Ever wondered who makes a very funny person laugh? Wonder no more. Brought together in this Library of America collection are America’s fifty funniest writers—according to acclaimed writer and comedian Andy Borowitz. Reaching back to Mark Twain and forward to contemporary masters such as David Sedaris, Nora Ephron, Roy Blount Jr., Ian Frazier, Bernie Mac, Wanda Sykes, and George Saunders, The 50 Funniest American Writers* is an exclusive Who’s Who of the very best American comic writing. Here are Thurber and Perelman, Lenny Bruce and Bruce Jay Friedman, Garrison Keillor, Dave Barry, and Veronica Geng, plus hilarious lesser-known pieces from The New Yorker, Esquire, The Atlantic, National Lampoon, and The Onion. Who does “one of the funniest people in America” (CBS Sunday Morning) read when he needs a laugh?
The 50 Funniest American Writers* *According to Andy Boro...
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Sublimely funny... This book is a treasure trove of laughter and an ideal gift for anyone who needs to be cheered up or refreshed, which these days means just about everyone you know."
- Nell Minow The Movie Mom
A New York Times Best Seller
Editor's Choice and Best Seller
"Had me laughing out loud."
"Surprisingly excellent. Anthologies of this sort rarely live up to their claims, but the selections here are a great representation of American humor from the last 100 years."
"Sublimely funny. . . . This book is a treasure trove of laughter and an ideal gift for anyone who needs to be cheered up or refreshed, which these days means just about everyone you know."
-- Nell Minow, The Movie Mom
"An indispensable book for anyone who likes to laugh. A surprisingly satisfying and consistently funny collection that might be the best American humor anthology on the market." Grade: A.
-- Humor Lit Books Blog
"You NEED this book. It's hilarious fun."
-- R. L. Stine
- Nell Minow The Movie Mom
A New York Times Best Seller
-- The New York Times
Editor's Choice and Best Seller
-- Buffalo News
"Had me laughing out loud."
-- Jack Goodstein, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Surprisingly excellent. Anthologies of this sort rarely live up to their claims, but the selections here are a great representation of American humor from the last 100 years."
--Goodreads
"Sublimely funny. . . . This book is a treasure trove of laughter and an ideal gift for anyone who needs to be cheered up or refreshed, which these days means just about everyone you know."
-- Nell Minow, The Movie Mom
"An indispensable book for anyone who likes to laugh. A surprisingly satisfying and consistently funny collection that might be the best American humor anthology on the market." Grade: A.
-- Humor Lit Books Blog
"You NEED this book. It's hilarious fun."
-- R. L. Stine
From the Author
Does being funny get you girls?
Growing up in Ohio, I was convinced that it did. I got this from a source I took to be representative of all women: Playboy centerfolds. Every issue, the Playmate Data Sheet would, with astonishing consistency, indicate that Miss Whenever's turn-on was "a sense of humor." (Turn-off? "Phony people.") I vowed to be a hilarious sincere person who would have sex with lots of naked people named Brandi.
I accepted this view of humor-as-pheromone despite mountains of real-world evidence to the contrary. At Shaker High, the girls mainly went for jocks whose idea of a witty retort was a wedgie. And if I had looked a little more closely at Playboy's monthly "Party Pics" feature, I might have noticed that the bunnies at Hef's Mansion gravitated towards the laps of people like Lee Majors, the star of "The Six Million Dollar Man" and not, to my knowledge, a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table.
What being funny got me, mostly, was a lot of free time. While the jocks were busy having tantric romps with cheerleaders, I kept myself occupied by reading Mark Twain, Woody Allen, and the many comic geniuses of The National Lampoon. Little did I know then that, over the course of a thousand dateless nights, a Library of America collection was being born.
So, getting back to my original question: does being funny get you girls? No. It gets you to be the editor of a humor anthology.
Product Details
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More About the Author
Andy Borowitz is a New York Times bestselling author and comedian who created the satirical column The Borowitz Report, which was acquired by The New Yorker in 2012 and has millions of readers around the world. He is the first-ever winner of the National Press Club's humor award, a two-time finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and a two-time host of the National Book Awards. He has been called a "Swiftian satirist" (The Wall Street Journal), "America's satire king" (The Daily Beast), "the funniest human on Twitter" (The New York Times) and "one of the funniest people in America" (CBS News Sunday Morning). His Kindle Single, "An Unexpected Twist," was a number one bestseller and Amazon's Best Kindle Single of 2012.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
101 of 106 people found the following review helpful
By Nell Minow
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm a fan of humor anthologies and have a collection that includes books by E.B. White, Gene Shalit, and many more. This is the best because it was assembled by one of the funniest guys around, Andy Borowitz, the first winner of the National Press Club's award for comedy and the guy behind the Borowitz Report, the most hilarious tweet feed there is. I grabbed my copy as soon as it arrived yesterday and read for an hour, enjoying old favorites and finding new favorites. Borowitz begins with Twain but instead of the usual jumping frog or whitewashed fence he makes an unexpected but absolutely perfect and timely choice with Twain's declaration of his candidacy for President. I was delighted to see George Ade, Charles Portis, Frank Sullivan, and Peter DeVries included -- for different reasons, all four have been neglected and all four merit thoughtful reconsideration. Their selections are also superbly chosen. I was even more delighted to find that Orchid Thief author Susan Orlean could be so funny, to see many of my current favorites like Sloane Crosley and David Rakoff and Wanda Sykes, and to be introduced to authors who are new to me like Jenny Allen and Henry Beard and Larry Wilmore. Dave Barry's discussion of men, women, and relationships and Bernie Mac's description of African-American funerals are priceless. The piece by Donald Barthelme on the questionnaire about writers and drinking and the Molly Ivins about Texas politics, "the finest form of free entertainment ever invented" are among my favorites because they show how the simple recitation of actual facts can be funnier than anything you could exaggerate or make up. This book is a treasure trove of laughter and an ideal gift for anyone who needs to be cheered up or refreshed, which these means just about everyone you know.
35 of 38 people found the following review helpful
By A. Koopmans
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Andy Borowitz is hilarious, and this collection of works that have made him laugh and influenced his humor is extremely funny. He generously, perhaps too modestly, steps aside and lets the works themselves do their thing without introducing them individually. While I know I would've enjoyed whatever he had to say, I admire his choice. It feels as though a trusted friend has lent me a bunch of his books and marked the good bits.
Borowitz also excludes his own writing from the collection, which in the self-promoting, self-publishing frenzy of today is nearly unheard of. There are absent writers I would've loved to see included, but this is the 50 Funniest Writers *According to him, not to me. Life would be quite boring if we all agreed on this sort of thing and we'd never read anyone new, so reviewers, such complaint will grow tiresome quite quickly. Let's cut it out.
This collection is perfect for bathroom reading. Some of the longer pieces are particularly good for constipated times. And nothing helps move things along like a good laugh. Kudos to Borowitz for a fine collection.
Borowitz also excludes his own writing from the collection, which in the self-promoting, self-publishing frenzy of today is nearly unheard of. There are absent writers I would've loved to see included, but this is the 50 Funniest Writers *According to him, not to me. Life would be quite boring if we all agreed on this sort of thing and we'd never read anyone new, so reviewers, such complaint will grow tiresome quite quickly. Let's cut it out.
This collection is perfect for bathroom reading. Some of the longer pieces are particularly good for constipated times. And nothing helps move things along like a good laugh. Kudos to Borowitz for a fine collection.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I wish I could write half as well as these writers. To convey the subject and the story in such a way that makes the reader laugh out loud is a talent that is unique among writers. Great humorous fiction, great comedic films and comedians are often under rated and under appreciated. Don't get me wrong, we love our comedians and those who make us laugh. We do not, however, take them seriously. I think this is very wrong. What could be more important than to have a daily laugh that makes our sides hurt or even a laugh that makes one pees one's self a little? Wouldn't having Stephen Colbert for president have been a great thing? We really should have statues erected of all the court jesters of all time and not these stodgy old mounted warriors with swords and such. Thanks to Andy Borowitz you have created a new, go to book, for me when I need a reminder that there is hope for humanity. :^)
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
The All-Important Asterisk
When I first saw the title of this book on the syllabus for my Humor in American Literature Class, I said, "Uh-oh, someone is really sticking his neck out. 'Fifty funniEST. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Rocco Dormarunno
5.0 out of 5 stars
Library Must-Have
Along with the usual pre-1960 stories, there's lots of new material from today's writers. Thanks again, Andy. Your picks brought a smile to my old-fart face.
Published 1 month ago by oyvayizmir
5.0 out of 5 stars
this is a well chosen anthology
The selections are varied. Nora Ephron's piece alone is worth the price. This is a good introduction to writers that you may want to read more of.
Published 2 months ago by Jan W. Miller
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing...
I found very little humor in this book. My wife also read it and she, too, echoes a similar dissatisfaction and found the book to be not really funny. Read more
Published 3 months ago by fireant911
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laughing out loud!
Based on only one story, I rate this 5 stars. During the Xmas holidays my son, and 2 grandsons were visiting. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Bill Russell
3.0 out of 5 stars
The 50 Funniest American Writers
I had just signed up for Andy Borowitz's blog, and I was very excited to see he had also published a book. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Sandra L. Hausser
3.0 out of 5 stars
The 50 Funniest American Writers
The 50 Funniest American Writers
Not that funny. Some of the writers are a little obscure, although some (like Mark Twain) are pretty good.
Not that funny. Some of the writers are a little obscure, although some (like Mark Twain) are pretty good.
Published 4 months ago by Michael Brosius
1.0 out of 5 stars
Andy
I have not had much opportunity to read much of this book so cannot really give a proper review in the format.
Hope someday I will have more time to read more of it.
Hope someday I will have more time to read more of it.
Published 5 months ago by Richard E. Bergquist
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great bedside reader
great bedside reading. great selection of stories some cute, some funny, and some not so cute, funny or attention grabing.
Published 5 months ago by DADSGM
1.0 out of 5 stars
Vast disappointment
I expected so much more from this book. Most stories weren't funny at all, some were fine but not great, and only a couple made me laugh out loud. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Alaina Smith
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