America 51

Book excerpt: A skewering of the American underbelly by the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Deadly Sins, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Heaven, and You're Making Me Hate You The always-outspoken hard rock vocalist Corey Taylor begins America 51 with a reflection on what his itinerant youth and frequent worldwide travels with his multiplatinum bands Slipknot and Stone Sour have taught him about what it means to be an American in an increasingly unstable world. He examines the way America sees itself, and likewise takes a look at how the world views us, and his findings should come as a surprise to no one. But behind Taylor's ranting and raving is a thoughtful and intelligent consideration, and even a sadness, of what America is compared to what it could and should be. Expertly balancing humor, outrage, and disbelief, America 51 proves that no element of what constitutes America is safe from Taylor's adept and scathing eye as he flawlessly skewers "the greatest country in the world" in his own signature style.