Customer Reviews

Naked Pictures of Famous People

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Jon Stewart is one of my favourite comedians, and one of the few show business people who I consider inherently funny. Even without good material, the man still makes me laugh. Thankfully this collection of short humour pieces, which cannot rely on Stewart's dry stage presence, is full of good material.

The collection does suffer from the transient nature of pop culture, as some of the sacred cows he slays are no longer sacred. Upon publication in 1998, the inexplicable popularity of Hanson and the death of Princess Diana were hot news; now, they're just faded memories. Still, chronicling Mother Hanson's yearly family newsletter from pre-stardom happy innocence to after the icon's fall is a brilliant concept. And Di's schoolgirl fan letters to Mother Theresa show Stewart's strength in handling tone. This is also apparent in another strong piece, "Adolph Hitler: The Larry King Interview", in which der Fuehrer comes off as a `90's sensitive man who "hates crowds." Stewart even manages a few potshots at King's propensity for rapid marriages.

Other strong pieces include: "Breakfast at Kennedy's", in which Stewart imagines himself as a playmate of the young JFK, and is dubbed "The Zippy Zionist" by a carefree and very Catholic Camelot clan; "The Last Supper, or The Dead Waiter", in which Jesus and his party dine at a trendy restaurant, served by a very bitchy waiter; and "Da Vinci: The Lost Notebook", in which Leonardo is given credit for inventing, among other items, the beer helmet (neat drawings, here).

The smartest piece, and the one that most distinctly bites the hand that feeds, is entitled "The Recipe". Stewart details the recipe for a standard Hollywood awards show. It's very deadpan, very silly, and very accurate. It also shows the man's well-hidden disdain towards familiarity in comedy, and how pure a science he thinks it is. That passion for his craft is evident throughout this collection.

Where Stewart suffers, at least in comparison to Woody Allen's humour pieces, is his reliance on pop culture. Sure, he tries to mix high and low culture by imagining Vincent Van Gogh in an AOL chat room, or Lenny Bruce working on a sitcom pilot, but these ideas never really leave the conception stage. And retelling Daniel Webster's story, replacing him with Bill Gates, is just too easy a target. However, Stewart doesn't rely on the surreal non-sequiturs that Woody peppered his pieces with. His comedic arrow is always aimed directly at the target, and the pieces work better because of it.

There is enough quality comedy here to make this a worthwhile read (it's slight enough to digest in an afternoon, if you are so inclined). And it shows enough promise that I'd hope Stewart takes another kick at the can, if only in an attempt to get everything just right.

(. . .) This is easily one of the funniest books I've ever read. In a day when America seems to be getting bombarded with sophmoric, base humor centered around bodily functions and fluids, it is indeed a welcome pleasure to read the brilliantly sharp social, cultural, political satire of the host of "The Daily Show," a prize itself.

Stewart takes no prisoners in these essays: Hanson, Gerald Ford, Martha Stewart, Judaism, Lenny Bruce. These are just some of the prominent names and ideas that Stewart skews. At times, I found myself having to stop reading so I could stop laughing and regain my composure.

To pick out a favorite is nearly impossible, although "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold" is a real gem. And his transcipts of the "Ford Tapes" are as funny as anything I've ever read anywhere.

But ultimately what endeared this collection to me, was Stewart's intelligence. Sure he has impeccible timing, an inventive comic mind, and a wonderful sense of irony and absurdity. But it's his intellect that's really on display here. To really appreciate what Stewart has written, you really need to be informed of current events. You also need to know your history as well. If the irony of Lenny Bruce pitching a sitcom to ABC is lost on you, this may not be the book for you. However, if the concept of Vincent van Gogh communicating with his brother Theo via AOL chatrooms has you laughing before you even start reading, then purchase this book today.

Of course, I could best sum up how much I enjoyed this book by simply saying that I have read it more than a few times all the way through this year and laugh every single time.

Stewart said recently in an interview that his brain defaults to comedy and it couldn't be any more obvious than in these selections. I think we sometimes think all his stuff (except the interviews) is written for him but it is clear he has the intellectual depth and agility to produce material for an encyclopedia.

Maybe that is the next project after his fake history textbook? An online fake encyclopedia?? Oh wait there's Wikipedia.

Get this book, put it in your guestroom like I did. You overnight guests will try to steal it. Catch them and urge them to buy their own copy for their own guestroom.

For anyone who hasn't read Jon's book, let me 'break it down' for you:

The majority of books written by comics, especially after they've 'hit it big' like our beloved Jon, tend to be mostly sappy anectdotes about their families, various gigs they've performed, and basically are just jokebooks with some filler.

Jon didn't do that.

The book is a bunch of humorous essays, not arranged in any particular order or by genre or anything (at least not that I can tell). Some of them are very funny, others are... "eh". It depends on your tastes. So while your friends might hate it because it doesn't seem to be what they think a comic "ought" to write about, it really comes down to what you want to read and spend your money on.

Good Luck

P.S.

My personal favorites- "The last Supper, or the Dead Waiter"; "The New Judaism" (I've read a lot of those kinds of books- he got the patronizing/searching for something to fill the void in my life-feel down exactly); "Lack of Power- the Ford Tapes"; and "Microsoft '98 Suggested Spelling and Usage".

i gotta say, this book left me in stitches, even when i found some of the stories to be mildly offensive. but then again, what makes jon stewart so great is that nothing is off limits, evrything from judaism to martha stewart to hitler. "avram the waiter" was possibly the smartest and funniest sections in the book..but then again, there were so many great parts it was hard to pick one. jon stewart can show a comedian range of hilarity and downright silliness (the part about the Kennedys) to pure satirical gold (avram the waiter and van gogh on AOL).

...this book is for you. Jon Stewart is that rarity of comic performer -- he's a smart, witty guy who doesn't rely on bathroom humor as a comic crutch. His personality and style translate very well in this writing endeavor, "Naked Pictures of Famous People". This is one book that will startle laughter out of you with its sharp observances and dry wit, especially on such topics as celebrities, religion, historical figures and commercial "pitchmen".

The book as a whole is quite enjoyable, though my own favorite essays are "The New Judaism", "Pen Pals", "Local News' and "The Last Supper, or the Dead Waiter". Great stuff!

I hope that Stewart continues to make literary contributions; there aren't that many comic talents who write actual comedic essays and instead rely on recording their usual stage patter.

Jon Stewart is not only hilarious, but he is also quite intelligent and this shines in Naked Pictures. This is one of those books that can be read in a couple afternoons or in the 5 minutes between classes. I loved the way Stewart explored writing in this book, changing his tone and writing style in every essay masterfully. From the Hitler interview to Martha Stewart's Vagina this book covered such a variety of topics all begging to be satired. Filled with allusians to Mary Jo Kopechne and horror movies.
This book is the perfect way to cleanse one's pallet from all of the trite and contrived novels that flood the market.
This book is such a breath of fresh air, a must read.