The best book on American History of all time. Needs to be read in small doses, and repeatedly, to get the full effect. Written by the people behind The Onion, this book is a collection of "Front Pages" of the satirical weekly, from the year 1900 to the year 2000. Contains such awesome news headlines as(selected randomly):

Some other gems:

Having read and re-read this glorious book over and over again (especially on plane trips), I can never get sick of it. Our Dumb Century manages to combine incredibly hilarious content with a seemingly normal journalistic report.

In fact, this book is so damn good, I found some very short articles that were just as good, if not better, than the headliners. Glancing over the headlines will definitely not do, as the meat of the book is in the articles themselves. It is annoying because the type is so small, which makes the book sometimes hard to read.

With occasional interjections by T. Herman Zweibel, this book makes fun of an entire century of American life. Recurring themes are the well-written, satiric opinions of sex, war, religion, science and politics, such as the anti-Spanish attitudes of the 1900's, the taboo attitude toward sex and the sudden shift in the 1960's, pokes at both capitalism and communism, and the mocking of significant events in America.

Oftentimes, the headlines are not the best articles. Here are some of my favorites articles. I advise everyone go and buy a copy of this book ASAP.

  1. 600,000 killed in 4-inch advance on the Western front
  2. Corpse-eating rats now largest military force in Europe
  3. Pretentious, goateed Coffehouse types seize power in Russia
  4. Should Children be exposed to facts? Are reason and empirical evidence suitable school subjects?
  5. President Confronts Depression with "Big Deal" Plan: "Big Deal, I'm rich!"
  6. John F. Kennedy's Dad defeats Nixon
  7. French unveil "Arc de Capitulation"

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