Peel back the pages of the Onion

The Onion has aged very well, as is evident in “Our Front Pages: 21 Years of Greatness, Virtue, and Moral Rectitude from America’s Finest News Source’’ (Scribner). Founded in 1988, the weekly satirical newspaper has raised the level of its commentary on life’s absurdities to an art form with headlines such as “Report: U.S. Students Lead World in TV Jingle Recall.’’ In the early days, The Onion read like a college humor paper. Now it has more bite, proclaiming on the day after the 2008 election “Black Man Given Nation’s Worst Job.’’