Jon Stewart and The Daily Show take readers on an intellectual voyage through time--a quest back to the very moment of creation--that will maybe, j...
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Feb 15, 2012
Marigold
rated it: 
Hilarious silliness from Jon Stewart! Aliens, if you come to Earth & find us all gone, you can use this book to find out Everything You Need to Know About Humanity but Were Too Busy Picking Up Our Mess To Ask. That is the premise of the book. I read the Actual Book (I know - call me a Luddite, whatever, yawn). It's arranged like a textbook, with plenty of pictures, & categories for easy reference such as Clothing, Villages, Trade, Investing ("The skilled investor had to balance the potentia
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Aug 04, 2011
Ted
rated it:
Nothing fills a long and lonely car ride like the newest comedy book on my iPod. Earth, the newest volume from the Daily Show crew, reminds me of if the Daily Show wrote the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy version of BBC's Planet Earth. Heavy on the sarcasm, Stewart and his team tackle all of Earth's major flaws and features.
As should be obvious, I listened to this on audiobook, read by author. Stewart is obviously a great comic writer, but his strength as a performer definitely shines through. More...
As should be obvious, I listened to this on audiobook, read by author. Stewart is obviously a great comic writer, but his strength as a performer definitely shines through. More...
May 29, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
The writers of The Daily Show present a parody of a textbook similar to America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, this time focusing on a broader topic: planet Earth. Designed to give aliens an insight into the world and human behavior, Earth (the book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race includes chapters on life, man, commerce, religion, and culture, poking fun at everything from hairstyles to ponzi schemes. Like any textbook, each chapter contains discussion questions (FAQ
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May 05, 2011
MacK
rated it:
I remember my mother smiling happily at Hastings: Book, Music and Video store in Great Falls, Montana. (Those who didn't grow up in Great Falls should know, Hastings was basically the cultural mecca of the town--any movie, any cd, pretty much any big book could be gotten there in the 1990s.) While my brothers and I debated renting Rocky III or Rocky IV, my mother enjoyed selecting a mystery for herself and, more often than not, an "Eyewitness Book" from Doris Kindersley press: ostensib
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Apr 12, 2011
Jonny99
rated it:
Reference section humor. Television’s ”The Daily Show” consistently rates among the U.S.’s most trusted new sources; that the show is a satirical comedy show precisely captures everything wrong with present journalism as well as reflecting many of the reasons for the empire’s decline. ”Earth” picks up where The Onion’s <http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1805607.Our_Dumb_World> left off. The Onion takes a contemporary look at life on earth while ”Earth” looks forward to an, unfortunatel
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Feb 26, 2011
Rebecca
rated it:
While on the surface this audiobook might seem like 3 hours of good laughs, it did win a Grammy for “Best Spoken Word Album.” There is lots of great sarcasm and irony here, but there is also a deeper commentary on humans as a species that actually made me stop and think for awhile. For example, Stewart points out that we are the only animals that are actually aware of our own mortality, and yet don’t deal with the knowledge very well. I love this exchange from the end of the “The Life Cycle”
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Feb 15, 2011
Erin
rated it:
My second foray into the world of audiobooks on CD was delightfully funny! Jon Stewart, Sigourney Weaver, and pretty much the entire cast of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" narrate the book, so if you like "The Daily Show," you'll probably like Earth: the audiobook. It's a tongue-in-cheek history of our planet & the human race told for the benefit of future alien visitors to Earth who arrive after we've killed ourselves off.
I thought they did an excellent job More...
I thought they did an excellent job More...
Dec 28, 2010
BGP
rated it: 
Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race falls halfway between America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction and Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas of the Planet Earth, 73rd Edition in terms of both content and nature (i.e., uneven, broad-reaching social satire presented via faux textbook). Those who are somehow new to Stewart (aliens, perhaps?) and/or those who have never read America (The Book) should know that Earth (The Book) fails to capture Stewart and The Daily S
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Dec 15, 2010
Jamie
rated it:
A while back Jon Stewart and the other writers from the popular The Daily Show with Jon Stewart wrote a parody of high school Social Studies textbooks called America (The Book): A Guide to Democracy Inaction. That was a great piece of satire because it lambasted something most Americans were familiar with and it had a structurally solid skeleton on which to drape its parody. We all knew what he was talking about, or at least we knew we should know, which was often kind of the point. It had a tar
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Nov 11, 2010
Marvel
rated it: 
Highly highly HIGHLY recommended. This book is full of page after page of hilarity XD
Written as an introduction to earth and our experience of life here for a future alien race that comes across our planet (what’s left of it). Here are a couple of sample lines:
“If you encounter a life form that’s greenish, can’t chase you and doesn’t talk much, it’s a plant. These hardy things ruled the Earth for billions of years, until the advent of animals, and their invention of salad.”
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Written as an introduction to earth and our experience of life here for a future alien race that comes across our planet (what’s left of it). Here are a couple of sample lines:
“If you encounter a life form that’s greenish, can’t chase you and doesn’t talk much, it’s a plant. These hardy things ruled the Earth for billions of years, until the advent of animals, and their invention of salad.”
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Oct 17, 2010
Aisa
rated it:
I am a little biased when I am writing this review. My introduction to Jon Stewart was pretty late (considering that he already worked in the show-biz since I was in primary school?). I first knew about him when he hosted the Academy Awards. Since that, I fell in love with his witty jokes and entertaining news.
He's a smart-ass.
This book was very much alike my old kiddie encyclopedia with not-very-scientific facts about earth, human culture, etc. Very graphic with littl More...
He's a smart-ass.
This book was very much alike my old kiddie encyclopedia with not-very-scientific facts about earth, human culture, etc. Very graphic with littl More...
Oct 14, 2010
Jay
rated it:
Carol and I are such fans of Jon Stewart and The Daily Show that we each bought a copy of this book as a gift for the other -- one audiotape, one text. That alone should justify 4 stars. But the true justification for the fourth star was the joy to see Carol enjoy the coffee-table version -- from giggles to "wine out the nose" guffaws.
Unlike most books on tape, reading "Earth" and listening to Jon Stewart and the other Daily Show cast members are two distinct expe More...
Unlike most books on tape, reading "Earth" and listening to Jon Stewart and the other Daily Show cast members are two distinct expe More...
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Oct 07, 2010
Crawford
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Everyone on this planet (and I mean Everyone) would benefit from reading "Earth: A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race". Why? Because it is a simmple and sarcastically ammusing, summed up history of our planet and the human race. You will notice that this book was not only written by Jon Stewart, but also by us. It is all of us who have contributed to humanity's memoir. Intended to be read by those who come to visit our planet in the future, they will find out all they need to know
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Oct 06, 2010
Amy
rated it:
Jon Stewart's newest book, Earth, is fashioned as an encyclopedia of human history and life on Earth. For aliens. For student aliens. Sort of a travel guide to help aliens figure out what went on in this strangest of locations. He starts big, covering topics from Location and Weather, to Life (in all its forms), Basic Needs, War, Entertainment, Religion, and Medicine. It's similar to any encyclopedia a kid may have, except it's not for kids. It's filled with snarky humor, bitter iron More...
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Mar 20, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it:
The eagerly awaited new book from the Emmy-winning, Oscar-hosting, Daily Show-anchoring Jon Stewart--the man behind the megaseller America (The Book).
Where do we come from? Who created us? Why are we here? These questions have puzzled us since the dawn of time, but when it became apparent to Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show that the world was about to end, they embarked on a massive mission to write a book that summed up the human race: What we looked like; what we accomplishe More...
Where do we come from? Who created us? Why are we here? These questions have puzzled us since the dawn of time, but when it became apparent to Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show that the world was about to end, they embarked on a massive mission to write a book that summed up the human race: What we looked like; what we accomplishe More...
Oct 14, 2010
Siria
rated it:
This read as much more caustic than the Daily Show's previous America: The Book—the effect of the monumental clusterfuck that has been the past five years? This was much the same mix as that book: some parts were very funny, some parts wryly, ironically amusing. Some fell too wide of the mark, especially those which relied very heavily on pop culture references (this is not a book that's going to stand the test of time), and some were just unfunny. The section on Africa, especially, made me winc
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Sep 21, 2011
Craig
rated it:
Jon Stuart and the case of the Daily show, along with Sigourney Weaver presented this book in typical Daily show fashion. that is - it's quite funny.
It's not Laugh out loud for the entire time funny, but the guffaws per hour ratio is sufficient to bring enjoyment to any long-lasting car ride.
Written as a guidebook for a future alien species that discovers Earth containing the died-out remains of the human race, The Daily Show crew explain everything from the Earth's geology More...
It's not Laugh out loud for the entire time funny, but the guffaws per hour ratio is sufficient to bring enjoyment to any long-lasting car ride.
Written as a guidebook for a future alien species that discovers Earth containing the died-out remains of the human race, The Daily Show crew explain everything from the Earth's geology More...
Jun 30, 2011
Fans of his Daily Show know that Jon Stewart not only is a comic genius, but also has a gift for attracting talent. Like the show, this book is the product of many clever minds, all keenly attuned to humankind's self-destructive foolishness. The introductory "to our alien readers" message sets the tone: "We're really sorry we're not here to greet you in person. We invited you over, and you traveled who knows how many light years to see us, and we're not home. And we left the
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Oct 31, 2010
Julie
rated it:
This was a pretty fast read, if by "pretty fast" you mean "I was home all day anyway with nothing better to do." Modeled after those kids' encyclopedias with lots of pictures and captions, as opposed to long paragraphs, Earth (The Book) is designed to be read a page or two at a time. The book delves into everything the reader -- future alien visitors to our planet, now deserted of human life -- could want to know about us, from science to culture to life cycles.
As m More...
As m More...
Apr 03, 2011
Johnsergeant
rated it:
Narrated by Jon Stewart , Samantha Bee , Wyatt Cenac , Jason Jones , John Oliver
3 hrs and 38 mins
Publisher's Summary
Where do we come from? Who created us? Why are we here? These questions have puzzled us since the dawn of time, but when it became apparent to Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show that the world was about to end, they embarked on a massive mission to write a book that summed up the human race: What we looked like; what we accomplished; our ach More...
3 hrs and 38 mins
Publisher's Summary
Where do we come from? Who created us? Why are we here? These questions have puzzled us since the dawn of time, but when it became apparent to Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show that the world was about to end, they embarked on a massive mission to write a book that summed up the human race: What we looked like; what we accomplished; our ach More...
Nov 22, 2010
Kimberly
rated it:
Written for aliens that have come to Earth and have found all of humanity gone, this book is supposed to tell our visitors all about our world, our culture, and describe the strange things that the aliens are no-doubt wondering about.
First of all, I must say that the design of this book is brilliant. It looks exactly like the DK Eyewitness books that I read when I was younger, and that was a huge appeal.
Second, this book is funny. I laughed several times. The information i More...
First of all, I must say that the design of this book is brilliant. It looks exactly like the DK Eyewitness books that I read when I was younger, and that was a huge appeal.
Second, this book is funny. I laughed several times. The information i More...
Oct 15, 2010
Liza
rated it:
This was a fantastic book on several levels. First, the layout and design is stunning. Earth reminded me of the DK Eyewitness books for kids. There are gorgeous photos and images that draw the reader in, and sometime during the ogling of the images the reader finds him/herself reading all the text.
Second, the humor is spot-on. Even what might be considered crude humor has layers to it, and it seems that Stewart and The Daily Show never made a joke just for the sake of the joke. More...
Second, the humor is spot-on. Even what might be considered crude humor has layers to it, and it seems that Stewart and The Daily Show never made a joke just for the sake of the joke. More...
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Jan 10, 2012
Mark
rated it:
This irreverent, profane, biting (and often hilarious) look at the human race poses as a guide to Earth's future extraterrestrial visitors. It helps these tourists/explorers to understand the meaning of the remaining artifacts of our now extinct species. The language is at least PG-13, [note that I read the audio book and can't speak to the illustrations] and some of the religious jabs will not place Stewart & Co. in good stead at Judgement Day, but there are constant truly cleaver little one li
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Oct 09, 2010
Patrick
rated it:
If you've read America (The Book), know first that this book is different. America makes itself out to be a mock textbook, and has many long, hilarious text passages that skewer politics and education at the same time. However, there are also the occasional pages that are infographics, with jokes both in the images and the captions that take up complete pages.
Now imagine that the entire book were made out of these commented infographics, with the subject matter shifted from the USA More...
Now imagine that the entire book were made out of these commented infographics, with the subject matter shifted from the USA More...
Feb 20, 2011
Robert
rated it:
So damn hilarious! Ini adalah buku yang sangat-sangat unik dan tidak biasa. Bayangkan sebuah buku yang menjelaskan panjang-lebar mengenai Homo sapiens dengan deskripsi penuh humor satir dan sinikal. Anda akan tertawa terbahak-bahak begitu membaca setiap halamannya :-D
Halaman pembukanya saja sudah begitu absurd, seolah memberikan kata pengantar kepada ras alien dan lantas memberikan detail laporan tentang usaha-usaha manusia selama ini dalam melakukan kontak dengan mereka, namun masih More...
Halaman pembukanya saja sudah begitu absurd, seolah memberikan kata pengantar kepada ras alien dan lantas memberikan detail laporan tentang usaha-usaha manusia selama ini dalam melakukan kontak dengan mereka, namun masih More...
Apr 23, 2011
Tara
rated it: 
Lately I have been into books by comedians and funny memoirs. I have not seen jon stewarts show but thought i'd check oout his political humor. I listened to this book on cd during my commute. it was quite short compared to other audiobooks. In this particular book he briefly explains to aliens earths history. it is a very condensed satirical version. There were some comments that caused me to chuckle, but not as funny as i expected. I can't imagine reading the actual book as the audiobook was c
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Nov 22, 2010
Sara
rated it:
I listened to Earth: The Audiobook and found it quite entertaining. It's a tongue-in-cheek history of Earth and the human race, written as if it's an artifact intended to be found by aliens who arrive on Earth to find it already destroyed. It is pretty much just what I expected based on descriptions.
This being the work of Jon Stewart, humanity doesn't get painted in the best light. Humans, as portrayed to the "future aliens" the book is supposedly intended for, are amu More...
This being the work of Jon Stewart, humanity doesn't get painted in the best light. Humans, as portrayed to the "future aliens" the book is supposedly intended for, are amu More...
Jan 05, 2012
Linda
rated it:
Is global warming real? Perhaps, and if so, Jon Stewart has written a field guide for whomever may come afterwards when we've destroyed ourselves and our planet. He certainly is thorough, skewering everything from anatomy to advertising to fast food to Florence Henderson. Because the narrative is broken into chunks much smaller than typical chapters, Earth is a book better browsed than read cover to cover. Humor is a funny thing, and too much of it in a single dose dilutes its impact. But there
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Sep 24, 2010
Dave
rated it: 
I’m kind of embarrassed for Jon Stewart. And I’m equally embarrassed that I’m listening to his audio-book. His last production “America” was light, but really funny. This audio-book is just plain bad. Well over half of the sophomoric content is stand-up one-off’s without substantial substance. Perhaps to mask the uneven content, he chose to over-dub the production with every bell and whistle imaginable (including actual annoying bells and whistles). This is not an audio-book it is a pinball game
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Nov 12, 2011
Patrice
rated it:
I think Jon Stewart's The Daily Show is one of the most consistently funny things on television. The sharp, clever writing combined with Stewart's facial expressions, tone of voice, animation and stunningly perfect timing and delivery make for a news program that I look forward to watching.
Therefore it was no surprise that I took this title home from the library instead of putting it back out on the shelf. It's written as a guide for the aliens that have discovered Earth long after h More...
Therefore it was no surprise that I took this title home from the library instead of putting it back out on the shelf. It's written as a guide for the aliens that have discovered Earth long after h More...
