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Our Dumb Century: The Onion Presents 100 Years of Headlines from America's Finest News Source (平装)
by The Onion, Scott Dikkers, and Mike Loew
| Category:
Satire, Humor, Comedy |
| Market price: ¥ 198.00
MSL price:
¥ 168.00
[ Shop incentives ]
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Life ain't always pretty, but with The Onion it is always funny. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 11 items |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
When I first got this book, I and the friend with whom I was reading it were trapped in violent paroxysms of laughter for about an hour before we forced ourselves, teary-eyed, to put it down, only to pick it up again when our sides stopped hurting a little. Honestly, this is about the funniest book you'll ever read. The writing is sharp (any of the Onion's staff could probably make it as "legitimate" reporters, they've nailed the style of newspaper writing so well) and the quality level is consistent all the way through - impressive considering how many stories there are (several per page).
Aside from being painfully funny, it's also very smart. The writers know their history, and know it well enough to skewer the last century's hypocrites, morons, and all-out villains, as well as its heroes. Which brings up an important point. Nothing's off-limits to these guys, and they ridicule with equal enthusiasm history's greatest and most awful moments (Great Depression, Holocaust, JFK assassination, it's in there). Fair warning: if you don't think history's sacred cows should be made into hamburger, you will probably be offended - while you're laughing. |
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Jeffrey Friend (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
These people are using humor to further their liberal agenda. They poke fun at Nixon and Reagan, yet Dukakis gets only one article. Where's the balance? They make Nixon out to be a criminal, Ike seem distracted and lazy, and Reagan somehow dishonest. Carter is praised for being a hip streaker. It just goes to show that the writers of this book have a hidden sinister agenda. This book should be burned! I don't even know why they call themselves "The Onion". What is funny about an onion? Making fun of the homeless, like Rush does, is much more productive than reading this trash. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
I have just opened this as a Christmas present and this is one of those pleasant surprises you get to find under the tree from time to time. The Onion has moved from Madison, Wisconsin to a big eastern city and has only been around since 1988, but that certainly does not stop them from retroactively skewering everyone and everything before their time (beginning with President McKinley greeting the 20th century as "The Era of Coal"). You might not have heard the Onion, the Mid-West's answer to the Harvard Lampoon (only funnier), until they got a lot of national press for their brilliant and cathartic coverage of the tragedy of September 11th. But if you did get to see what they came up you can appreciate whether this time of humor is up your alley. Who says the age of irony is dead? Not moi, mon ami. And remember: It is never too late to pick up this calendar, because when you are making fun of the 20th Century it is not like the humor has some sort of expiration time... |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
Our Dumb Century is, simply put, the most entertaining book I've ever had the pleasure of reading. On every page, covering each year of the 20th century, The Onion's crack team of writers brings their devastating sense of irony to every important and not-so-important event that a history enthusiast could ever want to think of. No prominent figure, from Hitler to Stalin to Nixon, is spared as the Onion launches a full frontal assault on lies, hypocrisy, stereotypes, and various misdeeds with the irreverent wit that has made its website an internet mainstay for close to a decade and running. You might think one would have a hard time laughing aloud at news of wars, genocides, and other high crimes, but you just need to take a look at the below headlines to understand what I'm talking about:
"The Machine: Will It Replace the China-Man?"
"Stalin Announces Five-Year 'Everybody Dies' Plan."
"Dastardly Japs Attack Colonially Occupied U.S. Non-State."
"Stock Market Crashes; Debacle Linked to Jews, Negroes, Catholics, Anarachists, Foreigners, Women Voters."
"'The Man' hurt by Black Panther Accusations."
"Kennedy Slain by CIA, Mafia, Castro, LBJ, Teamsters, Freemasons."
"Mr. T Releases 'Pity List '86.'"
And there's lots, lots more where that came from. Despite a few scattered moments of tastelessness, "Our Dumb Century" is chiefly one hilarious story after another, relentlessly lampooning the foibles of human nature and the train wreck that American culture has become of late. I've reread some of these stories as many as ten times, and they never cease to be funny. Sometimes (most of the time, actually), life becomes so absurd that the best way to deal with it is just to laugh, and The Onion has always been extremely useful for just that purpose. "Our Dumb Century" manages to cast the light of irony on some truly dark times, which is an achievement that should not be discounted.
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H. Lim (MSL quote), Australia
<2007-01-08 00:00>
But still pretty damn good. The changing typefaces, grammar ("iced-creams" in 1920!) and parodies of the styles of the times, were absolutely brilliant. Notice how the banner motto changes from "THe Most Reliable Source of News-Worthy Items in our Great Republic" in 1900, to "America's Finest News Source" in 1990, to "America's News Source" in 1998!
I also love how the printing quality goes from extremely blurry in 1900 to sharp in 1970 to laser-printer style in 1998. How they researched all this I don't know.
I think the funniest part is the parody newspaper from the mid 1700s - complete with bizarre spelling and references to how filthy life was in that era ("my neighbor's Wife hath the Small-Pox and wakes me with her constant screaming...")
Also, the benefit of hindsight allows brilliant skewering of myopic and racist attitudes of the time - like "The Machine - will it replace the Chinaman?" in the 1910s; or economists in 1929 saying "Buy! Buy! Buy! Stock Market Invincible!" before the stock market crash! And you've got to love how every trial from Fatty Arbuckle's to Michael Jackson's is called "Trial of the Century!"
If I have a problem with this publication, it's the high expectations I got from these reviews. But don't let that dissuade you! Buy! Buy! Buy! |
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Peter Kasin (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
Good satire/comedy is a difficult task. It is not enough to just have a good idea or opening line, and then let that try to carry the day. Our Dumb Century succeeds where many have failed: the satires are hilarious from beginning to end. Great satirists know how to work with a kernel of truth and give it hilarious angles and take it to absurd places. The authors know their history and have a knack for latching onto some of the mainstream values and prejudices of each era, exaggerating them, and incorporating them in the headlines and stories. For example, a typical 50's headline reads "Eisenhower Vows to Address Growing Problem of Overdue Library Books," or the small print lead from the 1907 satire, "Foreign child labor a 'great threat' to American child labor, say captains of industry." There are no sacred cows here. All political viewpoints are skewered. Check out the Russian revolution headline: "Pretentious, Goateed Coffeehouse Types Seize Power In Russia." How many humor books have left you laughing until tears roll down your face? This is that rare book! |
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Charles Ashbacher (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
This book contains the funniest satire that I have ever read. The Onion is a fictitious newspaper that contains satire of the news rather than news. The first page is dated January 1, 1900 and the last page January 1, 2000. A great deal of knowledge of history is necessary to appreciate some of the stories. For example, the headlines for August, 1914 are:
1) British Croquet Mallets Prove Useless at Front
2) Belgian Forces Halt German Advance Using Cream-Topped Waffles: Huns No Match for Delicious Regional Confection
3) Infectious Diseases Celebrate Opening of Panama Canal
If you are unaware that this was the month that World War I started, then the headlines and stories will make little sense to you.
Each headline is then followed by a short story that is also satirical and I laughed through most of them. No historical figure or event of the times is immune to the satirical wit of the writers. The main headline of October 29 is "Allen Funt Lets President in on Hilarious `Cuban Missile Crisis' Prank." Funt was the host of the "Candid Camera" television show of the sixties where people were filmed in situations that were not what they appeared to be.
This is one of the top five funniest books that I have ever read. Nearly every major event and personality of the twentieth century is lampooned in some way. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
This is exactly the type of book that will elicit a healthy collection of both 5 star and 1 star reviews. Many will be tempted to dismiss the humor as juvenile, but to do so would be to miss the cultural references and snide tone abound in the book, which serves as the true source of humor. Those naive enough to believe that the witty and clever don't swear will dislike the book. For those of us that know that obscenities can add stylistic punctuation, check it out. Both subtle and not-so-subtle glimpses into the true methods of humankind through the medium of news-parody. If you think The Simpson is more cartoon than societal parody, you can probably skip this one. If you feel Elton John writes tear-jerk music for money, not memorandum, then you probably think like the Onion staff, and you might do well to purchase Our Dumb Century. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
By far one of the most ingenious books to be published in recent times, Our Dumb Century successfully weaves the incredulous course of events of our twentieth century with a dry, subtle, sarcastic, daring, provocative, and profound sense of journalistic humor found in none other than The Onion. The result is absolutely hilarious to say the least.
No important event is immune from the harsh, spirited bite of The Onion's ridicule - the invention of the airplane inspires an expedition to the sacred kingdom of Heaven, the discovery of a yeasty morsel makes front page news during the Great Depression, and Richard Nixon's attempts to annul the Watergate scandal go dreadfully awry.
True with any newsstand edition of The Onion, Our Dumb Century contains, without a doubt, some tasteless and profane articles as well. Much of it is in the context of times past, and however offensive it may be, the satirical nature of the writing makes for some interesting consideration of how we perceive past events, past leaders, and how we as a people learned (or didn't learn) from those experiences.
The authentic look of Our Dumb Century is the icing on the cake. In showing others the book, it took some explanation for them to understand that the majority of the pages were not published at the time. The layout, use of illustrations, headline fonts, and vocabulary encourage a strong sense of nostalgia while one is already glassy eyed from uncontrollable, prolonged laughter.
I wish I could give this book more than a mere five-star rating. |
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Washington Post (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
Makes its readers teary-eyed with laughter - The Onion gleefully offends, armed with a powerful combination of puerility and intelligence... What the National Lampoon was to the '70s, The Onion may be for the new millennium. |
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