The Onion Ad Nauseam: Complete News Archives, Volume 13
- Book Review,
by Robert Siegel, et al
From Publishers Weekly
The Onion, a satirical newspaper known for wrapping its cultural commentary and loony anecdotes in the language of a suburban daily, offers a fourth compilation (after last year's Dispatches from the Tenth Circle) comprising all its stories from October 2000 to October 2001. Something like a USA Today written by stoned, TV-addled teenagers (albeit very smart ones), each issue features a set of short news stories, an informational graphic or two and an op-ed, among other things. The headlines are often so funny in and of themselves that they get traded at cocktail parties in lieu of actual conversation: "First Grade Teacher Apprehends Urinator"; "Asian Man Has Thing For Asian Women"; "Nepotism Passed Off As Synergy." The Onion might be formulaic but the formula works. There are more hard laughs to be found in a weekly edition than in an average sit-com, a standard late night monologue and a typical Adam Sandler vehicle combined. b&w illustrations.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-This is part of a projected annual series. Published weekly in print and on the Web, The Onion is a sort of collegiate Mad Magazine that is by turns brilliant, dumb, profound, gross, hilarious, and thought-provoking. Its writers, willing to offend anyone, often demonstrate a remarkable lack of respect for accepted societal norms as well as for any variety of political correctness. Even slow news weeks yield journalistic gems, but The Onion really peaks when covering major events. Ad Nauseam offers outstanding and extensive satirical commentary on stories such as Election 2000 and 9/11 from October, 2000-October, 2001, covered in The Onion's 13th year. Mimicking the clich‚s of the news business in both a literary and a visual sense, The Onion exploits and exposes habitual cultural mind-sets. The parodies of opinion pieces, "man in the street" interviews, and other such journalistic traditions can show students how to spot the tricks of the trade and to be more discriminating in judging the quality of news. Obviously, while the outrageous nature of some of this material is guaranteed to appeal to many teens, the often-graphic language and pictures render it more appropriate for a sophisticated audience.Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
“The Onion is laugh-out-loud, go-tell-your-friends, get-angry-you-didn’t-think-of-it funny.”
–Conan O’Brien
“Outside of maybe Dario Fo, an Italian who few are sure exists, the Onion people make the most consistently perfect and excoriating social commentary we currently have. But will those Nobel bastards honor them, too? Only God, our merciless and just God, knows.”
–Dave Eggers
“The funniest publication in the United States.”
–The New Yorker
“This publication is tasteless and destructive to our shared values. Read it for yourself and you’ll see what I mean. Seriously, what else could make me laugh–much less laugh uproariously–while being offended week after week after week?”
–Al Gore
“The Onion is the funniest thing in news since Dan Rather’s spooky stare.”
–Matt Groening
“Brutal satire that rushes into the far reaches of race, class, sexuality, and culture where many publications–and critics–fear to tread.”
–Chicago Tribune
“The Onion, unlike any other entity in our media culture, offers a refreshingly honest look at our complicated life.”
–Ken Burns
Review
?The Onion is laugh-out-loud, go-tell-your-friends, get-angry-you-didn?t-think-of-it funny.?
?Conan O?Brien
?Outside of maybe Dario Fo, an Italian who few are sure exists, the Onion people make the most consistently perfect and excoriating social commentary we currently have. But will those Nobel bastards honor them, too? Only God, our merciless and just God, knows.?
?Dave Eggers
?The funniest publication in the United States.?
?The New Yorker
?This publication is tasteless and destructive to our shared values. Read it for yourself and you?ll see what I mean. Seriously, what else could make me laugh?much less laugh uproariously?while being offended week after week after week??
?Al Gore
?The Onion is the funniest thing in news since Dan Rather?s spooky stare.?
?Matt Groening
?Brutal satire that rushes into the far reaches of race, class, sexuality, and culture where many publications?and critics?fear to tread.?
?Chicago Tribune
?The Onion, unlike any other entity in our media culture, offers a refreshingly honest look at our complicated life.?
?Ken Burns
Book Description
The first installment of an ambitious new series, this book features everything published during The Onion’s thirteenth year: every news story, opinion piece, news in brief, horoscope . . . every last damn word that appeared between October 2000 and October 2001.
The Onion Ad Nauseam: Complete News Archives features loads of material no longer available online or anywhere else. Look for a new volume every year.
From the Inside Flap
The first installment of an ambitious new series, this book features everything published during The Onion’s thirteenth year: every news story, opinion piece, news in brief, horoscope . . . every last damn word that appeared between October 2000 and October 2001.
The Onion Ad Nauseam: Complete News Archives features loads of material no longer available online or anywhere else. Look for a new volume every year.
From the Back Cover
“The Onion is laugh-out-loud, go-tell-your-friends, get-angry-you-didn’t-think-of-it funny.”
–Conan O’Brien
“Outside of maybe Dario Fo, an Italian who few are sure exists, the Onion people make the most consistently perfect and excoriating social commentary we currently have. But will those Nobel bastards honor them, too? Only God, our merciless and just God, knows.”
–Dave Eggers
“The funniest publication in the United States.”
–The New Yorker
“This publication is tasteless and destructive to our shared values. Read it for yourself and you’ll see what I mean. Seriously, what else could make me laugh–much less laugh uproariously–while being offended week after week after week?”
–Al Gore
“The Onion is the funniest thing in news since Dan Rather’s spooky stare.”
–Matt Groening
“Brutal satire that rushes into the far reaches of race, class, sexuality, and culture where many publications–and critics–fear to tread.”
–Chicago Tribune
“The Onion, unlike any other entity in our media culture, offers a refreshingly honest look at our complicated life.”
–Ken Burns
About the Author
The Onion is the world’s most popular humor publication. Its first book, Our Dumb Century, was a New York Times #1 bestseller and winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor.
The Onion can be found at www.theonion.com and on newsstands nationwide.
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