Remember Laughter: A Life of James Thurber [Paperback]

Neil A. Grauer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1995

One of the great American humorists of this century, James Thurber is still read and cherished by many readers more than thirty years after his death. He is most famous for the hilarious, often bittersweet stories that he published in the 1930s and 1940s in the New Yorker. He was also a brilliant cartoonist whose unique drawings were an eagerly awaited feature in Harold Ross’s New Yorker and in Thurber’s books.

This biography is a book much in the spirit of Thurber himself. Readable, anecdotal, and often delightfully funny, Remember Laughter will be cherished by all fans of Thurber.



Yet Neil A. Grauer by no means sentimentalizes Thurber. He addresses serious, and often disturbing, features of Thurber’s life while highlighting Thurber’s courage, inexhaustible humor, and unique literary and artistic talents. The result is a biography that both celebrates Thurber’s genius and shrewdly appraises his qualities as a man.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The great humorist admired-as he exemplified in his work-brevity and concision. So he would certainly have approved of the modest dimensions of this study of himself. In an age of overdetailed biographies, this book says just what needs to be said, then stops. Grauer, a former newspaper cartoonist and reporter, writes smoothly and entertainingly, and with a keen sense of what makes Thurber (1894-1961) so endearingly funny. His quotes are apt, his anecdotes neatly told, and he even gives us a handful of the classic cartoons. Grauer is also fair, presenting an unvarnished picture of Thurber's bitter last years when, perhaps aware that his gifts were waning, the blind writer boasted vainly of his former triumphs, antagonized such old friends as E.B. White and Roger Angell and threw his eyeglasses at the wall. These days it is easy to be overcritical of Thurber's misogyny and occasional resort to racial humor; still, as Grauer notes, his increasing misanthropy was often prescient, and he remained, in all his inconsistencies, steadfast in two beliefs: in the superiority of animals to humankind, and his dread of technology. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

There are certain literary men and women of whom even the slenderest recollection of anecdote fascinates; the famed humorist of The New Yorker was one. Freelance journalist Grauer tells Thurber's story lucidly and sympathetically, without trying to conceal the awkward places in his character-his battle with the bottle, fits of depression, and problems with women. Recognizing how deeply Thurber's life work was molded by his personal experience, Grauer supplies an extended and valuable study of his early environment and the major developments in his maturity that affected his writings, including the devastating effect blindness had on him. Twelve of Thurber's most famous cartoons are included. This is excellent and lively reading, augmenting well Thurber collections. [The 100th anniversary of Thurber's birth is December 8.-Ed.]-A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Bosto.
--A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (March 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803270569
• ISBN-13: 978-0803270565
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,527,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FINE BIO OF A COMIC GENIUS, May 5, 2004

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Remember Laughter: A Life of James Thurber (Hardcover)

American humorist James Thurber (1894 - 1961) brought us Walter Mitty, and now freelance journalist Neil Grauer brings us James Thurber in all his comic and caustic complexity.

A native of Ohio and graduate of Ohio State University, Thurber began as a code clerk in the Department of State. After working as a journalist in Paris, he began a life-long association with New Yorker magazine, whose pages were brightened with Thurber's short stories and classic cartoons in which his misanthropy is often present as animals ape the behavior of humans and vice vera.

Always aware of the frailties and pratfalls of human beings as they faced life's predicaments, Thurber penned among others, "The Middle-Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze" and "The Thurber Carnival." In 1940 he joined Eliot Nugent to write a drama of college life, "The Male Animal," which, along with other Thurber works, was made into a motion picture.

This funny man's last years were relentlessly bleak. Unable to cope with the loss of his sight, Thurber alienated many of his former colleagues with boring boasts of his past successes.

Grauer does not gloss over the humorist's flaws, instead presents a concise human portrait of one who brought laughter to the lives of many.

- Gail Cooke

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A complete look at a complete life, December 15, 2008

By 

Gary L. Ellenbolt (South Dakota, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Remember Laughter: A Life of James Thurber (Paperback)

James Thurber is my favorite American humorist, and "Remember Laughter" paints a complete picture of this very complex individual. I'm impressed that it's not just a cheerlead for Thurber--the book celebrates his accomplishments without explaining away or excusing his frustrations and dark, alcoholic side. Any fan of Thurber or student of American literature needs to read this. Well done, Mr. Grauer.