World Famous Comics: Naked Pictures of Famous People
Naked Pictures of Famous People
By: Jon Stewart Publisher: Harper Paperbacks Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 176 Publication Date: October 06, 1999 Release Date: September 22, 1999 Studio: Harper Paperbacks
Amazon.com Review: Sometimes it seems like every standup comedian worth his or her salt just has to do the book thing, and you might feel that yet another warmed-over stage routine is the last thing you need taking up valuable bookshelf space. Jon Stewart's book will come as an extremely pleasant surprise. He eschews the standard standup patter and instead gives us 18 short comic essays in a variety of styles that recall the prose work of Woody Allen, only with a few more references to genitals. Stewart proves himself a remarkably nimble humorist with a sharp eye for parody, whether he's writing "A Very Hanson Christmas" or "Adolf Hitler: The Larry King Interview."
HITLER: ...Larry, look, I was a bad guy. No question. I hate that Hitler. The yelling, the finger pointing, I don't know ... I was a very angry guy.
KING: And this ... new Hitler?
HITLER: I get up at seven, have half a melon, do the jumble in the morning paper and then let the day take me where it will.... Me!! The inventor of the Blitzkrieg... When you stop having to control everything it's very freeing.
Stewart is not afraid to flirt with bad taste, in fact, some of the pieces in this collection do for "flirting with bad taste" what Bill Clinton did for "not having sexual relations." But it's wonderful to see an edgy comedian taking on the traditionally cozy genre of the humorous essay, creating work that combines the wit of Robert Benchley with the energy and attitude of the best modern standup. Naked Pictures of Famous People proves that Jon Stewart is as comfortable, and accomplished, in front of a word processor as he is in front of an audience. --Simon Leake
Product Description:
In these nineteen whip-smart essays, Jon Stewart takes on politics, religion, and celebrity with a seethingly irreverent wit, a brilliantsense of timming, and a palate for the obsurd -- and these one-of-a-kind forays into his hilarious world will expose you to all its wickedly naked truths.
He's the MTV generation's master of modern humor, a star of film, TV, and the comedy stage. This sultan of savvy serves up a whip-smart, utterly original collection of comic essays in Naked Pictures of Famous People.
A seethingly irreverent wit, Stewart has a genius for language and brilliant timing that makes his up-to-the-minute collection a must-have for humor lovers in search of a Woody Allen for the 90s.He's the MTV generation's master of modern humor, a star of film, TV, and the comedy stage. This sultan of savvy serves up a whip-smart, utterly original collection of comic essays in Naked Pictures of Famous People.
A seethingly irreverent wit, Stewart has a genius for language and brilliant timing that makes his up-to-the-minute collection a must-have for humor lovers in search of a Woody Allen for the 90s.
What was funny? ^ Could NPoFP possibly be from the pen of the same Jon Stewart who brought us "America (the Book)" (one of the funniest books ever assembled)? It dawns on me that the latter was team-written. Not sure whether any of JS's colleagues contributed (ideas, moral support) to NPoFP. I imagine they'd cherish their anonymity if they did. NPoFP is a spectacularly unfunny book trying desperately -- and in the most hackneyed ways -- to provoke a laugh(, a chuckle, a crooked smile...) page after juvenile page. (Disclaimer: I'm a big fan of the Jon Stewart show and of JS himself. I think he's both a very funny and a very thoughtful guy 'in person'. That said, I can only register my surprise and disappointment at how totally TOTALLY lame a guy he apparently is (or at least was this time) on paper.) Oy veh!!
Awful ^ Like most other negative commenters here, I love Jon Stewart. He is excellent on The Daily Show, and America: The Book was great, so I was terribly disappointed by Naked Pictures of Famous People. I guess it doesn't help that I only read it recently, making most of the essays terribly dated to begin with, but even in that context the writing is painfully unfunny. I found myself cringing more than laughing. This was Jon's first book, and all I can say is thank God his sense of humor has progressed - and that I bought a used copy of this book.
This was a great book! ^ This was a great book! I highly recommend it! Have fun! http://www.lwsfreedom.com/id/greentitan Merry Christmas!!!
Rib-tickling ^ Funny " essays " by The Daily Show's Jon Stewart. I'm a far right wing kinda guy but even I have to admit Stewart is pretty clever and funny. This book was written almost 10 years ago; I'd love to see an updated volume two. Recommended.
C+ ^ A collection of humorous essays dealing with everything from deformed, exiled members of the Kennedy Family to Martha Stewart's vagina, the author gives off plenty of frat-boy humor and sophisticated irony to appease two different sets of readers. For everyone in between, there is little to nothing. When the laughs come, they are either small chuckles of acknowledgment or guffaws from illiterates giggling at the word "penis". Stewart shines when he is dead-on, like in his short but comedically satisfying "A Very Hanson Christmas", or when he parodies Judaism (which occurs very often). Using hyperbole at its best in "Breakfast at the Kennedy's" and "Pen Pals", Stewart pens a social commentary for this day and age - both the hopelessly stupid and the well educated. Unfortunately, it caters more to the former rather than the latter, and highlights the stunning disparities between the two. Overall, an A for effort, but a significantly worse grade for the lack of adeptness in which it is carried out.
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