People Have More Fun Than Anybody: A Centennial Celebration Of Drawings And Writings By James Thurber [Paperback]

James Thurber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 1995

This volume of previously uncollected work comprises prose pieces and drawings by the only cartoonist who could claim to draw "abstract things like despair, disillusion, despondency, sorrow, lapse of memory, exile...." Seventy-five black-and-white line drawings throughout. Edited and with an Introduction by Michael J. Rosen.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Thurber seems to have had more fun than most, and this is a thoroughly enjoyable menagerie of some of his congenially barbed cartoons and comic essays. The beauty of Thurber's writing lies in the way he applies a perfect parody of elevated, didactic prose in the service of decidedly unelevated subjects. Consider ``The Story of the Bicycle,'' which begins: ``Although the bicycle has not multiplied anywhere near as rapidly as the rabbit, it must be borne in mind that in the beginning there was only one bicycle whereas there were two rabbits.'' And expressing anxiety over all the ice the nation had come to possess after Admiral Byrd's Antarctic expedition, Thurber demands: ``Are we landowners or ice dealers? Are we men or penguins? Let us face these questions soberly.'' -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Thurber seems to have had more fun than most, and this is a thoroughly enjoyable menagerie of some of his congenially barbed cartoons and comic essays. The beauty of Thurber's writing lies in the way he applies a perfect parody of elevated, didactic prose in the service of decidedly unelevated subjects. Consider ``The Story of the Bicycle,'' which begins: ``Although the bicycle has not multiplied anywhere near as rapidly as the rabbit, it must be borne in mind that in the beginning there was only one bicycle whereas there were two rabbits.'' And expressing anxiety over all the ice the nation had come to possess after Admiral Byrd's Antarctic expedition, Thurber demands: ``Are we landowners or ice dealers? Are we men or penguins? Let us face these questions soberly.'' (Kirkus Reviews )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (October 13, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156002353
• ISBN-13: 978-0156002356
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #455,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dated but Amusing Collection of Previously Uncollected Stuff, November 17, 2001

By 

Dr. Christopher Coleman (HONG KONG) - See all my reviews

This review is from: People Have More Fun Than Anybody: A Centennial Celebration Of Drawings And Writings By James Thurber (Paperback)

People Have More Fun Than Anybody collects 19 of Thurber's stories/articles/letters, several cartoons, and one recipe that have been previously uncollected. Surely this is a classification that would have amused Thurber no end--are they now "non-uncollected" stories? In "Help! Help! Another Classificationization" Thurber sets himself against exactly this mindset. And frankly, at this late date in the late humorist's career, such a criteria for inclusion assures that the book will not bring us the best of his work.

However, Thurber is almost always witty, and even though some of the pieces are dated and irrelevant, all of the writings evoke at least a smile. The cartoons don't fare as well, some of them being merely puzzling. The end notes tell us that some cartoons had different captions in their original stages. The most wildly different is a picture of a woman leaning forward and speaking intently to a man. The published caption is "If I told you a dream I had about you, Mr. Price, would you promise not to do anyting about it unless you really want to?", but the earlier caption on Thurber's original drawing was "If they never found the husband's body could they do anything to the wife?"

This is essentially a collection for the die-hard Thurber fan (who are rather few on the ground these days, it seems) only. Others will probably do better to read The Thurber Carnival.