Why do we love our country so much? We're the home of the free, the land of the brave, and the wacky inventors of everything from toilet paper to People magazine. Join us as we take one giant leap for mankind with lists, stats, and facts on:

• Rock 'n' roll
  From Elvis to Britney, the lindy hop to hip-hop!

• Hollywood
  The best flicks, from Jaws to Deep Throat!

• Inventions
  The internet, martinis, and the Slinky!

• Medicine
  Pioneers in kidney transplants and breast implants!

• Sexy Chicks
  From Angelina Jolie to the Statue of Liberty!

• Eats
  Home of hot apple pie and hot pizza delivered in thirty minutes or less!

• #1
  In Nobel Prizes, Olympic gold medals, and worldwide production of salt!

If that's not enough, how about celebrating our entrepreneurial spirit, landing on the moon, hot-and-cold running showers, big national monuments, and oh, yeah...a little thing called freedom.

I just finished reading Etiquette for Outlaws, and had such a good time with it I wanted more. So yeah, it's all about America being the dogs bollocks, so clearly it's going to be tongue in cheek (for any USians reading, that was ye olde English wry sense of humour for ya). There's a bonus chapter, just for the rest of us, 'Why we Suck', that I doubt has anything to do with lollys or oral sex. These writers are really great, and have a wonderfully irreverent, but honest, perception that their books allows us to share. I don't much care why America rocks, but I do care why Rob and David think it does, and that's why I'm going to read the book.

 

This was a great book for being sick in bed with. As it's bitty you can dip in and out of it, and enjoy getting alternately pissed off and amused by it. First of all, as a Brit I feel it my duty to mention a couple of things which seem to have passed the authors by. Way back in the 1600's the British were having a fine old time, with drunken debauchery and a den of iniquity on every corner. Only problem was there were these stick in the mud puritanical assholes who wanted us to behave and be a God fearing and virtuous people. We told them to fuck the hell off or we'd burn their asses at the stake. So a bunch of them did, and nipped on over to the New World and landed on a big rock, that they named after an English fishing port.

The guys didn't mention that part.

To be absolutely fair most of what they mention in the book is true, and pretty cool. Any nation would be proud of giving the world Big Macs and MTV. The Bill of Rights, the US Constitution; all good, and some of their leaders and humanitarians are second to none. Tis good to blow ones own trumpet. However, I was a tad curious to find that qualifications to be 'a great American' seemed to involve having spent some time on US soil once upon a time, and some of the greats mentioned are about as American as I am...no wait, I'm about to get a delivery of Twinkies and Oreo Cookies from Chris, so I might qualify too!

Einstein was not USian, he was German...they even say he's German, so to claim him is a little bit cheeky especially as he renounced his German citizenship and became Swiss first. In fact he spent more than 60 years not being USian! Also, Alexander Graham Bell is Scottish, and you really don't wanna get that wrong cause a pissed off Scotsman isn't a pretty sight.

The book raised many questions, which Chris is going to be being bugged with for months to come. I can see my demands for Cracker Jack, Hershey Bars and Erector Sets (they so can't be what I'm imagining they are!) are going to keep her busy for a long time to come.

The book was fun, and Rob and David prove that not only do they know a good strip bar but also watch some bloody good movies. Also, they appreciate Traci Lords for the smart savvy cookie she is, and have heard of First Wave. Pretty good combination in my book. Love it or hate it, you can't deny that despite its problems America is pretty great...even if they did invent low fat and lite beer.