The Comedians : Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy (Hardcover)

from billycongo

I read this book because Kliph Nesteroff showed up on WTF with Marc Maron and talked about putting together a book on the history of American comedy. If you're looking for an in-depth history you've come to the right place. On the other hand, if you're expecting a balanced treatment, you won't fi...

from

As the title suggests, the history of comedians is the story of a profession fraught with hardship and challenges as they navigated the ever-changing mediums of the times. The writing itself reads as more academic than comedic, and thus a little dry given the subject, but there are one or two tru...

from FormerEnglishTeacher

While I enjoyed this book, I found it overly long. And, I have to admit, I didn't recognize 40% of the comedians mentioned by Nesteroff. Being 72-years-old, I was most interested in the early comics and the early history of comedy. That was both educational and entertaining. I would think that an...

from datrappert

This is a very well documented (dozens of pages of end notes citing sources) history of the American comedy business. Note that I said, "comedy business". Despite its title, this isn't really a book that focuses on the comedians themselves, although there is lots of good history, along with revea...

from Jcambridge

This was a Christmas gift to my husband, who is a true lover of comedy and all sorts of comedians. He read it in a matter of days and thoroughly enjoyed it. Based on this alone, I recommend it to anyone who is a lover of comedy and the lives of those who make so many laugh.