Russell Baker's Book of American Humor [Hardcover]

Russell Baker (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993

One of the great glories of life in the U.S. is the humor of its people. Baker surveys this territory in this rich treasury and stakes it out in a dozen sections. Roaming through them, the reader will find P.J. O'Rourke, H.L. Mencken, James Thurber, Zora Neale Hurston, and many others.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Dividing his anthology into sections that include "The Human Muddle" and "The Gnashing of Teeth," Baker ranges from H.L. Mencken and James Thurber to Molly Ivins and P.J. O'Rourke in search of something to tickle your funny bone.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

A hundred-plus examples--satirical, situational, parodic--fill out this jocund anthology that rollicks with drolleries, from Dr. Franklin's sage advice to a young man (to wit, chase older women), to modern enigmas of "This Sex Problem," as Baker billboards that section. Sorting pieces into 12 categories, such as "Shameless Frivolity," Baker followed a sensible selection policy: if he liked the story, it was in. Humor is a notoriously impermanent form, and the subtle yukmeisters of yore have almost been eclipsed by the late-night TV comics and their blitzkriegs of punchlines. In contrast to them, these writers are subtle, deft, planting their pieces with word-mines that go off in ambush, provoking audible guffaws and pleasing proof that the reader is with masters. Gilbert Taylor

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 598 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393035921
• ISBN-13: 978-0393035926
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #969,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars genuinely funny, June 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Russell Baker's Book of American Humor (Hardcover)

Humor being a matter of taste, it's difficult to find a collection that actually works. Russell Baker's collection really does accomplish what it sets out to do: "to make you laugh, or at least smile, or maybe just feel a little more interior warmth despite 'the situation'" (from the introduction). Running the gamut from sheer looniness to literary parody, and containing vintage material as well as contemporary items, this is a wonderful collection of items to lighten things up.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not that funny, November 6, 2002

By 

S. Griffin (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Russell Baker's Book of American Humor (Hardcover)

There are some gems in here, but not enough. The letter written by Groucho Marx is great, you can hear his voice in it. About two-thirds of the way through I got tired of wading through the muck to get to laugh-producing material, and gave up. I understand that this is not a joke book, but I just thought it would be funnier.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sample some of this book, March 10, 2009

By 

N. B. Kennedy (Hopewell, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Russell Baker's Book of American Humor (Hardcover)

Raised in the era of Dave Barry and, well, I don't know who else to name because most humor is visual these days, but raised as we have been in this generation in which most humor is of the in-your-face variety (except, of course, Garrison Keillor), it's difficult to appreciate the style of earlier humor writers. To appreciate the selections in this book, you have to slow down and savor the gentle satire and dry humor that characterized previous generations of writers. I wasn't entirely successful, try though I might. Skip around and find what you like. Sampling is better than simply closing the covers of the book.