I Think There's A Terrorist In My Soup: How to Survive Personal and World Problems with Laughter - Seriously [Paperback]

David Brenner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003

"I know why I'm here. I have a contract. I have no idea why you're here, but it has been said that laughter is the best medicine, and Americans have never needed that medicine more than they do tonight. So let me be your doctor." --David Brenner's opening line, performing in Las Vegas on the evening of September 11, 2001

On September 11, 2001, veteran comedian David Brenner was in the midst of a "cushy" 44-week stand-up gig in Las Vegas. The next day, he instructed his agent to book him on an eighteen-month nationwide tour. He called it the "Laughter to the People" tour, and on it he shared his humor with a grieving nation. Audience response was overwhelming. In I Think There's a Terrorist in My Soup: How to Survive Personal and World Problems with Laughter -- Seriously, Brenner draws partially on highlights from his tour's stand-up material to show how humor can give us the power to transcend personal and world problems from the unavoidable, like aging, to the uncontrollable, like war.

The essays in the book cover a wide range of issues, including fear of flying, going bald, marriage and divorce, pets, politics, terrorism, losing and gaining weight, money problems, and religion. Each chapter begins with a brief introduction and then goes right to the heart of the material, much of which has been well tested on Brenner's nightclub and television audiences. With a sharp humor and healthy doses of humanity, I Think There's a Terrorist in My Soup: How to Survive Personal and World Problems with Laughter -- Seriously can't help but heal its readers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Veteran comedian Brenner (Soft Pretzels with Mustard) serves up a voluminous collection of shtick and anecdote. An inhaler of current events and contemporary life, Brenner can wring humor-sometimes inspired, sometimes hokey-out of a wide range of topics, from sex and marriage to sports and dentists. He declares that Californians supported the Green Party's Ralph Nader because they thought they'd get green cards. Now a parent, Brenner will get laughs for his account of how parents unconsciously let baby talk slip into their professional life. The material relating to the post-September 11 United States is hit-and-miss and can verge on the non sequitur. But his anecdotes about airline security snafus hit home because they're based on personal experience, such as when his six-year-old son's baseball cap lining was ripped open. Brenner can be amusingly hardheaded-the best time of your life isn't "right now," it "never gets better than twenty-one." The book can be didactic; Brenner regularly provides "here's why this is funny" commentary, or lectures on finding the humor in small traumas. But he often can do that, such as when he comforted a child distraught by an emergency plane landing by gently needling her, "I heard this is entirely your fault." It should be a good value for Brenner's many fans.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Highly recommended (Library Journal ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740738224
• ISBN-13: 978-0740738227
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #988,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Brenner is a comedy institution. He is a frequent guest on the shows of David Letterman, Larry King, Howard Stern, and Bill O'Reilly, and he holds a record for most guest appearances on The Tonight Show with 158. I Think There's a Terrorist in My Soup is his fifth book; his first, Soft Pretzels with Mustard, was a national best-seller. Before beginning his career in comedy, he wrote, produced, and directed 115 television documentaries. He has three sons and currently lives in Las Vegas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars funny book, October 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: I Think There's A Terrorist In My Soup: How to Survive Personal and World Problems with Laughter - Seriously (Paperback)

I never buy books like this one but did this time. I enjoyed if very much. It had me laughing out loud as I read it and people would look at me funny.lol

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good., April 22, 2004

By 

bill runyon (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Think There's A Terrorist In My Soup: How to Survive Personal and World Problems with Laughter - Seriously (Paperback)

David Brenner is a well-known comedian of course, but his
book goes beyond quick humor. He also displays a formitable
intelligence and the ability to honestly analyze our everyday
situations, including our problems with national security,
diversity, race relations, language, etc., all while having
fun, and he is able to convey in his book both that intelligence and humor.
Given his reputation as a quick-witted humorist on TV, and in
clubs, his down-to-Earth ability to grasp our most basic concerns is both surprising and enlightening.
Brenner does a first-class job of entertaining the reader with
this book, while also addressing mundane concerns. He has
a very funny book that nearly everyone will enjoy.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny, Despite Uncharactersitic Gushing Over President Bush, December 26, 2003

By 

Mark E. Morelli (Cuyahoga Falls, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Think There's A Terrorist In My Soup: How to Survive Personal and World Problems with Laughter - Seriously (Paperback)

Brenner is funny and insightful -- always has been -- and this book is a continuation of his previous memoir/humor books. I was stopped cold by his gushing over George W. Bush -- especially after he spends a considerable amount of time illustrating the President's extreme difficulty is making impromptu intelligent statements. It is uncharacteristic of Brenner to produce fawning praise over the President's ability to read a speechwriter's phrase. That aside, it is timely and funny.