Started by two University of Wisconsin undergraduates in 1988, The Onion began as an alternative weekly newspaper - with an emphasis on parody - in Madison. While some believe The Onion got its name from the slang for a "juicy news story," it was actually named when the two founders were short on cash and eating onion sandwiches. Editor-in-Chief Scott Dikkers worked as a cartoonist during The Onion’s first year, then with Pete Haise, the current publisher, bought the paper from its founders. "For a long time we were kind of a Weekly World News parody combined with your usual sophomoric college-humor publication," says Dikkers. In 1995 Dikkers shifted the focus of the paper to a straight news parody and found the voice for which The Onion is known today. In 1996, The Onion made an unprecedented launch into cyberspace, and www.theonion.com soon became one of the nation's most heavily visited Web sites. The newspaper edition is available in bookstores and newsstands nationwide. With a half-million readers online, more than 350,000 readers of the print edition, and millions of listeners to The Onion Radio News (broadcast on 72 stations nationwide), The Onion has been called "the most popular humor periodical in world history" by The New Yorker. And the plaudits don't stop there. The Chicago Tribune called it "genius" and Rolling Stone named Scott Dikkers one of the nation's top-ten favorite writers. Scott Dikkers and the editorial staff of The Onion - Robert Siegel, Todd Hanson, Maria Schneider, Tim Harrod, Carol Kolb, John Krewson, Mike Loew, Joe Garden, Ben Karlin and David Javerbaum - are based in Madison, Wisconsin.

From the editors of the most hilarious periodical around comes The Onion's Finest News Reporting, a collection of stories and commentaries with a sublime satirical bite. Devotees of the Madison, Wisconsin, weekly will erupt with laughter at each turn of the page, while newcomers will wonder how they have done without such headlines as "Civil War Enthusiasts Burn Atlanta to Ground," "Saddam Hussein Steps Down Following Sex Scandal," "Lyndon Johnson Jr. Sworn in as George Editor," "Nation's Educators Alarmed by Poorly Written Teen Suicide Notes," and "Massive Oil Spill Results in Improved Wildlife Viscosity." The brilliant parodies following the headlines are consistently smart, irreverent, and hysterical. Some selections are masterworks of absurdity, such as op-ed pieces written from the perspectives of pylons, chemical plants, or appliances. The book also contains some choice picks from the magazine's "What Do You Think?" column, in which ordinary citizens sound off on timely topics such as the teaching of evolution in schools ("I am against evolution being taught in schools. I am also against wide- spread literacy and the refrigeration of food.") and the cloning of animals ("I can't believe it - imagine a whole field of sheep that all look alike!"). As with all effective satire, this volume seeks to hit society's raw nerves: homophobia, racism, sexism, even Canada - "Perky 'Canada' Has Own Government, Laws" reads one headline. But buyer beware: if Dave Barry is about your speed, you may find some of these stories (and the language) to be tasteless, if not offensive. Others will love this book for those very reasons.

(From quoting Shawn Carkonen)