Critical Compendium

Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-Up in the 1970s Changed America, by Richard Zoglin

“Call it the Gang Theory of history: the idea that a number of charismatic revolutionaries coalesce and together grab power and attention, overturn orthodoxies and remake their time . . . Richard Zoglin’s “Comedy at the Edge” is a work of Gang Theory that isn’t, alas, in their league. Through profiles of a dozen leading comedians, including George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman and Jerry Seinfeld, Zoglin seeks to portray the rich stand-up subculture that flourished in the 1970s.” Read the review at the New York Times.

Filed under: History, Humor, Nonfiction | Posted 03.17.08 | Comments: None

One Skeptic, Ten Self-Help Gurus and a Year on the Brink of the Comfort Zone, by By Beth Lisick

‘In “Helping Me Help Myself,” Lisick puts herself to a nearly impossible comic test: peer inside a world as self-parodying as the self-help industry and be real instead of above it all along the way. That she hits a triple instead of a home run is compliment, not complaint. The premise itself leaves me exhausted.’ Read the review at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Filed under: Humor, Nonfiction | Posted 01.09.08 | Comments: None

A Practical Guide to Racism, by C.H. Dalton

‘The funniest joke in “A Practical Guide to Racism” is deployed in the first three words, the dedication: “For the ladies.” Legitimate guffaws. Nicely done. It’s downhill from here, inevitably, but how far down - how close you get to the earth’s molten core - depends on your tolerance for jokes about Jews drinking the blood of Christian babies.’ Read the review at the Village Voice.

Filed under: Humor, Nonfiction | Posted 12.14.07 | Comments: None