Review: Earth (Audio)

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 achievements in society, government, religion, science and culture -- all in a lavishly produced audiobook of approximately 200 minutes.

After two weeks of hard work and nights in the recording studio, they had their audiobook. EARTH (The Book) is the definitive guide to our species. With their trademark wit, irreverence, and intelligence, Stewart and his team will posthumously answer all of life's most hard-hitting questions, completely unburdened by objectivity, journalistic integrity, or even accuracy. -- Hachette Audio

In my quest to listen to more audio books, I picked up THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART PRESENTS EARTH: A VISITOR'S GUIDE TO THE HUMAN RACE. A little while back, I listened to AMERICA: A CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO DEMOCRACY INACTION and absolutely loved it! So I was extremely anxious to give EARTH a try. I found it to be very funny as well as a fun way to get my morning run in!

The basic premise of EARTH is pretty original (and entertaining) in itself. The book is a guide to aliens who discover an uninhabited Earth. It basically gives a general overview of well... the Earth and its inhabitants. There are parts in EARTH that discuss the people, places, religion, and even politics to name just a few of the many things covered. Jon Stewart attempts to make sense of our world and the people in it while describing it to an alien who has no understanding of our culture. It's not always an easy task as the alien questions at the end of each chapter point out.

I've read many reviews in the blogosphere that said that EARTH didn't live up to AMERICA. I guess I would have to agree. If I am forced to pick a favorite out of the two books, I would definitely pick AMERICA -- it really was fantastic! However, I have to say that I really, really liked EARTH too. I think I just preferred the subject matter of AMERICA a bit more. There is no doubt that the politics of our country provide ample opportunities for satire!

Having said that, I still found plenty to laugh at in EARTH. The Daily Show cast and Sigourney Weaver are terrific in the audio version of this book, but I most appreciated the parts with Jon Stewart. There is no doubt in my mind that Jon Stewart is one of the funniest men on the planet, and I absolutely love his irreverent tone and insight into people's idiosyncrasies.

Highly recommended! Thanks to the publisher for sending me this audio book.