>“My name is Stephen Colbert, but I actually play someone ontelevision named Stephen Colbert, who looks like me, talks like me, but whosays things with a straight face that he doesn’t mean”. Lisa Rogak’s biographyof Stephen Colbert, And Nothing but the Truthiness, attempts to distinguishbetween the man and the character he plays on his Comedy Central program TheColbert Report, and offers a fascinating glimpse of the man behind thecharacter he portrays. The youngest of 11 children, Colbert learned the valueof humor from siblings and his parents. He had to deal with tragedy early in his life when his two oldestbrothers and his father were killed in a plane crash. Rogak traces his entryinto acting, then into comedy in Second City and finally into writingand reporting for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the launching point for hisown program. Known for his sharp wit and interview skills, he has developed a loyal following of fans, members of his Colbert Nation. Colbert has used his program and influence as a vehicle to raisefunds for several worthy causes such as educational programs, supporting themilitary and their families and raising financial support for the U.S. Olympic Speedskating Team. He was surprised at  theawarding of the 2006 Word of the Year by Merriam Webster, as well as inclusionin their dictionary, of “truthiness”, created by him in a show segment titledThe Word and meaning “preferring concepts of facts one wishes to be true ratherthan concepts or facts known to be true”. Colbert the character displays lotsof truthiness in his satire, but Colbert the person appears to be a someone thatis  intelligent, hard-working, family-oriented and multi-talented.