Jewtopia

I decided to buy this book for $1 at Borders (rescued from the discount shelves), because I'm Jewish, and I thought it would be fun. I was right, mostly, although some of it was a bit tastless in my opinion.

the two authors, Bryan Fogel and Sam Wolfson, had previously collaborated on a Broadway play, also called "Jewtopia," that also dealt with stereotypes surrounding Judaism. This book is an extension of that, dealing with the Jewish reaction to pretty much everything.

The book is divided into 8 chapters, which deal with History before Christ, History after Christ, Holidays, Food, Jewish Life, Travel, Stereotypes, and Conspiracy Theories. Each chapter ends with a conversation about its content each of the authors has with his respective mother. These are some of the funniest bits, as their mothers worry about the boys offending their sponsors, freak out about a mugging that happened 20 blocks away, or be concerned their little men will get some sort of disease--typical Jewish mother stuff, but it works well enough.

As for the content, it's mostly hit with some miss (a page on Jewish poop being perhaps the most egregious miss in my opinion). I haven't encountered some of the stereotypes they deal with--being fussy over what table to be seated at or altering a dish to the point where it's unrecognizable, to give two examples--but some of them sound remarkably fun, and it's all done with good humor. the two authors do well with images to underline the comedy, and i found myself entertained. I especially like how the humor changes from gentle teasing to brutal satire when Wolfson and Fogel shift from mocking their fellow Jews to mocking white supremacists and anti-Semites in the chapter on Conspiracy Theories.

That said, I suspect only Jews and those who love us would really appreciate this book. It's kinda preaching to the crowd, which is kinda odd as some of the jokes can be somewhat over-explained to a Jewish audience. Some of them definitely went over my generally secularly raised head.

All in all, if you're Jewish, check it out, especially if you can get it cheap like I did. If you're not, check it out if you're interested in a humorous take on Jewish pop culture.