Book Review: America 51: A Probe into the Realities That Are Hiding Inside “The Greatest Country in the World” by Corey Taylor

America 51: A Probe into the Realities That Are Hiding Inside “The Greatest Country in the World”
Author: Corey Taylor
Da Capo Press
Hardcover 256 pages

Our Score: 1.5 out of 5 stars

In America 51: A Probe into the Realities That Are Hiding Inside “The Greatest Country in the World”, Slipknot/Stone Sour lead singer Corey Taylor directs his signature combination of humor and outrage at today’s America, sparing no one along the way. Taylor doesn’t shy away from thorny issues as he draws a brutally honest portrait of his country, outlining the good, the bad, the unflattering and the patriotic. Whether it’s politics or social media, race or pop culture, religion or reality TV, “America 51” digs deep into the roots of contemporary America.

The 4th book from singer turned best-selling author Corey Taylor titled America 51: A Probe into the Realities That Are Hiding Inside “The Greatest Country in the World” is easily the brashest in your face collection of rants from the out spoken front-man. Having struggled my way through Taylor’s last two literary offerings l was a touch apprehensive about subjecting myself to another 256 pages of rambling. However being a long time fan of both Slipknot and Stone Sour I was willing to still give this book a shot. Within the first several chapters I could see that this book was going to be just like the others as Taylor becomes so wrapped up in his thoughts that he quickly loses site of the actual. I found this to very distracting and despite Taylor’s off the wall comedic jabs at society and his take on the current political climate there were just too many thoughts going on at one time causing the book to come off as very unorganized and poorly edited.

If you liked Corey’s previous three books then there is no doubt in my mind that “America 51” will fit right in with your collection as by now you have become a custom to the author’s chaotic style. However, if you are looking for this to be your first exposure to Corey Taylor outside of his music then you may want to hold up and check out some of his earlier works first.

Book Review “Who’s Hiding?”

Author: Sebastien Braun
Board book: 16 pages
Publisher: Candlewick; Brdbk edition
Release Date: April 23, 2013

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

I would like to say that “Who Hiding” is easily one of my favorite kids books of the year.  I can also say that it is my daughters favorite.  She absolutely loves this book. I am not sure what it is but she goes crazy for it and runs around the house.  I love the color scheme of the book.  It is very simple and cute.

Official Premise: Who could that be, just peeking out from under the leaves? And what’s behind the watering can? How about in back of the flowerpot? Or hidden inside the bush? With the help of large, easy-to-lift flaps, the youngest readers are invited to join a group of adorable babies as they discover the critters that may be found wiggling, crawling, hopping, and purring right in their own backyards.

I have been look up author-illustrator’s Sebastien Braun past work and I have also found that he did “Peekaboo Baby”, which is easily amazing. If you like search and find books, this is a great one to check out for sure. I look forward to future installments in this series and future books from Sebastien as well.  Keep ’em coming!

 

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