The 50 Funniest American Writers

by Borowitz, Andy

• ISBN13: 9781598531077
• ISBN10: 1598531077
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-10-13
• Publisher: PENGUIN

Summary

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, 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 and Dave Barry and Veronica Geng, plus hilarious lesser known pieces from The New Yorker, Esquire, The Atlantic, National Lampoon, Salon, and The Onion. Who does "one of the funniest people in America" ( CBS Sunday Morning) read when he needs a laugh? Here's Andy Borowitz to tell you.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xi
A Presidential Candidate	p. 3
The Lecture Tickets That Were Bought but Never Used	p. 6
The Ransom of Red Chief	p. 11
from Babbitt	p. 27
from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes	p. 49
On Conversation	p. 52
Imperial Purple	p. 56
More Alarms at Night	p. 63
The Waltz	p. 71c
Farewell, My Lovely Appetizer	p. 78
Simple Prays a Prayer	p. 88
The Night the Old Nostalgia Burned Down	p. 94
Across the Street and into the Grill	p. 102
The House of Mirth	p. 107
from The Magic Christian	p. 114
from How to Talk Dirty and Influence People	p. 119
The Secret Vice	p. 131
The Counterfeit Secret Circle Member Gets the Message, or The Asp Strikes Again	p. 140
The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved	p. 150
A Look at Organized Crime	p. 177
The Tax Man	p. 183
Letters to Einstein	p. 194
A Few Words about Breasts	p. 201
Our White Heritage	p. 214
Better Read Than Dead: A Revised Opinion	p. 240
Your Action Line	p. 246
In the Morning Post	p. 253
Curb Carter Policy Discord Effort Threat	p. 256
Vacation 's8	p. 259
The Laws of Cartoon Motion	p. 286
The Tip-Top Club	p. 289
Rolled in Rare Bohemian Onyx, Then Vulcanized by Hand	p. 308
Tough as Bob War and Other Stuff	p. 313
Corrections	p. 319
Tips for Women: How to Have a Relationship with a Guy	p. 323
Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia	p. 335
Shiftless Little Loafers	p. 339
Gothic Baseball	p. 343
If I Were in Charge of the Networks	p. 351
Laws Concerning Food and Drink; Household Principles; Lamentations of the Father	p. 358
The Writer's Life	p. 364
from / A in't Scared of You	p. 369
Buddy, Can You Spare a Tie?	p. 372
It's So Hard	p. 386
What I'd Say to the Martians	p. 390
Your Three Wishes: FAQ	p. 394
Ask the Optimist!	p. 397
Awake	p. 414
The Pony Problem	p. 420
If Not an Apology, at Least a "My Bad"	p. 429
Contributors	p. 439
Sources and Acknowledgments	p. 455
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