Our Front Pages: 21 Years of Greatness, Virtue, and Moral Rectitude from America's Finest News Source »

From The Birth Of A Nation To The Death Of Journalism

Since its founding by a bloodthirsty tyrant in 1756, The Onion has not merely changed the way we think about the news — it has changed whether we think about the news at all. As the first decade of this new millennium draws to a close, Our Front Pages shows us the first thing that presidents, kings, prime ministers, and popes saw when they opened their eyes each morning for the last 21 years. Now you, the common reader and citizen, can see what they saw and be as informed as they were with this important retrospective of the past two decades. You, too, will realize what generations before have realized and generations yet unborn will some day realize in turn: The Onion is not merely the chronicle of America. The Onion is America.

The New York Times - John Leland

…there is also a closet optimism running through these pages, a dweebish belief that news about other dweebs is not only readable and entertaining but newsworthy as well. All it needs is a pedestal—a synergy-loving media empire of its own, giving everyday Joes the Britney treatment. Headlines that declare "Area Bedroom Has That Weird Jeff Smell, Housemates Report" or "Spelling-Bee Runner-Up Bursts Into Tears Whenever Anyone Says 'Proprietor'" reflect American lives more closely—and more affectionately—than much of what passes for real news.