Customer Reviews

Jerry Seinfeld: The Entire Domain

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Jerry Seinfeld: the Entire Domain (1998 Birch Lane Press, written by Kathleen Tracy) Perhaps the best biography to date, if in part because it's the most recent and even covers some post-TV show stuff. More oriented towards Jerry's professional life than his personal history, it almost seems at times to be a biography of the career, not the person. But there is plenty of info on Jerry's private life, his loves, his ambitions, etc. But the TV show is the reason to read this book. Tracy takes us through the entire 9 year run from conception to Finale, with lots of FAQworthy tidbits and includes an episode guide at the end. There's also a 12-page color photo section included as an added bonus.

Books about the show Seinfeld and Jerry Seinfeld have become something of a major industry in the United States since the show leap-frogged from it's cult status into a bigtime ratings hit. A lot of these books recounted episodes, offered bios of the actors and had lots of information about Seinfeld's private life. What was MISSING? A book that had a lot of this information but also put it into a comedic context -- into the context of who Jerry Seinfeld was, who he is and how and why his series had such innovative humor...humor that would define a generation. This book truly explains it. It's clear that Seinfeld and his collaborator Larry David had a concept for the anti-sitcom sitcom. They were willing for it never to be aired, rather than compromise on it. They did add cast members if the network wanted...but there was no "hugging" and topics were unusual and even the comic payoffs were different than on other shows. They weren't trying to be cutting edge, they were trying to execute their creative idea with integrity. They truly didn't compromise and that's why the series remains so unusual and consistently funny to this day. Stylistically, this is a good sized book but a very quick read due to the easy writing style. Quotes are used very skillully throughout. Of all the books I've read on Jerry Seinfeld and the show, this is the best...because it explains why this show is among television comedy's best.

David Wild did an excelent job on this book. He gives a review of every single episode of Seinfeld up to Feb. 26, the episode where elaine thinks she is dating an African man, making it an interacial relationship. The book also has alot of trivia on the cast of characters. The book is covered with hillarious pictures of the episodes. It also has quotes from other comedians on Seinfeld like Dr. Katz and Jeff Foxworth. Excelent, excelent book.

This is not so much an autobiography on Jerry, but more on the Seinfeld show. Everyone from Jerry, Larry David as well as the other cast member's backgrounds are included as well as how the show was pitched to NBC and the hurdles that had to be overcome before it was a success.

There are a few colour photographs in the middle as well as an index at the back. Each year of the show has a commentary of what happened both on the show and behind the scenes and how the fans reacted. Also what was going on in the star's lives at the time. A summary of each episode, who was in it, directed it and so on is also in the back of the book. Also talks about his previous book Sein Language and CD Telling You for the Last Time.

This is a must for anyone who enjoyed one of the funniest and best shows ever made.

This book allocated sufficient chapters to cover issues that we needed & wanted to know about Seinfeld, the person & Seinfeld, the show. It's interesting to read about the backgrounds & humble beginnings of the 'family' members of Seinfeld mainly Larry David, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis Dreyfus. I was most interested to read how the team came up with the storylines for a show about nothing, of how they came out with characters such as George, Kramer, & Elaine (life imitated art, literally). We also read about how desperate NBC was to retain the Seinfeld team for more seasons towards the end, the pay rise negotations which sparked other actors & actresses from other NBC projects to follow suits, Jerry's romance with Shosanna, & so forth. The ending of the book stated that whilst Jerry was the king of his domain, his life remained a void...which would stay corrected considering that he has since married. Not to be missed. An exciting & user friendly read.

I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting this book was. The author has a very conversational tone, and the writing flows as smoothly as a cool Junior Mint down the gullet. The book gives most of its time to Jerry, but each of the other three co-stars gets their own chapter as well. Larry David is the focus of much of the book as well, and you'll learn a lot about how the series came about.

The episode guide is good, and the book should be in the house of any serious Seinfeld fan.

Is a serious Seinfeld fan an oxymoron?

As a Seinfeld geek, I found this book to be very informative. I'm not much of a reader (since I have a tv, lol), but this book kept my interest quite well.