of the screen. The Garmin unit also shows an estimated arrival time (usually a few minutes earlier than you'll actually arrive) and the distance to your next turn. A separate screen gives you detailed trip information, including how far and how long you've been driving and your maximum speed. I used mine on an airplane once (yes, it is allowed - read the back of the airplane magazine), and it now says that by maximum speed was 590 miles per hour.

8. I often use the Garmin even when driving locally, becase it often finds better, faster ways to get there then the way that I usually use.

9. Garmin offers a variety of installation options and accessories. My favorite is the friction based dashboard mount (three weights connected to a center stand) which is much more convenient than the supplied mounting system.

10. If you turn off the GPS receiver (see settings) and then look up another location, you will get the option to set this new location as your present location. This will allow you to use search Garmin's points of interest for the new location. This is a great feature when planning trips, because Garmin's points of interest database is quite extensive and includes all of the typical tourist attractions, plus food, shopping, gas, banking, etc.

11. Be sure to check for the latest map and firmware updates at Garmin's web-site.

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Garmin Ique 3000 PDA With Integrated GPS

Product Description
The iQue 3000 is a newly styled, entry-level Palm Powered personal digital assistant (PDA) that offers fully integrated Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.The iQue 3000 welcomes users with Garmin's easy-to-use "where to" or "view maps" interface. After entering a destination, the iQue 3000 will choose the fastest or shortest route to navigate the user from door to door. The unit automatically recalculates a route if the driver misses his or her turn and notifies the driver of the estimated time of arrival.The compact iQue 3000 features Garmin's Que technology that offers complete integration between organization and GPS navigation functions. Que technology connects the Palm Address Book and Date Book to the GPS electronic map so that users can navigate directly to a specific address from the user's contact database or date book.Users may download detailed street information onto their iQue 3000 from the installation DVD, which is a standard accessory. This industry-leading navigation database allows the user to look up nearly six million points of interest, such as restaurants, hotels, transportation hubs, and banks. Map data is provided by NAVTEQ - a world leader in premium-quality mapping.
Product Features
* Palm Powered Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and GPS
* ARM 9 200 MHz Processor with built-in GPS Correlator and 32MB Internal Memory
* 320 x 320-pixel color TFT Touchscreen Display / Dedicated Graffiti Writing Area
* 128 MB microSD card for North America Included with 3D and 2D Map Views
* Internal Speaker/MP3 Playback/USB Interface

Technical Details
* Model: 010-00441-00
* Hardware Platform: PC
* Operating System: Palm OS 5.2.1
* RAM Memory Size: 32 MB
* input_device: Touch-screen, Stylus
* Data Link Protocol: IrDA
* GPS Navigation: GPS receiver
* device_type: Handheld
* Audio Input: Microphone

Most Helpful Customer Reviews 12 of 13 people found the following review helpful: By J. H. SHERIFF
i am a small town sheriff. i purchased this item to help me keep track of calls, events and addresses. the pda portion of this unit works really well. the interface is pretty easy to understand and the desk top software is good. the gps portion is a little complicated, but once you get onto it, it's pretty neat. i would downgrade the unit in the following areas:

1) low battery life; i have to charge it every night. the gps REALLY sucks down the battery

2) the gps REALLY struggles to find sattelites. garmin says i need to buy an external antenna. i kinda think it should come with one...

3) the directions are not too complete, and a little too hard to understand. i feel like i really am not taking advantage of all the features because i don't really understand the manual. also, garmin's customer support should be available 24/7 instead of 9-5 m-f.

4) mp3 player ONLY plays mp3 format. would be nice if it came with headphones so this feature could be used...

5) i don't know if this is the unit's fault or just a general fault of the gps system, but the unit has tried to route me off into a pasture a couple of times. also, in lincoln (a fairly large city) it got me to my sister's block, but not to her front door. in the rural area where i work the gps doesn't seem to recognize much, but that could be because we aren't sufficiently mapped yet.

6) i've had a couple of glitches where the screen failed to initialize and it reverted to it's default settings and had to be reset.

7) they included the wrong a/c charger and i had to have garmin send me the correct one.

other than these minor things, i've been pretty happy with the unit.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful: By P. Christensen (San Diego, CA United States)
My girlfriend went shopping for a gps and got this.

I really didn't think it was going to do the job and now that it's arrived and I've seen it in action I'm convinced she should have saved her money.

First off, the gps capabilities of this device are weak to say the least. I recently got an upgraded cell phone (LG VX8300-Verizon) that has GPS capabilities using a program called VZNavigator. As we set up my girlfriends iQue, I noticed it was struggling to find gps satellites and get a fix. On a whim I flipped open my cell phone and within 20 seconds my phone had a lock and knew exactly where it was. After 10 minutes the Ique still could only see one satellite. Not good considering the antenna on this unit flips out and my phone's gps antenna is built in. It's obvious to the gps receiver/antenna of my phone far surppassed the technology in this unit.

This is pretty sad as I'm actually a garmin fan and have two handheld units myself (etrex and etrex legend) and love using them for hiking and geocaching. Generally I'm a Garmin fan, but not this time.

Want more proof? Read the user manual on Garmins website (I'm not supposed to put links here, but it's easy to find)

Try to look for the gps capabilities in the manual. Interestingly you'll notice no mention of any of the mapping functions, navigation, search capabilities etc etc. The manual is basically just a Palm manual with a couple mentions of the flip out gps antenna.

OK, but it does to gps right? Of course. Once you finally get a fix you can indeed pull up a "Where am I" map. But the s/w authors figure they know better what zoom level to display the map. How annoying! I want to zoom out a bit so I can find a nearby highway and some landmarks, but I have yet to figure out how to zoom. Blech. I finally figured it out, in Tools-Browse Map, but it definitely took me a while to find this and once there I was struck by how little I could do. If I scroll on a map and find something interesting, a park, a highway whatever, there should be a simple way to point and tell this unit to navigate you there...nope. There's an inviting blank area on the screen for more buttons like this, but nope, all you can so is zoom in/out pan with the pen measure distance (yawn) and "get info" whatever that is.

OK, so let's do a search and navigate somewhere. I search for a nearby bakery. Pretty quickly I was able to pull up a list. Select it and tell the Ique to navigate me to it. This unit does have a speaker and will "talk" you through it, but the speaker is so soft you can barely hear it. I'm pretty sure this also can't import geocache points either, it's s/w is oriented towards street navigation duty.

To be honest. My phone navigates much better than this does, the interface is amazingly well done and even though I have to pay $10/month for it, I figure I've got 3 years of phone bills before she pays for this. My phone gives an almost identical list of bakerys, for instance, but all I have to do is select from the list and push [send] and I can call the bakery up and see if they're still open (the phone number pops up with the listing). My phone does voice navigation unprompted LOUDER so I can hear it in the car and in gerneral seems about three versions more advanced and polished than the software on this unit. Best of all my phone was only $49 because I was due for an upgrade anyway.

The Ique does do the Palm stuff well (in it's quirky Palm manner), but it you want a Palm you can get a Palm much cheaper than this.

Overall, I'd say that if this unit came out 5 years ago, it would be really cool. But these days, a Palm isn't as revolutionary and there are MUCH better gps navigators out there. By todays standards, this is a mediocre gps and a mediocre organizer in one package. I know my girlfriend is going to be happy with it, but she's not very objective, after all, she just plunked down $400 for this thing and not likely to admit she chose poorly. I'm not going to rain on her parade, if she likes it then fine, but if anyone out there is considering it, take heed, you can do much better these days.
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Magellan Maestro 3140 Portable Auto GPS System for U.S./Canada/Puerto Rico

The Magellan Maestro 3140 is the only portable auto GPS system with a compact, 3.5-inch touch screen, and built-in AAA TourBook® travel information and member roadside assistance details. Compact, powerful, and re-engineered for easy use, this device combines advanced features and a simple design to make driving more pleasurable and less stressful. A few simple touches are all the Maestro 3140 needs to audibly guide you with turn-by-turn street name directions to virtually any destination in the United States and Canada. You can even customize your navigation method or route to get there quickly and stress-free.

AAA-enabled
With built-in AAA travel information, the Maestro 3140 gives you instant access to the most trusted source for trip planning, searchable AAA TourBook® listings, Show Your Card & Save® locations for member discounts, approved auto repair facilities, attractions, events, and more. The Maestro 3140 also provides AAA members roadside assistance details, with exact location and a toll-free number. Plus, the Maestro is Bluetooth-enabled so you can connect your Bluetooth cell phone directly to AAA for immediate help when you need it most.

Note: AAA member roadside assistance requires AAA membership.

Easy-to-Use Navigation
Enter virtually any address on the freshly designed graphical touch screen, or select from 4.5 million preprogrammed points of interest and get turn-by-turn voice guidance to anywhere in the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, right out of the box. Just turn it on and go. SiRFstarIII™ gives you the fastest GPS position accuracy in the industry, while SayWhere™ text-to-speech tells you the street name for each maneuver so you can focus on driving. Smart buttons and Magellan's unique QuickSpell™ function enable error-free spelling to minimize steps and give you a customized route to your destination with just a few screen touches.

Bluetooth, Traffic Updates, and More
The Maestro 3140's Bluetooth wireless technology lets you make hands-free phone calls with your Bluetooth-enabled phone. You can also store or sync numbers and contact information through the Maestro 3140's touch screen. Add the optional Magellan TrafficKit™ to this device and you'll be equipped with live traffic incident reports, so you'll never get stuck on the freeway.

Additional Product Features

* Sophisticated and simple: Streamlined touch-screen buttons minimize steps to locate a destination
* Sleek design: Integrated GPS antenna provides excellent satellite reception in a slim and compact design
* Graphical interactive maps: Maps and destinations for the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico are built-in, so you can travel all over the US and Canada and always know where you are and where you're going
* Traffic-enabled: Add the Magellan TrafficKit™ to your Maestro 3140 to get live traffic incident reports; activation and subscription fees apply
* Bird's-eye 3D view: Clearly see your surroundings in 2D or 3D; also choose between Map View, TrueView™ 3D split screen, and Maneuver List
* Rechargeable battery: Navigate even when you don't have access to power
* Multi-destination routing: Select up to 20 destinations and choose the order that best fits your needs
* SmartDetour™: Automatically prompts you to route around suddenly slow freeway traffic
* Auto re-route: Never miss a turn and quickly get back on track whenever you make a detour
* Auto night view: Adjusts color and contrast for easy night viewing
* QuickSpell™: Easily enter addresses with unique auto-complete feature that even corrects spelling
* Complete mobility: Transfer to any vehicle with no installation
* 4.5 million points of interest (POIs): Optimized database to easily find gas stations, restaurants, ATMs, and more. And with smart location you can search by name, category, and region. There's even a Coffee category so you can quickly find caffeine whenever you need it.
* Interactive POI icons: Touch an onscreen icon for a nearby destination, see name and address, and get an instant route
* Customizable route method: Fastest time, shortest distance, least or most use of freeways, avoid toll roads
* Route exclusion: Select streets and freeways to avoid so you can get there your way
* Address book: Create and store personal points of interest for easy reoccurring trips
* Instant locate: One touch shows your location; quickly advise roadside assistance or emergency services

What's in the Box
Magellan Maestro 3140 Portable Auto GPS System, flexible windshield mount, dash mounting adhesive disk, cigarette lighter power adapter (12-24 watts), quick reference guide, reference manual CD, and USB cable.

Product Description
Magellan Maestro 3140 offers advanced, premium navigation at an affordable price. The most intuitive graphical 3.5" touch-screen interface available makes navigation easy. Enter virtually any destination and get turn-by-turn voice guidance to anywhere in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. 4.5 million preprogrammed points of interest help you find your destination even when you don't know the address. Smart-touchicons and Magellan's unique QuickSpell function enable error-free spelling, minimizing steps, so you get a customized route to your destination with just a few touches of the screen. Plus, integrated travel information from AAA TourBook guide travel information gives you instant access to service details and Diamond ratings from the world's leading travel expert. Choose the 2D or 3D view and see your location, route, direction, next turn, destination and more. SayWhere text-to-speech tells you street names for each turn for worry-free navigation. Bluetooth hands-free calling adds safety and convenience to your drive when using your Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone. Maestro 3140 is designed for those who enjoy precision technology with style! It has been created by Magellan; the first name in navigation, and built on years of experience providing the best in GPS navigation and feedback from the millions of users of the Magellan RoadMate and Hertz NeverLost systems. Use the optional Maestro 3140 traffic receiver accessory to have LIVE traffic incident reports delivered to your device to help you find a new route.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews 40 of 41 people found the following review helpful: By David (CA) - See all my reviews
I have the pleasure of testing both this unit and the Garmin 370 (basically the Garmin 370 is a bluetooth 360, just with European maps included....and $150 more for me than the 3140).

Comparing both, here are MY experience/conclusions:

1.) 3140 has the brighter/saturated screen (about 2 notches better on a sliding scale--at the expense of battery life, of course) AND *louder/crisper/clearer* (less rattly) speaker (it can be a *BIG* factor if you're hard of hearing or have a noisy car).............However, this brightness/saturation is rather moot as strong direct sunlight will do a good job of markedly washing out the screens of both units (still useable though). At night, both screens do the job just fine as they switch to BLACK in "night mode", so brightness doesn't factor as much.

2.) 3140 is made of sturdier plastic. Definitely more bulletproof, but at the expense of being a little thicker and heavier. Also, antenna is built-in vs. the garmin's flip antenna which could be foreseen breaking off at some point.

3.) TTS is less robotic sounding on the 3140. It has only a female voice option, but it's very natural! Thusly, the pronounciations also are clearer and MORE pleasing (less grating) than the 370.

4.) Touchscreen inputs are easier on the 370 b/c the electronic keyboard is bigger--less input mistakes. Also, the 370 allows you to scroll around the map with your finger (sort of what like Google maps allows you to do) -- *AWESOME* for getting a lay of the land!! The Magellan anchors your map and only allows the typical zoom in/out feature found on most GPS units.

5.) While both use Navteq maps (what Google Maps uses), the 370 has a SLIGHTLY better sense of "intelligently" routing you. This is, of course, on a case-by-case basis of your area (your results will be different than my specific areas)! For instance, going to work in my area of San Jose, the 370 takes you off the highway at the correct exit. The 3140, on the other hand, takes me off the highway an exit early and routes me through the final portion of the expressway to my destination--a good route nonetheless, but it ISN'T "FASTER" than the Garmin's suggestion (i.e the route I choose all the time) due to the insane streetlight clog-ups during the morning commute (i.e. highway is generally always better than expressway in my area). Regardless, both units will get you to your place in one way or the other...

6.) The 3140 gives you *MORE* flexible access/choices for routing (faster, shorter, more hwy, less hwy, avoid toll roads). Also, the "Detours" function is more customizable as to *WHEN* to route you back onto the freeway (3mi, 5mi, 10mi, 12 mi, custom). The 3140 screen also SPLITS telling you when to get off the freeway--better to have this for sure, but not necessarily better as the Garmin picture routing is simplistically very effective.......BTW, Re-routing calculations are CRISP/Fast on both units.

7.) The 3140 map is more detailed and not as simplified the 370. I like this! But again, not instrumental in getting the job done (Garmin's philosophy is: less is more). However, more street detail allows you to use your brain on how to guide yourself when the computer will inevitably put you on a ridiculous route or stumble you onto a clogged streetway (which is bound to eventually happen on any GPS!)

8.) Satellite lock is FAAAST (~10-40sec) on 3140.....markedly faster by minutes (~1-3 minutes) than the 370. This difference can make a BIG difference when coming out of a car park in a strange hustle/bustle city. The antenna sensitivity is also *BETTER* on the 3140 by a GOOD margin--surprising, since it's built-in! In the middle of a huge warehouse store, the 3140 (and other Magellans) had several satellite locks (6-7 sats), while no other unit from any maker aside of the Tomtom (1 sat weak signal) could get a signal. Inside my home, the same is true. The 3140 gets 7-8 satellite locks, the 370 gets about 3 locks. In the car, the Magellan gets more satellite locks as well.

8a.) Satellite *accuracy* is also higher on the 3140. For instance, in my house that's at the "U" of a dead end street, the 3140 will pick up my location from my house. The 370, on the other hand, thinks I'm at the house on the other side of the "U" of the dead end street and plots a route from that location. Of course, the 370 corrects itself when you get in the car and go on your way.....But still, in one case, when getting on the hwy at a critical multifacted juncture, the 370 mistook a parallel road next to the hwy and guided me on that road giving me confusing misdirections (I used my brain to 2nd-guess the computer's advice)--it took over a ~3 minutes driving on the hwy for the 370 to correct itself (my wife found that error unforgiveable due to the separation distance of the parallel road to the hwy.)--this type of error hasn't happened on the 3140 b/c it's proven to me time and again to be more *PINPOINT*! Another great thing of the 3140.....if you're stuck in the middle of nowhere, it's nice to be able to call AAA (for which the Magellan has a handy "all in one" icon with AAA phone #/plot-point data on the screen) and give them EXACT longitude/latitude and not more effy plot points the Garmin gives me.

9.) POIs: I get more hits with the 370 in MY AREA (your results may vary). Not surpisingly, it could be b/c the Garmin has a 6m+ POIs vs. the Magellan's 4.5m POIs (which is huge regardless & very competitive in the marketplace). HOWEVER, the 3140 does have the AAA Guidebooks which is *FANTASTIC* for roadies!!!! BUT!...The AAA POIs do need to be *INTEGRATED* into the 3140 POI database! Both are accessible only by pressing time wasting *separate* buttons/screens--hopefully, in the future Magellan will address this issue with future software upgrade??!! Magellan are you listening??......So again, it depends on what YOU value most from each of these units. One way or the other, it's all about tradeoffs folks! If Magellan brings up the POIs to 6m+ in an update and integrates the AAA databse then that would be fantastic!

10.) Bluetooth is gimmicky on both units. Quality of call from both ends ain't that great--but doable. Battery life takes a good hit when bluetooth is on.

11.) Accessories is better on the 370. The 3140 lacks an AC charger or pleather case, albeit with that $150 price difference you could purchase these things in auction....and then some! BTW, the $30 Garmin dashboard beanbag (portable friction mount) for the Nuvi units is awesome(!)--especially for us Californians who aren't allowed to suction cup things to the windshield--lest we get a ticket!

12.) Maps can always be upgraded with Garmin and customer service is second-to-none among GPS mfgrs. The Magellan? Where are your European maps? How about upgradeability and more readily **accessible**/knowledgeable customer service? The 3140 does have an SD card slot so I'm sure product is coming out for its use, but as of this writing, I'm not aware of any 2008 Europe maps.

Which leads me as to why I'm choosing the Garmin 370 for MY NEEDS. I travel to Europe on a constant basis and the 370 has the Europe maps included, so my choice, BY DEFAULT, is obvious........FWIW, to add Garmin Euro maps to your non-370 unit, it costs $300(!!) from Garmin! So if you ever think of roadtripping Europe more than once, it's *MUCH* better paying the price premium on the 370 over the cheaper 360 (you'll save money in the long run).........If Magellan had Euro maps, then it'd be a different story--also, hopefully much cheaper(!!) than Garmin's ridiculous eye-gouging pricing of its maps (indeed, for $300, it's better then to get a latest technology Europe-specific GPS)!!

If you don't need Europe maps, then it's a TOTAL no-brainer to take the cheaper 3140 over a Garmin 350/360. Aside from Garmin's ~1-2% more sensible routing in certain parts of my area (though LESS satellite accurate leading to errors, as explained above), the basic performance or price premium difference isn't warranted in the least....and even if they were at the same price, then it would become a matter of which gimmicky side-features you value more....To me, a MARKED advantage to the Magellan--if only for those AAA guides! (who here nowadays doesn't already have a much better sounding/more functional MP3 player than the Garmin anyway??!)

I have faith Magellan will come out with Europe maps/updates in the Fall. But until then, if you frazzle easily with electronics or need your Europe fix *NOW* (like me) then Garmin will hold your hand much better as a customer....at least for the time being. It all depends on your specific needs and comfort level with these GPS devices.

All in all, the 3140 is an extremely solid, simple to use unit and isn't shamed in the least by the famed more expensive "Mercedesesque rep" of the Garmin Nuvis.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful: By Medic (Pennsylvania, USA)
After having tried the Tom Tom Go 910, Garmin Nuvi 350, I can say this is the best GPS! Why? Well the 3140 just came out in April of 2007 (Look at Magellan homepage for press release) so it's one of the newer versions.

It gets the satellites fast! Re-Routs you fast and even allows you to re-route ahead of the time (if you want to look ahead at the way you'll travel), and is FAST to re-route while on the road if you come across an accident, bridge out, etc. And as I just wrote, the feature of route planning (with multiple stops), you can plan this all out ahead of time, actually look where you're going and plan stops and save them.

The voice prompts are loud enough while driving so that you do not have to keep looking at the screen.

One thing I wish it had was the ability to scan across a map. That is to roll your finger across the screen to go from place to place.

The antenna is built in so that you don't have to worry about it breaking off like Garmins can. And the antenna is STRONG! In the house I get 8-10 satellites signal, and this is away from a window!

And you get 4.5 Million POI. Yes, Garmin has 6 million POI, however a lot of those are churches and such.

What is really great is the exclusive AAA feature. It gives you the ability to look for AAA rated POI, and that give a AAA discount (membership required). AND what's great if you're traveling and have auto problems you hit one button and it gives you the emergency AAA number, and your location both in the cross streets/lane and Latitude and Longitude! Very handy if you're in unknown country!

With the AAA POI feature, you can see the AAA rated hotels, restaurants, etc. so that you don't end up staying at a hotel with has loud parties all night long, or eating at the "greasy spoon" that effects your stomach the next day.

It would be nice for it to of come with a case and AC home adapter. But with the discount here at Amazon, you can purchase them single at "auction" sites online and still be ahead in the price.

IMHO, if you're going to spend the money on one of these, then spend some extra for a carry case, and screen protectors. The case can be purchased here at Amazon as well as the screen protectors (or else both at other online sites or stores). The case will protect it when you take it from the car and/or carry it in a bag. The screen protector is a little piece of plastic you put on the screen so that your nail or such does not scratch the screen. The protectors do not leave the screen sticky or such (when you remove them if the protectors get scratched.

From the research I've done I think the 3140 is better than the 4040 Maestro's as people seem to have problems with the 4000 range. Not sure if it's a firmware problem, but do a search on the Internet or look at the Amazon reviews and you'll see. And look at Magellan homepage, the updates they have for the firmware and maps are stuff that's already inside the 3140! Seems they rushed the 4000's out the door before they were ready. But if you need a large screen and don't mind downloading upgrades, the 4000 range may be best for you.

In the year 2007 there really is no excuse to get lost and waste time and get stressed out over finding your destination! With these GPS, you'll never have to worry! And if you know where you're going ahead of time, you can plan and save the trip on the GPS so when you're in the car you have it saved!

All in all, this is very good GPS!

UPDATE: 10/27/07....IF your area has heavy cloud cover or a storm, give the unit an extra minute or so to lock onto the Satellites and give you full bars. Seems storms and heavy clouds, effect the unit to not be as speedy in locking onto Satellites, but that's common with weather effecting electronics. Weather effects radio waves, TV satellites, etc.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: By JoeyC "joe314" (LA, CA)
I recently got the 3140 and have used it quite a bit. Overall, the device has really no significant downsides. The most important feature is the text to speech voice guidance. While the screen is small, the voice guidance keeps your eyes on the road and not on the gps unit. The routing engine is robust and has not given me any problems. Satellite lock is very fast and reliable. Obtaining position from a cold start reliably occurs in less than one minute. Route recalculation is very fast for local trips. This makes the device in many ways better than car-based navigation systems at a mere fraction of the price. I have not had problems with the device recommending U-turns when deviating from the recommended route.
Given the excellent performance, it is a close contender with Garmin. With the heavy discount on the price it should be a first choice.
Get You Own "Magellan Maestro 3140 Portable Auto GPS System for U.S./Canada/Puerto Rico"

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Kathy Griffin Comedy Specials (2004 - 2007)

4. Kathy Griffin: Everybody Can Suck It

Air Date: 06/05/2007

Synopsis: In her all-new Bravo special, "Kathy Griffin: Everybody Can Suck It," Griffin travels to the legendary Santa Rosa, CA Wells Fargo Center for the Performing Arts to perform in front of a sold-out crowd. Nothing and no one is safe from the politically incorrect comedian who is at her celebrity-bashing best.

3. Kathy Griffin: Strong Black Woman

Air Date: 05/09/2006

Synopsis: Everyone's favorite D-lister Kathy Griffin is back on stage revealing the hot Hollywood gossip and taking no prisoners in the one-hour comedy special, "Kathy Griffin: Strong Black Woman." The comedy special that includes Kathy's jaw-dropping true tales from the red carpet, threats from Dakota Fanning and Steven Spielberg, and a nerve-wracking encounter with Celine Dion.

2. Kathy Griffin is - Not Nicole Kidman

Air Date: 08/03/2005

Synopsis: Kathy Griffin returns to Bravo for her comedy special "KATHY GRIFFIN IS - NOT NICOLE KIDMAN." This time around Kathy recounts run-ins with American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, pop sensation Clay Aiken (lovingly referred to as Gaykin), superstar Celine Dion and, of course, the reigning Queen of the A-list circuit, Oprah.

1. Kathy Griffin: The D-List

Air Date: 03/24/2004

Synopsis: Inspired by the down-and-dirty weekly standup routine at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood, Kathy Griffin's first special for Bravo has the Hollywood elite trembling.

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Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy (Paperback) By Peter Schweizer

Working with a broadly inclusive pantheon of "the Left" that places Ralph Nader and Barbra Streisand on equal footing with Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton, Schweizer (The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty) suggests that liberalism's heroes conduct their lives in ways that prove their philosophy to be "ultimately self-defeating, self-destructive, and unworkable." While acknowledging that conservatives can be high-profile hypocrites as well, Schweizer employs a double standard, arguing that "when conservatives betray their publicly stated principles, they harm only themselves and their families," but when liberals misbehave, they harm their principles first and foremost. Sometimes his research uncovers significant contradictions, as when Schweizer points out that Noam Chomsky, who tends to demonize the military establishment, wrote his first book, Syntactic Structures, with grants from the U.S. Army, the Air Force and the Office of Naval Research. But many of his charges are egregiously hyperbolic, as when he suggests that Cornel West is a "segregationist" because he bought a home in a largely Caucasian suburb. Schweizer clearly knows the limitations of his argument, since he backpedals from many of his most damning statements in his closing remarks. For all its revelations, in the end, this volume reads less like a critique of liberal philosophy than a catalogue of ammunition for ad hominem bloggers. (Oct. 25)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“A spirited attack on lefty icons.” —New York Times

“An entertaining exposure . . . In a series of 11 profiles on leftist icons from Noam Chomsky and Al Franken to Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy, Schweizer reveals that the most vocal liberals do not practice what they preach.”
—The Weekly Standard

Book Description

“I don’t own a single share of stock.” —Michael Moore

Members of the liberal left exude an air of moral certitude. They pride themselves on being selflessly committed to the highest ideals and seem particularly confident of the purity of their motives and the evil nature of their opponents. To correct economic and social injustice, liberals support a whole litany of policies and principles: progressive taxes, affirmative action, greater regulation of corporations, raising the inheritance tax, strict environmental regulations, children’s rights, consumer rights, and much, much more.

But do they actually live by these beliefs? Peter Schweizer decided to investigate in depth the private lives of some prominent liberals: politicians like the Clintons, Nancy Pelosi, the Kennedys, and Ralph Nader; commentators like Michael Moore, Al Franken, Noam Chomsky, and Cornel West; entertainers and philanthropists like Barbra Streisand and George Soros. Using everything from real estate transactions, IRS records, court depositions, and their own public statements, he sought to examine whether they really live by the principles they so confidently advocate.

What he found was a long list of glaring contradictions. Michael Moore denounces oil and defense contractors as war profiteers. He also claims to have no stock portfolio, yet he owns shares in Halliburton, Boeing, and Honeywell and does his postproduction film work in Canada to avoid paying union wages in the United States. Noam Chomsky opposes the very concept of private property and calls the Pentagon “the worst institution in human history,” yet he and his wife have made millions of dollars in contract work for the Department of Defense and own two luxurious homes. Barbra Streisand prides herself as an environmental activist, yet she owns shares in a notorious strip-mining company. Hillary Clinton supports the right of thirteen-year-old girls to have abortions without parental consent, yet she forbade thirteen-year-old Chelsea to pierce her ears and enrolled her in a school that would not distribute condoms to minors. Nancy Pelosi received the 2002 Cesar Chavez Award from the United Farm Workers, yet she and her husband own a Napa Valley vineyard that uses nonunion labor.

Schweizer’s conclusion is simple: liberalism in the end forces its adherents to become hypocrites. They adopt one pose in public, but when it comes to what matters most in their own lives—their property, their privacy, and their children—they jettison their liberal principles and embrace conservative ones. Schweizer thus exposes the contradiction at the core of liberalism: if these ideas don’t work for the very individuals who promote them, how can they work for the rest of us?

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1,003 of 1,328 people found the following review helpful:

By Wynton C. Hall (Bainbridge, GA United States)
This review is from: Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy (Hardcover)
The quality of investigative research in this book would make even Woodward and Bernstein proud. What's so difficult to understand is how the liberals he profiles have flown under the radar screen for so long. Why have reporters and television journalists not uncovered the explosive findings Schweizer uncovers? The answer, of course, is that reporters don't find what they aren't looking for. And it's sad, honestly, because the level of ideologically driven reporting has further eroded the fourth estate.

I agree with the previous reviewer; the Publishers Weekly review makes it obvious the reviewer a) chose not to read the book or b) was so ideologically driven as to ignore the explosive revelations made in this book. Even the references the reviewer makes are largely from the first chapter and the epilogue, which almost suggests they simply rifled through the pages and scanned the text.

In sum, this book's strength is that it deals in facts with serious evidence to back up its claims. Plus, it's a great read. Those profiled may be entitled to their own opinions, but, much to their chagrin, they're not entitled to their own facts.

Reporters and those profiled have some major explaining to do. This will become an instant conservative classic and raise some eyebrows from honest liberals as well.

513 of 719 people found the following review helpful:

By RON ENGLISH (Norman OK)
This review is from: Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy (Hardcover)
Many of those covered in this book are quick to point out the flaws in the people with whom they disagree,but somehow overlook the ugly in their own life or the lives of their fellow leftwing buddies. Strangly, we find that most of the mainstream media neglects covering the hypocrisy of their pets. So, special thanks to Peter Schweizer for this timely and most intesting book filled with hard to find facts about America's Liberal Darlings.
Many of the facts found here you probably suspected were true before you knew for sure, but, now you can know and have a look at them with their masks removed and their hypocrisy vivid under the spotlight of Peter's book. I am happy to see "Do As I Say (Not As I Do) : Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy" climb in sales.

138 of 165 people found the following review helpful:

By Tim Janson (Michigan)
This review is from: Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy (Hardcover)
I'll say it...conservatives can be hypocrites but at least they will admit it. I think that's the one thing that separates the left from the right sometimes. The left's smugness would never allow them to admit such a frailty and that is just what author Peter Schweizer hits on in this wildly entertaining and humorous book. Schwizer goes after the usual list of offenders including the Clintons, Al Franken, and Michael Moore. Moore is particularly grating as his lavish lifestyle is in direct contrast to his grandstanding champion of the common man title he's bestowed upon himself. Also noted is that Moore's own charitable foundation just happens to own a good deal of Halliburton stock! Horrors, Michael! For shame!

But all this isn't just one man's opinion. Schweizer has done his homework, gathering financial records, court documents, news reports, etc, he has come into this book with a lot of ammo. Moore isn't the only liberal investing privately in corporations they publicly whip. You'll read several accounts of rich liberals doing whatever it takes to avoid paying their own taxes while fueling the corporate engines with their investment dollars. And then there's ultra-liberal wacko Noam Chomsky who Schweizer reveals has made millions working for the government.

Oh and what about Hillary who thinks that girls as young as thirteen should be able to get abortions without their parent's consent even while her own daughter Chelsea was forbidden to get her ears pierced. And on it goes...Teddy Kennedy, Ralph Nader, Barbara Streisand...they all are revealed for the hypocrites that they are. Hey, nothing wrong with that...but at least admit it!

Fantastic!

Get A Copy Of "Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy (Paperback) By Peter Schweizer"

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Cheating Death: The Promise and the Future Impact of Trying to Live Forever (Hardcover) By Marvin Cetron & Owen Davies

The dubious premise of this futuristic exercise is that baby boomers will achieve life spans of 110 to 120 years, and advances in aging research will "very likely" push death back to age 150 or 200. With dizzying speculation, the authors gauge the impact of life extension on Social Security, pension plans, work, the environment, medicine, hospices and home care for the elderly. Embedded in this crystal-ball gazing is advice on how to plan for one's postponed or delayed retirement (e.g., develop alternative sources of income, keep learning new skills, retire in stages). Nearly half the book consists of prognosticative lists of 124 trends in the coming "postmortal" world of artificial blood, plastic modular housing and memory-enhancing drugs?a world where a fully funded U.N. will function effectively, while the industrialized nations distribute huge sums to jump-start the economies of poorer countries. Cetron, founder of Forecasting International, and Davies, former senior editor at Omni, whose previous collaborations include Probable Tomorrows, mine the techno-apocalyptic idiom of John Naisbitt or Alvin Toffler, but without the spirited vigor. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Immortality is a popular and recurrent theme in literature and especially in science fiction. More than one author has considered the possibly ironic consequences of living indefinitely. Now that prolonged life is becoming a scientific and medical reality, futurists Cetron and Davies examine the implications of living in a "postmortal world." Cetron is founder of the consulting firm Forecasting International, while Davies has been a senior editor at Omni. Together they have written Probable Tomorrows: How Science and Technology Will Transform Our Lives in the Next Twenty Years (1997) and Crystal Globe: The Haves and Have-Nots of the New World Order (1991). They first explain how science is making possible the future they predict, and then they look at the practical medical, ethical, religious, economic, political, personal, social, and cultural issues that will be encountered. The authors draw distinctions between the U.S. and the rest of the world, and they delineate 74 trends that will affect the U.S. directly and 50 more that will have worldwide impact. David Rouse
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 18 of 21 people found the following review helpful: By Thomas Landsberger (Paris, France)
Being an interested layman who has spent quite a bit of time reading and thinking about the economic and philosophical implications of life extension, I was hoping the authors would help me gain new insights. Of the 215 pages of text in "Cheating Deat", 74 actually list general social, political, and economic predictions which have little to do with aging or longevity. A benign interpretation would see them as establishing the "context" in which the changes in aging will take place, but they look more like fillers dug out from old - and outdated - files of Forecasting International, a firm founded by one of the authors. Take number 38 of their "50 Trends for a Postmortal World": "... By 2000, the European Free Trade Association countries will join with the [European Community] to create a market of 400 million people with a $5 trillion GDP. Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria, and Switzerland will join the founding twelve ..." First, the EC was originally founded by only six countries, not twelve; secondly, Sweden, Finland, and Austria have been members of the EC since 1995 (while voters in Norway and Switzerland decided their countries shouldn't join) - mind you, this book was copyrighted in 1998, and on the back flap one of the authors is described as a consultant to, among others, the CIA. Their domestic forecasts ("Seventy-four Trends for a Postmortal America") don't really inspire more confidence, e.g. number 74: "... by 2000, just three major corporations will make up the computer hardware industry: IBM, Digital, and Apple ..." (At the time the book went to print, IBM was trying hard not to loose even more market share, Digital was struggling, and Apple was fighting for its life.) In the remaining text the authors throw lots of numbers at us (which we can't verify because there is not a single reference), but they don't provide any kind of visualisation of the data, nor do they spend much time putting things in perspective. Most of it remains raw data instead of being digested and transformed into information, and most of the interesting questions remain not just unanswered, but unasked. The authors seem uncomfortable with changes that cannot be quantified, and so the philosophical and religious implications are only briefly touched on in the last and shortest chapter. One of the religious authorities interviewed by them, when presented with the eventual possibility of an indefinite extension of life by medical means, is at loss for words: "We would have to reconsider our whole existence. I'm going to have to think about this for a long time." Yes, exactly, but one wishes the authors had talked to someone who had already done some of this thinking. One comes away from this book wishing that the authors had thought about the subject for a lot longer themselves, rather than producing a concatenation of soundbites much in the style of an early-evening local news program.
Get A Copy Of "Cheating Death: The Promise and the Future Impact of Trying to Live Forever (Hardcover) By Marvin Cetron & Owen Davies"

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The I Hate Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity. . . Reader: The Hideous Truth About America's Ugliest Conservative

Our smartest and funniest progressive writers, cartoonists and satirists have increasingly turned their attention to the right-wing zealots who clutter up our media-television, radio, books, magazines-with hysterical, bullying, personal attacks on liberals, democrats, minorities, workers, women, gays, anti-war activists and ordinary citizens who dare to object to the right's radical agenda for our country. This reader exposes the lies and distortions of these morons and bullies-who routinely rely on made-up statistics and scare tactics to push their policies and so-called values, revealing these liars for what they are-intellectually shallow and emotionally crippled demagogues who are more interested in their personal power than in America's future. Featuring a wonderful compilation of attacks by Michael Moore, Molly Ivins and Jim Hightower; profiles of Ann Coulter and Peggy Noonan; transcripts from debates and interviews that humiliate Savage and O'Reilly; quizzes by Paul Slansky; commentary by stand-up comedians; satire from The Onion and other websites; works by Greg Palast and Chris Floyd; and much, much more. The I Hate Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity Reader is a piece of sweet revenge for the harm these mean-spirited demagogues are doing to our country and our world.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 153 people found the following review helpful:

By Confederate (Bethesda, MD)
I read this book hoping to see some lively jousting between some of the obnoxious neocons and those they "savage" (excuse the pun) on the air. Unfortunately the humor was only an "Oh, yeah?" response that, though many times managed to hit the mark, was little more than embarrassingly defensive and bitter. The only way to succeed against people like Limbaugh and Coulter is to use their tactics. Many neocons want constructionist judges interpreting the Constitution, yet they'll produce Patriot Acts that would have the framers turning in their graves and arbitrarily suspend habeas corpus in emergencies which they themselves define.

I was hoping to smell the sweet aroma of hypocrisy in this book, yet strangely, I still sensed fear on the parts of the contributors. This will never do. Until they can make these guys (and gals) eat what they dish out, books like this will be only weak, ineffectual strikes.

47 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

By Beth Hartford-DeRoos "MotherLodeBeth" (Sierras of California)
It really irates me when I see the word 'Hate' in a books title. So when I bought this book via Amazon.com and read on the Introduction page ' I have edited four books that feature the words 'I Hate' in their titles-and it bothers me. I keep doing it because people keep buying the books; apparently, hatred sells.' Then at the end of the Introduction the author offers a quote from Desiderara 'Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirits'. Two wrongs do not make a right and as a liberal I cautions those in the Democratic party from becoming what they hate. Fact is, sadly, we have our share of loud and even hateful writes, radio hosts.

But what really bothers me about this book is the fact there is nothing original in it. Aside from one or two paragraphs at the start of each chapter from the author, everything is a reprint of someone elses work on the given people they are writing about. And most of the articles can be had free via the Internet. I also dislike the cheap paper the book is written on since its simply not sturdy for a book one wants to share with friends or donate to ones library. The book was shy $11.00 on Amazon.com so I expected better since other books the same size and same price are books I am actually proud to have in my home library.

Ann Coulter is the first in the book and her piece is from Eric Altermans What Liberal Media book from 2003, the July 2002 issue of The American Prospect, a Washington Post (8/15/02) piece by Richard Cohen, Salon.com (6/27/02) piece by Charles Taylor, The Washington Monthly (10/2001), the BuffaloBeast.com (2002), The Nation (11/05/03), Soundbitten.com (February 2004),

Rush Limbaugh whom I dislike and disagree with and whom I believe is indeed a hypocrite as far as walking the talk of a conservative, having just failed on his third marriage, isn't a big bat idiot anymore. Just an idiot in my opinion and along with Fox news (sic) a mouth piece for the Bush administration. Again Eric Altermans books is used, along with Mother Jones magazine ( May/June 1995), Gus DiZerega's deal-with-it.org, American Prospect (April 2002), The New Republic (12/1/03), CommonDreams.org (10/18/03).

Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity are people whom I watch on occasion so that I know firsthand what they are saying. Neither is what I would call a Christian man when it comes to being kind, having empathy and actually appreciating the constitutional republic we call home.

Since Eric Altermans book 'What Liberal Media?' is mention the most in the book I recommend you buy his book which is actually excellent. Also make an effort to subscribe to conservative publications and the conservatives webpage blogs since you can get up to date views from them, and alas save your hard earned dollars for something better. For these reasons I give the book such a low rating....

7 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

By S. Potter "thepothole" (Mapleville, RI United States)
Because this is a collection of essays, a certain amount of repitition in the writing was to be expected. But it still made reading this collection a bit tiresome.

In many cases, the same critisisms have been done better, or at least more up to date. And there was a whole section I skipped over entirely just because all the essays were the same.

This book has some important stuff to say about what is going on in the right-wing media, but it could have been presented in a much better, more interesting way.

Josh, amazed by acceptance of these shams, 03/21/2007
'The Lefties want to hand the U.S. over to foreign powers' - Er. I was under the impression it was the current administration that gave our ports over to foreign governments? What have they done to curb our absurd tendencies to pass labor on to third world countries? Have they not taken over and occupied Iraq, essentially inverting the situation you're so displeased with? Anyway, this book has a few points here and there but, honestly, if you need a book to tell you that these particular people are horrendous, grotesque versions of actual human beings- you are NOT paying attention. Ann Coulter is hate-mongering joke of a woman. Sean Hannity will sell his soul at the drop of a hat for a pocket of change. Bill O'Reilly's ego supersedes his character time and time again. Etc, etc, etc.

A reviewer, A reviewer, 12/30/2006
Why is it always that the guys who are preaching love and tolerance are the ones spewing such hatred towards decent human beings? What has any of these people done to the author? Please examine the claims of this author and judge their relevence.

Also recommended: Basic Economics (Thomas Sowell)

A reviewer, A reviewer, 12/29/2006
Whenever you get a uniformly virulent response from one end of the political spectrum, as so many of the previous reviews are, you can be sure that the text itself can not be as bad or as 'wrong' as the reviews. Some 'cultural critics,' including many named in this book, do indeed distort, lie, and promote discord in the body politic. The writer of this book didn't make up what they do and how they do it -- he just resents it, and the election in November indicates that most of those who vote agreed with him.

Cesar, Conservative, 12/24/2006
maybe someone will buy it out of pity, ha ha ha. This book is poorly written, poorly researched, and plain boring.

Matthew (simon485192000@yahoo.com), Conservative Democrate, 10/09/2006
It was the Lefties that instituted 'Hate Crime' legislation. And the Title says it all. The Lefties want to hand the U.S. over to foreign powers, yet refuse to acknowledge the shambles those same people have made of their own countries.

Also recommended: 'How to talk to a Liberal: If you must' by Ann Coulter, 'Liberalism is a Mental disorder' by Micheal Savage, 'The Political Zoo' by Micheal Savage, 'Do as I Say(Not as I do' by Peter Schweizer, '100 Hundred People that are screwing up America'

Get A Copy Of "The I Hate Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity. . . Reader: The Hideous Truth About America's Ugliest Conservatives (Paperback) By Clint Willis "

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The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) Teacher's Edition: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Paperback) By Jon Stewart

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:
• Historical inaccuracies, gross distortions, complete fabrications-corrected by real-life bearded college professor
• A new introduction by the authors
• Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito--nude!
• Totally updated ISBN number!
• 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?

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

Those familiar with Jon Stewart and his Comedy Central news/comedy program The Daily Show will recognize the style and humor of this book. Polls suggest students get more current event news from Stewart than any other source ("God help them and the US!" might be a typical Daily Show gloss on that fact), so what he does will have an impact on adolescents. A more systematic, comprehensive topic like American history certainly allows for some typical pointed Stewart humor, but it also calls for more sustained focus than he or his show is used to. As a result, some of the jibes here are more silly and slapstick than satirical. Be aware, too, that tone and language will definitely offend some (full frontal fake nude photos of the Supreme Court, anyone? C-SPAN drinking games?). Not exactly a history book, this aims, really, more to be a primer on the American political system, and the humor does nudge students to try separating fact from myth. Several features are clever and will help students learn despite their best intentions just to laugh. One useful feature is a professorial (University of Wisconsin, emeritus) overview of annotations/corrections on most pages. This lets the authors have their jokes and (a little) real history too. My favorite sections are various charts: e.g., Landmark Supreme Court Cases, What Kind of Government Best Suits You, Meet Your Lobbyists. I expect this book will be irresistible for teens if sitting out in a visible spot. It's got lots of color and art and pictures. But again, it's more Saturday Night Live (with worse language) than anything else—for better and worse. Also included: a pullout poster on "The Shadow Government."
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Comedy Central's TheDaily Show proudly touts itself as a fake news show, so it's fitting that phony blurbs adorn this audiobook's packaging ("A Bridget Jones's Diary for the comedic nonfiction government textbook set," says Melissa Bank, author of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing; and "So informative, I even found out who I was," raves Albert Gallatine, Secretary of the Treasury from 1801–1814). The discs inside offer more deadpan wit, as the authors trace not only the history of America, but of democracy and humanity, all in a mere four hours. The editors and producers who handled this audio adaptation deserve a round of applause; they managed to take a book dependent on a wealth of charts, graphs and sidebars and translate it into audio while still preserving the fact that the book is a parody of a textbook. The result is a highly entertaining listen that showcases the expert comic delivery of Stewart and his Daily Show "correspondents" Samantha Bee, Stephen Colbert, Rob Corddry and Ed Helms. Stewart narrates the bulk of the audiobook, and the others chime in at the end of each chapter to read the "supplemental material," which includes Discussion Questions, Classroom Activities and sidebars on everything from how things are done differently in Canada to why the founding fathers were "unelectable." Nifty sound effects (like classroom bells) and well-chosen music (which consists primarily of stately, almost pompous horn orchestrations) round out this excellent audio package.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Most Helpful Customer Reviews 474 of 531 people found the following review helpful: By bensmomma "bensmomma" (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
This review is from: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Hardcover)
Jon Stewart and his Daily Show writers would have you believe this is humor masquerading as a "fake" civics textbook, but they undersell themselves. It's both funnier and smarter than that premise. It actually does spell out, chapter by chapter, the workings of the branches of government, the election process, and the role of journalism in creating and destroying all these (complete with in-class exercises and homework!)

If you're a fan of the show, you will enjoy listening to Stewart riff on journalism's loss of integrity, to Samantha Bee's apologetic asides about "do you mind if I tell you how we do it in Canada?", Ed Helms' presentation of his qualifications to be Supreme Court justice, etc. The book is, however, not just a rehash of pieces from the TV show; the book form allows the writers to make their favorite comedic jabs against our system's foibles with more historical and literary support. (Who knew, for example, the role that the rivalry between newspaper magnates William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer played in instigating the Spanish-American war?)

Coming from any source but the Daily Show, this premise might have been tedious, but from this team it is consistently and hysterically funny. Free of the time and vocabulary limits of TV, they really cut loose. The seven-dirty-words-you-can't-say-on-television here are put to good use, amended by such popular modifiers as bat, horse, bull, and mother. So don't bring it home to the kiddos, or listen to the audiobook on your mini-van stereo, and avoid it altogether if you don't yourself throw a good hearty @*$%&% around every now and then. But remember the best, funniest lines about the preservation of democracy and repeat these lessons to your kids. It's funny and important stuff.
358 of 405 people found the following review helpful: By Victor Illonardo (New York, NY United States)
This review is from: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Audiobook): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Audio CD)
My wife and I listed to the audio book during a 4 hour car ride. We never turned it off and laughed throughout. Yes he does beat up on Bush, but he gives it to Kerry also. Much of the material concerns our political past: e.g., a history of democracy & a general lampooning of the Founding Fathers (the Thomas Jefferson stuff is hysterical.)

While Stewart is liberal, this is not a Michael Moore-like romp. It is witty and funny from both sides of the aisle. Any real bias/anger is directed toward the press and their abdicating any journalistic responsibility by becoming "entertainment."

One last note: there is an occasional use profanity in the audio book so heads up to parents listening with small children around.

Overall - great audio book and highly recommended.

88 of 94 people found the following review helpful: By Michael Drake (New York)
This review is from: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Hardcover)
Jon Stewart and the crew have done it again with a hilarious, bitingly satirical, and often true take on America and our political system. A good amount of the book's commentary is well-founded and educational; I found many of its parts to be a good review of the material we've all undoubtedly forgotten since government class (important court cases, etc.). But on occassion, I've remembered so little of actual political history that the line between the jokes and reality are blurred to the point that I don't know what is real and what isn't.

I've found myself smiling and laughing out loud through entire chapters, and the supplemental material sections (interspersed throughout the book) are hilarious. "Discussion Questions" and "Classroom Activities" start and end each chapter with additional laughs, and the opinion essays are unbelievably funny. This is a must read for every American or anyone who loves a good laugh.
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The Best Of The Colbert Report (2005), Starring Stephen Colbert

Plot Synopsis: An, offshoot of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report (the Ts in Colbert and in Report are silent) is a parody of shows like "The O'Reilly Factor." Colbert begins the show with teasers about the show's content and then the credits go by, with a giant eagle and the stars and stripes featured predominantly. Colbert will pepper commentaries with phrases like, "Look, I don't have time to read books," or, "President Bush isn't a head thinker, he's a gut thinker." Aspects of talking head programs are exaggerated and Colbert presents a host overwhelmed by his own importance. Guests do not walk on-stage but are seated at a small table to the side. Colbert runs over to them, encouraging the audience to applaud and high five him as he passes. He is then likely to begin an interview by asking a guest something like, "Explain evolution in 20 seconds," or "Isn't everyone who disagrees with the president guilty of treason?" Colbert is also very clear about our number one threat, "Bears." His distrust of bears is a continuing theme.

Editorial Review
At a liberal three hours, this Colbertrospective is as definitive as The Best of Chappelle's Show. Here are the signature segments ("Better Know a District"), defining moments (the definition of "truthiness", Merriam-Webster's 2006 Word of the Year), classic confrontations ("Papa Bear" Bill O'Reilly, Jane Fonda, and Emmy-stealer Barry Manilow) and essential features (the "Green Screen Challenge" and "Stephen Colbert's Rock and Awe: Countdown to Guitarmageddon,") If you're a recent immigrant to Colbert Nation, this DVD is your passport for full citizenship. A spin-off of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report (those T's are silent) is a pitch-perfect parody of self-mythologizing TV pundits ("This show is not about me," Colbert, in full gravitas, proclaims in episode 1. "It is dedicated to you, the heroes. Who are the heroes? The people who watch this show"). Colbert is a "straight shooter" who doesn't trust books ("they're all fact and no heart") and he promises to "feel the news at you." But the media-savvy Colbert doesn't just feel the news, he makes news. Included is his jaw-dropping "Better Know a District" interview with Florida Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler, who was running unopposed in the 2006 Midterm election, prompting Colbert to goad him into saying "a few things that would really lose the election for you if you were contested" ("I enjoy the company of prostitutes because it's a fun thing to do"). Soon after, the Democratic leadership told incoming-freshman congressmen to steer clear of the Report. Colbert has abandoned his run for President of the United States following his failure to secure a place on South Carolina's ballot. It's just as well. There is, he states, "a whole big world to fix," and now more than ever we need a leader, who, as venerable 60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer observes at one point, is "a sunburst of emotion in a time darkened by reason." --Donald Liebenson

Product Description
In this age of skepticism and not getting it, Americans want the truth…iness. And no one has more truthiness than it-getter, flagophile, and four-star American hero, Stephen Colbert. Now, with this collection of The Colbert Report’s finest moments, you can watch as Stephen shows the nation how he better feels the facts, better justifies injustices, and better knows the districts. So, look up in the sky, above the fruited plain, across the purple mountain majesties. This…is The Colbert Report.

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9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

By Courtney Mehlhaff (Minneapolis, MN)
If you're a dedicated viewer of the Report, you might find yourself a bit disappointed with this DVD. While it does feature some of the major highlights of the past couple years, there is so much missing: no gag reel, no behind-the-scenes, no sign of segments like Tip of the Hat, Who's Honoring Me Now, Alpha Dog of the Week, Cheating Death, Bears and Balls, the Atone Phone, etc. The disc features only one Threatdown and two Words. The Report is a big show packed with hilarity, and often it's the little things (character breaks, malfunctions, random absurdity) that truly make it great. Comedy Central would do well in the future to include some montages that capture more of TCR's daily wit instead of presenting only the biggest events as an uninspired overview.

4 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

By Daubas (Paris, France)
I usually don't review items I haven't bought (yet) and I would not buy the Indecision DVDs of the Daily Show (even though I sincerely love Jon Stewart and his show), but this is a special case.
TCR is so sharp, so funny and brings such insightful commentaries, not just on the latest news but on the state of the US and the occidental world as a whole, that I feel this DVD will be as relevant now to remind all the fun as it will be in a couple of years to reflect on what we went thru.
I'd say it's a must buy and hell, for me to say this with the exorbitant international shipping costs, is definitely saying something.
Come on Nation, support our hero ! :o)

5 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

By Calgas "Calgas" (San Francisco, CA)
I have to agree with those who have reviewed this DVD now it has been released. I found it a big disappointment, sloppily put together, arguably not even the best bits of the show thus far. Some of the "Better know a district" segments didn't even have the lead in, just jumped straight to the interview (e.g. John Hall). No doubt that the show is one of the funniest things on TV, and I'm a huge Colbert fan, but this DVD was very, very disappointing.

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I Am America (And So Can You!) (Hardcover) By Stephen Colbert

On the title page of the galleys of this ironically strident, annoying, repetitive, dishonest, priggish, self-congratulatory, exploitational, celebrity-driven, offensive -- and often extremely funny -- book, it says, in the credits, "Additional material: Ipsum Lorem." Do you know what that means? Well, I do -- now, A.G. (After Google). It's a two-word snip of dummy text -- meaningless Latin-sounding words used from the 1500s to this day by typesetters, to give the appearance of printed words without the distraction of real content.

Some word sleuth figured out that it is a deliberate corruption of a passage from Cicero. Something about there being no one who seeks pain solely for itself. I don't know if "Ipsum Lorem" will make it to the finished book of Stephen Colbert's I Am America (and So Can You!) -- a book of pseudo-reactionary rants, spoofs, and diatribes organized by topic -- but here's some more of the venerable dummy it comes from: "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt."

Why did I do that? There's nothing reviewistic about it -- it's just a passage of nonsense that won't even be in the book. Oh no! I figured it out. Talk about infectious humor! It looks as though I've been bitten by the relentless money bug that afflicts I Am America, because I'm getting paid by the word for this piece, so I say again, Ipsum Lorem ($2.00). Well, $3.00. $5.00. Etc.

The profit motive, however affected, is to I Am America as cheese is to a grilled-cheese sandwich. Just a few examples: "For the record," Colbert says early on, "We're not offering this book to libraries. No free rides." Later: "Cool it with the exclamation marks. The cost of this ink comes out of my advance." Later: "Buy five extra copies of my book as gifts." And at the end: "I Am America (and So Can You!). And you can take that to the bank. I know I will."

It's only fitting that comic capitalism forms the center of this book, because, as millions and millions of fans know by now, Mr. Colbert's satirical persona on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report takes off from the rhetoric of the super-patriotic right-wing pundits who populate the overheated dens of Fox News and other anti-intellectual sanctuaries. When he interviews liberals, he faux-lampoons them. When he interviews conservatives, he murders them with their own weapons. This own-petard-hoisting technique is perhaps best illustrated by Colbert's infamous 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner speech, reprinted in I Am America. It was one of the bravest -- and therefore, of course, most widely deplored -- political acts of this benighted young century. "No matter what happens to America," he says, "she will always rebound -- with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world."

The pixel-to-page transplant of this persona is basically a success. I Am America artfully re-creates Mr. Colbert's dry, martinet-like sendups of the Cro-Magnon politics and "values" of the far right. (Not only the far right but, by implicit extension, of all punditry -- everyone who has fashioned his personality or his "image" around his ideology.) "Artfully" is painting the lily a little for a product like this. The word "product" will not offend Mr. Colbert -- it will make him proud. Arranged in three general categories -- Childhood, Adolescence, and Maturity, none of which, I am pleased to say, really mean much -- individual chapters hit such subjects as "The American Family," "Old People," "Religion," "Higher Education," "Class," "Race," and "Science" very hard over the head. At the end there's a "Note to the Future," in which the author chastises humans for allowing apes to take over the world and gives instructions for thawing his head.

Along with these elevated and recondite scholarly investigations are mini-font italic snappers in the margins -- "moths, get a publicist," Colbert suggests, after explaining how the motion of a butterfly's wing can have large consequences on the other side of the world. Raising the mercenary drumbeat of this book to a crescendo, there are coupons for Colbert brand-name items, and the "Sport Chapter" is sponsored by Chevron and then, rather suddenly, by Kraft Seven Seas Creamy Italian salad dressing. Charts, illustrations, photographs, "Fun Zones," and puzzles permeate these pages, too, ensuring that the reader's "reading experience" will not too closely approach...reading. As it should not, since Mr. Colbert begins his Introduction, "I am no fan of books. This is first book I've ever written, and I hope it's the first book you've ever read. Don't make a habit of it." (An example of the book's exquisite and subtle photography: in the chapter on religion, under the heading "Quakers," a very small reproduction of the Quaker Oats photograph of Benjamin Franklin appears alongside the highly economical comment "These folks produced only two things I like -- Oatmeal and Richard Nixon.") And in sidebars entitled "Stephen Speaks for Me," ordinary citizens who, thank God, don't exist and better not endorse and cheer Mr. Colbert. One is "Gill Honeycomb," the oldest man in the world, who hits random keys at the end of his note of gratitude, and then, apparently dead, slumps forward with "ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff."

So I Am America will give its readers -- purchasers, perhaps I should say -- what they want, and, even if the joke-to-sentence ratio sometimes exceeds Borscht Belt levels, that is a good thing, and unusual in these days of unsatisfying compulsive shopping. (Look up Marcuse on B&N.com.) There's no way around saying that Jon Stewart's America: The Book is a just little better and more surprising than this one. (There's no way around it because to some extent Mr. Colbert and his Report and this book are the spawn of Stewart and his show and his book...) It sounds the trumpet of profit a little less blaringly, and, like Mr. Stewart's facial expressions vis-à-vis Mr. Colbert's, it has more variation than does I Am America. The academic corrections and comments interspersed throughout America: The Book, made with a refreshingly straight face, while funny themselves, are also particularly effective comedy breathers. And if Mr. Colbert thinks there should have been a way around saying that about his book versus Stewart's, he can have me on his show and tell me what it was. Oh, please?

As is his entire show and on-camera demeanor, I Am America is a comic cri de coeur from Stephen Colbert's character. Even more gnawing than the satirical dollar lust in its pages is another kind, camouflaged in a deliberately ineffective way -- Colbert's professed homophobia. Or, I should say, "Colbert's" "homophobia." Forget the per-word stuff: If air quotes were money, this review would make me rich. Everywhere you look, even outside the chapter on homosexuality, there are hilarious mock denunciations of this perfectly honorable orientation. For instance, Colbert is at excruciating pains to prove that God is not gay: if He were, "He would have turned Adam's rib into Dermot Mulroney." And Jesus "turned water into wine, not Appletinis."

The pseudo-repulsion in these pages toward homosexuality is so, um, big and, er, hard that the conclusion is obvious: Stephen Colbert wants us to realize that "Stephen Colbert" is gay. And, clearly, in serious, repressive denial. He opens the closet door just enough to make sure we don't miss the lonely, cowering figure within: "Your little gay fantasy proves my point," he says at the beginning of the "Homosexuals" chapter and continues, "Every single one of us fights a daily battle to suppress the insurgency raging in our loins." He -- or is it "he"? -- speaks disturbingly of the need for humans to "dominate" animals. Let's put the best construction on this concept and stay away from the horrifying worst: We'll just assume that this is Colbert's way of saying that he favors pitching to catching. Clearly, this is a faux right-winger knocking on the partition of a men's-room stall and yearning to appraise cloisonné on Antiques Road Show. And ultimately, and admirably, this wonderful actor is making fun of everyone who retreats from his nature into a false identity. This is what is so salubrious about Colbert's comedy, and what distinguishes him from many other comics.

Stephen's persona, Stephen's persona, Stephen's persona! I hope you don't mind my own persona calling you Stephen's, but don't get any funny ideas. You really have to have my just-now-mentioned own persona on your show. It's either that or go to Oprah as your confessor. But I don't think you want to inflate her already grotesque ratings even more. I admire you and your book -- it's really funny and smart and breezily e-z reading -- and I think you have earned the right to be who you really "are," and to be happy, and to be even better than Stewart. As Cicero said, more or less, there is no one who seeks pain for the sake of pain. And as I Am America heads ineluctably toward the bestseller lists, I feel I really must get a little piece of the action, and therefore I repeat, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet." --Daniel Menaker Author of the novel The Treatment and two books of short stories, Daniel Menaker is former Executive Editor-in-Chief of Random House and fiction editor of The New Yorker. His reviews, humor pieces, and other writings have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Slate.

From the Publisher

Congratulations -- just by opening the cover of this book you became 25% more patriotic.

From Stephen Colbert, the host of television's highest-rated punditry show The Colbert Report, comes the book to fill the other 23½ hours of your day. I Am America (and So Can You!) contains all of the opinions that Stephen doesn't have time to shoehorn into his nightly broadcast.

Dictated directly into a microcassette recorder over a three-day weekend, this book contains Stephen's most deeply held knee-jerk beliefs on The American Family, Race, Religion, Sex, Sports, and many more topics, conveniently arranged in chapter form.

Always controversial and outspoken, Stephen addresses why Hollywood is destroying America by inches, why evolution is a fraud, and why the elderly should be harnessed to millstones.

You may not agree with everything Stephen says, but at the very least, you'll understand that your differing opinion is wrong.

I Am America (and So Can You!) showcases Stephen Colbert at his most eloquent and impassioned. He is an unrelenting fighter for the soul of America, and in this book he fights the good fight for the traditional values that have served this country so well for so long.

Publishers Weekly

Realizing that "it takes more than thirty minutes a night to fix everything that's destroying America," Colbert bravely takes on the forces aligned to destroy our country-"whether they be terrorists, environmentalists, or Kashi brand breakfast cereals." His various targets include nature ("I've never trusted the sea. What's it hiding under there?"), the Hollywood Blacklist ("I would have named enough names to fill the Moscow phone book"), and atheists ("Imagine going through life completely duped into thinking that there's no invisible, omniscient higher power guiding every action on Earth. It's just so arbitrary!"). Colbert also provides helpful illustrations and charts ("Things That Are Trying to Turn Me Gay"), a complete transcript of his infamous speech at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner, and a special "Holiday" DVD, all of which add up to a book that is sure to be a bestseller and match the success of Colbert's former Daily Show boss Jon Stewart's America (The Book). (Oct.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Kirkus Reviews

The fabulously fatuous father of "truthiness" and other neocon mantras expands his media icon with the obligatory book-and, read in the proper spirit, it's a lot of fun. So do we take Colbert, of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, seriously? Is he a persona or the real thing? Is he only in it for the money? No, that would be Ann Coulter, or maybe Friedrich Nietzsche, whose autobiography contained chapter titles such as "Why I Am Such a Genius" and "Why I Am Immortal." Colbert has a few more self-doubts than Nietzsche, if only for the sake of modesty. Would fellow blowhard Bill O'Reilly, for instance, ever confess to being frightened by baby carrots? Probably not, though, to judge by his books, O'Reilly would surely endorse Colbert's contention that such seemingly innocent but too-cute things are a gateway drug to gayness. Stranger theories have been proposed (where is Anita Bryant when you need her?), but no satisfactory argument has been mounted against it, and in all events the critics of Colbert are only those who do not "accept Jesus as my personal editor," namely "cable channels, the internet blogs, and the Hollywood celebritocracy, out there spewing ‘facts' like so many locusts descending on America's crop of ripe, tender values." Like John Hodgman's The Areas of My Expertise, Colbert's litmus test of a book seems meant to be taken seriously only by those who get the joke, in which case the thing is very funny indeed. If, however, it is taken seriously to the point that the reader really starts believing that baby carrots are homoerotogenic, or that Koreans are evil, or that George Bush knows what he's doing, then it's time to take the book gently from that reader and commit saidperson to a nice quiet spell in the home for the bewildered. The answer, therefore, is yes, take Colbert seriously. Like a heart attack. Or like Lenny Bruce.

708 of 773 people found the following review helpful: By Stephen Colbert "Stephen Colbert" (USA! #1!)
I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
A powerhouse. A tour de truth.
I laughed. I cried. I lost 15 pounds!
A must buy!

289 of 390 people found the following review helpful: By SpaceBass (Unfiction, HQ, USA)
I picked up this book too fast and broke my wrist. There should be a warning label.

152 of 220 people found the following review helpful: By Kathleen Hoppe "mom of the Great 8" (Roscoe, IL United States)
Get a little inspiration! Just when you may be wondering how much longer you can stand living in a country that airs Fox News 24/7, along comes Stephen Colbert's long awaited diatribe. Reading him rail against homosexuals, liberals and the media is a bit like being back in high school and trying to decide who to vote for on the Student Council. You may realize that while one of the guys is a real douche bag, he just has that certain "it" factor that you know will make HIM win and you want to make sure you can say you voted for him. You want to be on his side and speak HIS language. Stephen Colbert's character on the Colbert Report is exactly that kind of guy; except that while you are shaking his hand (or reading the words) you are thinking how insane it is that there are people out there thinking like this. You draw from the wellspring of his deep insanity, smiling, nodding, thinking "where will I hide my kids when these people organize?"

And now, in this book, he fleshes out his character in a way that allows us to feel even more intimately linked to his neo-right wing propaganda cause. He begins with an explanation of how he came to be the Man he is today, how he was shaped into the conservative model of greatness that leads the ColbertNation. Be sure that this is nothing BUT the opinion of Stephen Colbert OF the Colbert Report. If you are a fan of the show, you will LOVE the book, as I did, knowing it has no relation to Stephen Colbert the actor who plays the character on the show. If you have no idea what show I am talking about, you'd be best off buying the book and reading it after watching the show on Comedy Central a few times first. IF you read the book and love it without having ever watched the show, God help us.

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