Stephen Colbert tackles America's problems in his nearly two-year-old show on Comedy Central, "The Colbert Report." But 30 minutes an episode was not enough for the right-wing comedian, hence his faux scholarly I Am America (And So Can You!).

Colbert claims to have dictated the book into a microcasette recorder over a three-day weekend; however, a peek at the list of authors reveals a number of names, only one of whom is Colbert.

The personality-driven pundit tackles a number of issues in his first book, including the media, science, racism and immigration, just to name a few. His satirical style should be familiar to fans of "The Colbert Report," but others may find it difficult to determine when he is being facetious (Answer: all the time).

Colbert and his team of writers even acknowledge the problem in Chapter 2: "That was a joke, in case you couldn't tell. I don't blame you if you couldn't. Can't tell if someone's making a joke if you can't see that person's face. Big reason I don't like books. No faces. Can't tell when they're being funny."

I Am America (And So Can You) includes facts, quotes, fictitious essays from characters who agree with Colbert, games and more. He also includes his now legendary address at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner. Humorous pictures and marginalia add to the book, but stickers (one full page of shiny, silver faux-book award ones) go a bit too far.

The biggest problem with I Am America (And So Can You!) is that Colbert seems to have tried to cram as much as he could in the one book. While he does address a lot of issues, there isn't much depth to any of them.

The funniest chapter is probably Chapter 4, Religion, where Colbert jumps on the "Jesus Train." His chapter on science is a little dry and other topics may feel overly-familiar to fans of "The Colbert Report." But despite its shortfallings, readers should find a number of witty gems in the entertaining book.

- Ashley