Editorial Review

With his Read more

Reviews (71)

Hilarious
Funniest book I've read in a long time, had me laughing aloud through a flight from Boston to Dublin.

What? Is this supposed to be funny?
Another east coast know it all making fun of the things Americans hold dear, even 9-11.
First book I could not listen past the first CD and even that was difficult
I have listened to 15-20 audio books during the past year and this was definitely the worst and perhaps the only bad buy I have had.There is no humor here.I was looking for ideas and styles of telling jokes since I do many keynote talks at conferences but I found nothing here except a style to avoid.What a bunch of totally worthless crap this is.Unless, you are teaching a course on how to generate creative names for things, I would pretty much say pass on this one.The people who like this book must sure be patient or have nothing better to do with their lives, since I had difficultly listening past the introduction.I got through the first CD and could not stand anymore.I tried to put the next CD in to have a go, but by mind kept telling me not to.I am spending more time writing this review than this book deserves.If I was the publisher of this book, I would be embarrassed.If I was Jonathan (John Hodgman's friend), I would be embarrassed too.Stop yourself from buying this book. Please!
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Subjects:  1. American - General    2. American Satire And Humor    3. American wit and humor    4. Form - Essays    5. Form - Parodies    6. General    7. Humor    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. Humor / Parodies   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (318)

I'm a fan
Kurt Vonnegut knows how to draw your attention, and it's often only after you've finished the book that you realize the level of seriousness that he was trying to portray.
Wampeters, Foma, & Granfalloons
Cat's Cradle is basically a unique and creative look at the end of the world.To me, Vonnegut is arguing that the dizzying progress of science and technology in the last century has made the total destruction of life on earth a frightening possibility, and it's not just the "bad guys" that threaten humanity with annihilation:an equal threat comes from the well-intentioned but short-sighted, from the lonely or downtrodden, from the greatest superpower to the tiniest and poorest island nation.
Okay, but too short
Didn't know what to expect.Thought it might be difficult reading for some reason.Turns out it was pretty easy.I guess it just gives you a lot to think about instead of looking up words and things like that.I think it could have been a 4.5-5 star book if the story would have been expanded upon to at least 500pp, or at least long enough to develop the characters. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classics    2. End of the world    3. Fiction    4. Humorous    5. Humorous fiction    6. Literature - Classics / Criticism    7. Satire    8. Science Fiction - General    9. Science fiction    10. Fiction / General   

Reviews (151)

vgmani
I dont know how to rate this!! The book... I am yet to read! But I received collectorS edition within a collector edition! The book is printed upside down while the cover page is printed straight!

The Life of Vladek
The combination of volume one and volume two of Maus instills emotion, unfelt by any Holocaust story.Spiegelman (hey that's me; so of coarse it's a must read) implements humor, details, and characters that allow for a stunning plot of the life of his father Vladek. The relationship between Mala and Vladek, is humorous and tragic at the same time. I don't want to reveal too much plot, but would like to end writing the animals characterizations of personalities is ingenious.

Excellent Book
I am ordinarily very uninterested in graphic novels. Just seems like a stupid format to me. BUT, this was a great book. It is just the right story and right presentation for someone like me to enjoy. I highly recommend it and will probably give other graphic novels a chance ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Children of Holocaust survivors    5. Comic books, strips, etc    6. Comics & Graphic Novels    7. Fine Arts    8. Graphic Novels - General    9. Graphic Satire And Humor    10. Historical - Holocaust    11. Holocaust    12. Holocaust survivors    13. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    14. Jewish Holocaust    15. Literary    16. Literature: Classics    17. Personal Memoirs    18. Poland    19. Spiegelman, Vladek    20. United States    21. Fiction / Graphic Novels    22. Graphic novels    23. Spiegelman, Art   

Reviews (10)

Hilarious! That's all, just hilarious
If you want to learn to not only talk like a pirate, but swagger, swear, cook, pickup women, tell the future, throw a party and lots more like a pirate, these guys have a book for you! The guys who invented "International Talk Like a Pirate Day" have written the funniest book about men (and some women) who stole and killed for a living I've ever read. There's lots of quizzes and tests - but nothing that you need to take seriously. It's all in fun, and these guys seem to have fun in bunches.
Arrrr, Avast Matey!
Piratitude. You may be thinking to yourself, "What is that?" Or you may be smart enough to have figured it out by yourself first. In any case, I'm going to explain it to you in the best way I can. Piratitude, simply put (There is a far better definition in the book than I could ever think up) is to be a Pirate and to know it.
A great gift for the pirate in your life.
I liked this book overall.It has a mix of handy tips for acting like a pirate, like a pirate-name-generator and pirate party games.It also has interesting pirate factoids and trivia at various points in the margins.Also, the authors usually project the right mix of enthusiasm and self-deprecation to keep the book fun.
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Subjects:  1. American - General    2. General    3. Humor    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Pirates    6. Satire And Humor    7. Fiction / Humorous   

Editorial Review

Since its publication in 1946, George Orwell's fable of a workers' revolution gone wrong has rivaled Hemingway's Read more

Reviews (1057)

Everything I needed to know about politics and voting....
Everything I needed to know about politics I learned from Animal Farm. Every revolution contains the seeds of its own corruption and the next revolution; one privileged class is always replaced by another. As long as human nature is what it is, the need for revolution will not end and the manipulation of public sentiments will not end either. All the usual suspects are personified here in the gullible sheep, to the loyal "work horse" who falsely believes his work makes him valuable to the party, to the pigs who learn to take advantage of their positions for their own gain at the expense of the others. The governments tendency to use people for its own ends cannot be ignored in this all too familiar alegory. A must read before you vote.

A book full of Liberal Pigs

An indictment
An indictment of left-wing totalitarian regimes.If it weren't for Orwell, you'd think that totalitarianism only existed on the right.Orwell reminds us of the dangers of ideological thinking.In his case, this is pertains to Communist Russia and all the selling-out of values for the sake of selfish power.It could also pertain to COmmunist Cuba.People who try to rationalize or romanticize "revolutionaries" like Che Guevara shodl read this book as a starting point that most revolutions end up with firing squads, suppression of free speech and the oppression of the soul. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Domestic animals    3. Fables    4. Fiction    5. Literary    6. Literature - Classics / Criticism    7. Literature: Classics    8. Political fiction    9. Satire    10. Totalitarianism    11. Fiction / Classics   

Editorial Review

Subtitled Read more

Reviews (22)

A Must For All Approaching & Over 40!
This book is a wonderfully joyous look at any human's aging process.The message is pure Seuss.
Adult -Dr. Seuss
This is a wonderful book to give as a gift to anyone who is getting older and experiencing the health issues that go along with that process.I've given it to several people with various concerns, including those with doctor relatives.They have all enjoyed it, thoroughly.

You're Only Old Once: A Book for Obsolete Children
Dr. Suess follows the adventures of a patient who undergoes a battery of medical tests at the Golden Years Clinic, beginning with an eyesight and insolvency test and ends up being "properly pilled" and "properly billed". Dedicated "with affection for and afflictions with the members of the Class of 1925" Dr. Suess says that it's not immediately a children's book. . . You buy a copy for your child now and you give it on his (or her) 70th birthday.
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Subjects:  1. Aging    2. American Satire And Humor    3. Careers - General    4. Fiction    5. General    6. Humor    7. Poetry    8. Classic fiction    9. Humor / General   

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Reviews (19)

Great book!
This book has a story for everyone. Touching, inspiring, funny, insightful. I
The Best

BAD STORY
I have read only one story in this book such as "True confessions of a JDATE by Amy Klein," and instantly lost any interest to read more stories. The FACELESS story about dating sounded like "SEX and the City." I feel for DECENT MEN, who have a hope to meet someone through jdate.com According to this story, it's almost impossible. Despite of time, war and peace, cold and sun, for centuries Jewish women used to be a ones, who create of family wisdom and keep families together surviving children for future generations. UNFORTUNATELY, modern american money-driven culture gave a wrong values to the own women. I'm not proud of that women, who forgot who they are. I'M PROUD of JEWISH WOMEN, who used to make their dreams a true. Why do we have to spend a time reading about jdate addiction, when we can read about wonderful Jewish women who make our world a better place. Read "Stars of David" by Abigail Pogrebin and "Kuwait Diary" by Holly Doyne. PROUD WITH ME!
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Subjects:  1. American Satire And Humor    2. Anecdotes    3. Essays    4. Form - Essays    5. Guilt    6. Humor    7. Jewish women    8. Jews    9. Jews In The U.S.    10. Judaism - General    11. Literature - Classics / Criticism    12. Social Science    13. Sociology    14. United States    15. Women's Studies - General    16. Bargain   

Editorial Review

David Foster Wallace made quite a splash in 1996 with his massive novel, Read more

Reviews (78)

"Existeniovoyeuristic conundra notwithstanding": The Case for Lucidity
David Foster Wallace is a profoundly gifted writer, particularly of nonfiction. Yet backtracking to this "early" anthology of his work was an experience that left me surprisingly disappointed. Admittedly, part of the problem is that his early-to-mid 1990's musings on television and pro tennis (which comprise a substantial portion of this book) are now simply out-of-date.
The title essay alone is worth the price (of course its over 100 pages by itself)
David Foster Wallce is a central figure of the contemporary literary scene. As such, he is predictably controversial. His epic novels like Infinite Jest and his metaficitional short stories are loved or hated... or like me both loved and hated. When his fiction hits it is some of the best writing out there. Other times it misses its mark and just descends into a pointless headgame (but is still at least mildly entertaining).
Even the footnotes * are a riot
The wit just doesn't quit in Chapters 3 (the Illinois State Fair) and 7 (a seven-night cruise aboard the m.v. Zenith, which the author renames the Nadir).
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Subjects:  1. American Essays    2. American Satire And Humor    3. Essays    4. Fiction    5. General    6. Literature - Classics / Criticism    7. Fiction / General   

Subjects:  1. Death    2. Epitaphs    3. General    4. Humor    5. Last words    6. Quotations    7. Reference    8. Satire And Humor    9. Humor / General    10. NEW AGE - NEW AGE   

Subjects:  1. Ancient and Classical    2. Ancient, Classical & Medieval    3. Aristophanes    4. Greek Literature    5. Greek drama (Comedy)    6. Greek language    7. History and criticism    8. Instruction & Study - Composition    9. Literature - Classics / Criticism    10. Metrics and rhythmics    11. Music    12. Satire, Greek    13. Versification    14. Ancient (Classical) Greek    15. Classical Studies | Classical Literature-Original Language    16. Drama-Ancient, Classical & Medieval    17. Early music (up to c 1000 CE)    18. Greek poetry    19. Literary Criticism & Collections / Ancient & Classical    20. Plays & playwrights: classical, early & medieval   

Reviews (2)

Only the Hardcover edition is available; good for you!
I must confess that I read with pure, unadulterated JOY this masterful tale of Wu Jingzu. "The Scholars" is an incredible work, and the translation presented here is masterful. A true classic that is actually fun to read!
I think it was Mark Twain who said that a classic is a book that everybody wants to *have* read, but that nobody wants to read.The Scholars is an exception to this generalization.It is one of the masterpieces of the Chinese novel, but it is as fun for a contemporary American to read today as it was for Wu Ching-tzu's contemporaries to read in imperial China.Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction / Classics    2. Fiction / Humorous    3. 16th to 18th century fiction    4. Chinese    5. Chinese classics    6. Chinese literature    7. Classics    8. Feudalism    9. Fiction    10. Humorous    11. Literary studies: general    12. Satire, Chinese   

Reviews (5)

Oh, woe is me!
When I was wee, I never imagined that I'd become not a fart connoisseur, but a connoisseur and consumer of fart books.And this fart book is one of my faves.I also quite like "Walter the Farting Dog" and "It All Began With a Bean."

Clear the air- this little (big) lady's ripping one OFF!
I stink, therefore I am.Yes friends, I'm a husky whitey, yet to be blessed with Motherhood, the highest and holiest honor.But when I begin ripping them off- or as my friend's teen daughter calls it: going on a fart-jag- you don't want to be within 500 feet for fear of contamination (some call it the greatest nation to live in!).If you have a bit of a thing, so to speak, for your own stench then the Zen of Farting is for you.

The Zen koan is "What's the sound of one cheek flapping?"
As Doctor Evil says, "Breath-taking!" Definitely, an enlightening book, especially for those of you who try the match trick. Just remember, the cosmos started in a cloud of gas, so why not fart your way to Satori.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1884-1955    2. American - General    3. Flatulence    4. Form - Essays    5. Herrigel, Eugen,    6. Humor    7. Literature - Classics / Criticism    8. Parodies, imitations, etc    9. Satire And Humor    10. Zen Buddhism    11. Parodies & spoofs   

Reviews (22)

A very well-written history of our modern mythology.
This book is an exceedingly well-written history of the birth of the comic book.
popular scholarship
Those reviewers who have trashed Jones's scholarship in this book are--if I may speak bluntly--wrong.The research of the book is indeed impressively thorough, and the long section "Notes on Research" at the book's end is that rarest of literary beasts, a bibliographical section that is actually (gasp!) pleasant to read.Jones documents every quotation and thoroughly, explicitly names all the sources, published and otherwise, for his information, excepting those few who requested to remain anonymous (mostly for legal reasons pertaining to the ongoing legal struggle over royalties from Superman).In creating any historical study, a writer must fill in some gaps through speculation and induction, and Jones calls particular attention to those few passages in which he has had to engage in guesswork, explaining his conclusions yet openly allowing for other interpretations.This is a fun, impressive book: Jones has skillfully woven sociological, economic, personal, and other sources, along with his own interviews, to create an enlightening, eminently readable work of history.

written by a Jerk.
This is a poorly written and researched book.Good for Toilet paper, Nothing else. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Comics & Graphic Novels    3. Graphic Satire And Humor    4. History & Criticism    5. Literature - Classics / Criticism    6. Sociology    7. Techniques - Cartooning   

Reviews (4)

anyone can write a book...
...but David's insights into the corporate world are great! He knows what its like to work in a place that Dilbert knows so well. I think this is a fun book to read at Starbucks on Friday morning when you don't want to go to work. I can't wait for the next book from Mr. Cordell. He's a bright point for a dull day.

Cover to cover laughs
A great book to pass around the office on break time ... just put it behind your back fast if the boss walks by! The best parts are the god-aweful funny "illustrations" of the author in various compromising situations. Imagine the "Copy Crusader" standing bravely in his cape ontop the office copy machine, defending it from all would-be copiers. Now THAT would be a classic way to end an era of 9-5 misery ... hey, if you're lucky they might even have to call the fire department to talk you down from the paper tray.
Big time laughter-make no mistake about it...
...David Cordell is a genius! I've never read anything that made me want to simultaneously piss and crap myself at once! This book takes life in an office cube farm to a whole new level. Great for keeping in a desk drawer for easy reference when your boss asks to see your TPS reports. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Career/Job    3. Dismissal of    4. Employees    5. Humor    6. Literature - Classics / Criticism    7. Satire And Humor    8. Topic - Business and Professional    9. Work   

Reviews (1)

Whaddya know . . . good lit crit!
I spent most of my college English courses dreading the appearance of a volume of literary criticism on my book lists. This book, however, is not worthy of such loathing. It lacks the condescending tone often found in such volumes, and the author is not in the typical literature-scholar habit of using ten words when one will do.Read more

Subjects:  1. History and criticism    2. Literary Criticism    3. Literature - Classics / Criticism    4. Satire    5. Semiotics & Theory   

Editorial Review

The chignoned, post-menopausal author of Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady has given us a feast--an anthology of her fiction and non-fiction written over the past 20 years. King has us dancing with joy as she turns her keen eye and uncivil tongue on sisterhood, the sexes and sex (she's against it these days), politics, and most particularly the South that hatched her. Ms. King is simply what many strive to be and few achieve--a true American original. She's unafraid, unabashed and unleashed from worrying about what anyone else might think. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Masterful
I love Florence King. Paradoxically, she loves us too. She's the type of misanthrope who must hate humanity precisely because she loves it too much. I couldn't put this book down the first time I read it, and I keep coming to it again and again. It's even inspired me to proselytize: I've sent several copies to family and friends. King's writing and wit are razor sharp ("If Mencken were alive, he would be her" - George Will). Her powers of observation, of seeing behind the surface of things, approach Platonic proportions. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but I guarantee that you'll love this book.

Delightful collection of King
This book is incredibly good value.Not only does it contain extracts from all Miss King's hilarious books, Southern Ladies and Gentlemen, Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady, Reflections ina Jaundiced eye etc, but it contains the WHOLE of her wonderful novel 'When Sisterhood was in Flower' which sends up the wilder shores of Feminism so hilariously.Also there are lots of previously uncollected articles and book reviews, most of which I hadn't read before.There's even a chapter from her bodice-ripper "The Barbarian Princess" the writing of which is so amusingly described in 'Reflections in a Jaundiced Eye'.Lack of space means you won't find all your favourite passages here (for my money, the chapter 'The Sperm and I' in He:an Irreverent look at the American Male' is one of the funniest things she's ever written), but there is enough to keep any King fan happy for days.If you haven't before encountered Miss King's waspish wit and disdain for practically everyone and everything, this is a good place to start.

Amazing.She's my new heroine, that Florence...
I've neverread words so bitter or true.Her misanthropy is a fearlessness in the face of all the stupidity and injustice the world offers.And she happens to be hilarious.Read more

Subjects:  1. American Satire And Humor    2. Humor    3. Humorous    4. Humorous stories, American    5. Literature - Classics / Criticism    6. Social life and customs    7. United States   

Reviews (7)

Wasting a Big Chance at Satire
This book was a huge disappointment.I know it is supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek how-to manual for those who chose to remain child-free.I expected it to provide some form of witty social commentary.Instead it wallowed around in the tired "aren't babies stinky and dirty" territory instead of providing comic relief.I was greatly disappointed by the lack of clear, intellectual humor and insight.

Not serious enough
I did not find this book to be particularly interesting. Maybe it is because I expected more from it in the first place. I expected the book to be an exploration of the topic of human breeding in modern society, that would assist me in making my personal desicion: to have children, or to have not. The book failed to serve this purpose, and here is why.
To breed, or not to breed...
That is the question. For some, the answer is "Yes! Yes! Who wouldn't want to have a baby!" For others the answer is clear - "NO BREEDING. NO BABIES." Whichever one is your choice (and it is a choice), you'll find this book a fun read.
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Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Child rearing    3. Childlessness    4. Humor    5. Literature - Classics / Criticism    6. Satire And Humor    7. Topic - Family    8. Humor / General    9. Humour   

Editorial Review

If you read this in high school (as many of us did), it may have shocked you--not bad for a tract written in 1729. It wouldn't be fair to those of you who haven't come across Read more

Reviews (9)

Satire, not slippery slope
This read is pretty congested with 18th century European political and religious references, however it is a beautifully witty and priceless satire on the inconsistencies of human compassion.
A Modest Proposal - A *Modern* Proposal is more like it.
Swfit was perhaps the first major writer to introduce cannibalism into Western political thought, and incorporate it successfully into practical economics. I'm disturbed that Swfit's visionary solution to Thomas Malthus' omen about the dangers of overpopulation hasn't yet been seriously considered by world policymakers. That's just like politicians though, they do anything to get elected - hence another reason why extending the franchise to the lower rungs of the social hierarchy was a terrible mistake and should be revoked.

Pass the babies, please.
Satire is sadly lacking in today's society.Satire holds human vices and folly up for ridicule.Swift is not advocating the economy of eating babies, but maybe the fact that they are currently eating the body parts of aborted fetuses in China seems to steal something from Swift's modestly porposed satire-or maybe it is too outrageous seeming to be true.Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. General    3. Humor    4. Ireland    5. Literature - Classics / Criticism    6. Literature: Classics    7. Political satire, English    8. Politics and government    9. Religious satire, English    10. 16th to 18th century fiction    11. Literary Collections / General    12. Other prose: 16th to 18th centuries    13. Short stories   

Reviews (14)

The story of life in Nowhere

From the Publisher
"In this privately published work (1872), written in the tradition of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, English novelist, essayist, and iconoclast Samuel Butler (1835-1902) describes an imaginary visit to a topsy-turvy country called Erewhon (an anagram of "nowhere"), where it is a punishable offense to be physically ill, but where criminality and immorality are looked kindly upon as treatable diseases.The English church is pilloried in the system of 'Musical Banks,' whose currency nobody believes in but which everyone pretends to value.Universities teach courses on how to say nothing at great length, and all machines have been banned for fear that they will develop through evolution and enslave the citizens.In this and other classic works, including The Way of All Flesh, Butler delighted in attacking the complacency and hypocrisy of Victorian manners and religion."

Wonderfully frustrating
This can be considered probably the first "modern" dystopian novel. It is about a European settler in a faraway colonial country who stumbles into the yet-unexpored mountain range to find the civilisation of Erewhon. These are very strange people who have knowingly cut themselves off from the world. In the tradition of Swift (in terms of the satirical picaresque-like novel), Butler describes the amazing society of Erewhon and the narrator's interations with it.
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Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Fiction    3. Literature - Classics / Criticism    4. Satire    5. Utopian fiction    6. Utopias    7. 19th century fiction    8. Classic fiction    9. Fiction / Classics   

Reviews (15)

Excellent!
I decided to buy this book for no other reason than that I loved the 1949 Robert Wise film, "The Set-up", and wanted to check out the other book written by the original story's author, Joseph Moncure March. Certainly the brief description of the book made it even easier to buy.
Powerful narrative, but I can do without the illustrations
My interest in THE WILD PARTY started with the flop American-International Picture of 1975, a Merchant & Ivory production, with James Coco, Perry King and Raquel Welch. THE HERBERT HOOVER DRAG "stayed with me" for years, to the extent that I expect to perforate a Pianola roll of this music, using the soundtrack of the out-of-print Embassy VHS tape for the source.