Naked Pictures of Famous People [Hardcover]

Jon Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 1998

A critically acclaimed national Bestseller, Naked Pictures of Famous People arrives in trade paperback with a new essay, written especially for this edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: It Books; 1st edition (September 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688155308
• ISBN-13: 978-0688155308
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #229,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jon Stewart is considered one of America's top social and comedic voices. Over the past 10 years, Stewart has redefined political satire in American culture from his perch atop the anchor chair on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." In fact, surveys have shown that the overwhelming majority of men and women under the age of 35 list "The Daily Show" as their primary source of television news.

As host of "The Daily Show," Stewart has interviewed such political luminaries as former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain and John Edwards and such celebrity icons as Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and George Clooney.

To date, Stewart and "The Daily Show" have received 22 Emmy Award nominations and won 11. These include winning for "Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program" five times: 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and in 2006, as well as "Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series" in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Jon, himself, was nominated for "Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program" in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and again in 2008 as host of the 80th Annual Academy Awards, which he also hosted in 2006.

In 2001, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" received the prestigious Peabody Award for excellence in its "Indecision 2000" campaign coverage and again in 2005 for "Indecision 2004." The show has also been honored by the Television Critics Association for "Outstanding Achievement in News and Information" in both 2003 and 2005; winning over traditional news shows in the category.

In 2005, Comedy Central reached a first-look deal with Stewart's Busboy Productions. "The Colbert Report," hosted by Daily Show alum Stephen Colbert, was the first project developed under this agreement and debuted on Comedy Central on October 17th, 2005. Now in its 3rd season, "The Colbert Report" has received 12 Emmy Award nominations. In 2007, the show was honored with a Peabody Award. Stewart is the co-creator and Executive Producer of the series.

Stewart has graced the cover of numerous magazines including Newsweek, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, GQ, etc. He was also named "Entertainer of the Year" for 2004 by Entertainment Weekly and was honored as "New York Entertainer of the Year" by Variety. Stewart was also named to the inaugural Time 100 list of the world's most influential people (Time magazine). In 2001 and again in 2002, Stewart served as host of the Grammy Awards.

Stewart is also a best-selling author - In 2004, Warner Books published "AMERICA (THE BOOK): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction" and it immediately topped The New York Times Best Seller List, staying at #1 for 18 consecutive weeks, ending the year as a top 15 best-seller. It was also ranked #1 on the best-seller lists in The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and San Francisco Chronicle. Additionally, "America" was given the prestigious book of the year award in 2004 by Publishers Weekly. In addition to this, at the 2005 Grammy awards, both Jon and the Cast of "The Daily Show" were honored with Best Comedy Album, for "AMERICA (THE BOOK): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction."

Stewart, his wife and two children reside in the New York Metropolitan area.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

133 of 145 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gerald Ford would be proud., September 14, 2002

By 

"elpfan09" (Burke, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Naked Pictures of Famous People (Paperback)

Being in college, I spend a good portion of my day watching TV. One highlight has always been "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." As a result, I picked up this book. This might actually be the first book that I have wanted to read since the Horton series. And this is well worth the wait.
Stewart lets loose in this book, writing about 20 essays that start (mostly) in reality and end up somewhere around Oz. Most essays involve the twisted private lives of famous people, hence the title. These include Hitler, Bill Gates, the Hansons, The Kennedys, Jesus, President Ford and Martha Stewart, no relation. Some comment on current forms of media, such as AOL chat rooms and over-hyped award shows.
Overall, this book is packed quirky little things that made me laugh out loud. It is very clever, very well written and very funny. For those who know Stewart through "The Daily Show," I think you'll know what to expect. For anyone who likes well-written satire that doesn't involve pigs named Napoleon, here's your book. Just a note: this probably isn't for the faint of heart or youngin's, especially Martha Stewart's essay. But it's still darn funny.
Thank you Jon Stewart. Quite a moment of Zen.

64 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stewart's sarcastic, witty humor proves entertaining, June 4, 2001

By 

Amy Krug "amykk25" (Centerville, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Naked Pictures of Famous People (Paperback)

I picked up this book because I'm a huge fan of Jon Stewart's sarcastic, self-depreciating humor on The Daily Show. While I still prefer his in-person standup persona, Naked Pictures of Famous People is, well, funny.

The beauty of Stewart's humor is his intelligence, especially in the age of Tom Green, The Man Show, and TV Funhouse. It's comedy for those of us who got over laughing at someone getting hit in the nuts round about puberty. This book reemphasizes his intelligence and wit. I'd reccomend it for anyone who is a fan of smart comedy. If you're a Tom Green fan, probably stay away -though in that case, you probably wouldn't be browsing the editorial reviews on Amazon.com anyway. So on second thought, if you're reading this, buy the book.

41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Martha Stewart's Vagina, the Taco Bell dog, and Hitler... Everyone, say hello to Jon Stewart., July 8, 2005

By 

Dave Sprong "crash-rocky" (Indy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Naked Pictures of Famous People (Paperback)

I, like many people out there, didn't know who Jon Stewart was until he replaced the the tepid Craig Kilborn on the now critically and nationally lauded, "The Daily Show". It took him a little while to find his footing in the area of "fake news", but eventually he quipped, poked, and prodded his way into the Comedy Central viewers respects and even was able to take the show to new heights as one of the top places that young people in this nation get their news (a bit of a scary thought, but a terrific acheivement for an outstanding show nonetheless).

But enough of the stuff we already know. You're probably asking, "How does this early stuff stand up to the what he's doing today(this book having been originally published in 1998)?" Well, I can honestly say that, though this outing is not without flaw, it is still a very amusing satire that anyone with any interest in politics, entertainment, or pop-culture in general should at least read through once. It does have it's dry spells and some of the humor is a bit dated now, but it is still an interesting work worthy of your time.

Some people may see the cover and think that this is some kind of cheesy autobiography, but in actuallity it is something very unique. What this book is is a collection of "fake essays" that cover a widely various amount of topics. For example, there is a chapter on how to adequately furnish one's vagina as told by Martha Stewart. In another, there is a take on a new way to "liven up" to Judiastic faith by taking such strides as renaming God "'Ol Uncle Pete" and "...[giving] all Chosen Ones... a free value pack worth hundreds of dollars in discounts at participating vendors (for example, 10 percenr off any dinner at Friendly's, with purchase of a Fishamajig sandwhich!)"

Absurd, lurid, and always over-the-top, this book has some geniune funny moments that will have you laughing out loud. Higlights include -but are not necessarily limited to- the previously mentioned "The New Judaism" essay, the tragically hilarious "A Very Hanson Christmas", the absolutely gut-busting "Pen Pals transcript" between Princess Diana and Mother Teresa, and the strangely ironic to today's socitey "Lack of Power: The Ford Tapes" (In his essay portraying a blitheringly incompetent Gerald Ford, you could easily insert a certain current president- who wiil go nameless :-P- and never be able to tell the difference.)

Unfortunately, the book does have a few duds. "Five Under Five" is only mildly chuckleworthy, "Da Vinci: The Lost Notebook" has some candidly funny- although almost completely predictable- premises (Although in all fairness, the "Ass-Comb" bit was hysterical), and the essays entitled "The Recipe" and "Microsoft Word '98 Suggested Spelling and Usage" feel like brain-dead filler and are completely skipable.

Despite it's flaws, this book is still a gut-busting read. It really serves as a foreshadow to the kind of stuff that Jon is doing today. Witty, outrageous, and even at times snotty, this book would be the perfect "after-dinner mint" to reading "America: The Book" (Notice that I didn't say "dessert" since the book is so short. At only 162 pages, even the most lethargic reader could finish it in a few days.) I really enjoyed this book and I think it'll probably hold a place in my collection for a long time to come. If you buy this book, you won't regret it. It's everything we've come to expect from Stewart and it works magnificently.

Hey, when you're first book has a picutre of a naked Abraham Lincoln holding his package in check on the back cover, God knows your gonna make some kind of impression :-P. Nooch.