Buy The Comedians Book by Kliph Nesteroff - Bookswagon
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Home > Biographies & Memoire > Biography and non-fiction prose > Biography: general > Biography: arts and entertainment > The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy
The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy

The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy


     0     
5
4
3
2
1



Out of Stock


Notify me when this book is in stock
X
About the Book

In The Comedians, comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff brings to life a century of American comedy with real-life characters, forgotten stars, mainstream heroes and counterculture iconoclasts. Based on over two hundred original interviews and extensive archival research, Nesteroff's groundbreaking work is a narrative exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past one hundred years. Starting with the vaudeville circuit at the turn of the last century, Nesteroff introduces the first stand-up comedian--an emcee who abandoned physical shtick for straight jokes. After the repeal of Prohibition, Mafia-run supper clubs replaced speakeasies, and mobsters replaced vaudeville impresarios as the comedian's primary employer. In the 1950s, the late-night talk show brought stand-up to a wide public, while Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, and Jonathan Winters attacked conformity and staged a comedy rebellion in coffeehouses. From comedy's part in the Civil Rights movement and the social upheaval of the late 1960s, to the first comedy clubs of the 1970s and the cocaine-fueled comedy boom of the 1980s, The Comedians culminates with a new era of media-driven celebrity in the twenty-first century.

About the Author :
Kliph Nesteroff is a former stand-up comic turned writer. A longtime contributor to WFMU, writing about the history of comedy, Nesteroff's latest project is hosting the Classic Showbiz Talk Show, a live series in Los Angeles that has welcomed comedy luminaries like Mel Brooks, Fred Willard and Laugh-In creator George Schlatter.

Review :
Praise for The Comedians: Named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, National Post, and Splitsider "Entertaining and carefully documented . . . I thought I knew a lot about the history of American comedy. But this book located gaps in my knowledge I never knew were there and filled them with jaw-dropping anecdotes that made my eyes spin in different directions . . . This book is a real treat."--Merrill Markoe, Wall Street Journal "In the past decade, there have been several superb history books about comedy . . . but none will entertain comedy nerds as much as Kliph Nesteroff's The Comedians . . . sprawling and savvy . . . comedy's answer to Luc Sante's Low Life."--New York Times Book Review "An antic history of U.S. comedy . . . Nesteroff writes with insider perception . . . With his encyclopedic knowledge, a talent for vivid anecdotes and tireless gusto . . . [The Comedians is] an insightful overview of the most independent and subversive entertainment genre of the last century."--Washington Post "[An] excellent book."--New York Times "The Comedians . . . is right up there with I'm Dying Up Here, Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live and Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon, in terms of thoroughness, engagement and lasting significance."--L.A. Weekly (Best Local Comedy Author) "An informative and engaging account . . . Nesteroff provides a clear through-line from vaudeville to the New Millennium. Yet it's the anecdotes about personality and style that elevate the book beyond mere history."--USA Today "The Comedians is everything it should be, including very funny. This historically rich history of comedians in America is fascinating . . . If you're a comedy nerd you'll love this book."--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "If you think you know a lot about stand-up comedy, this book will expose you as the fraud you secretly reckoned you were. Remember Frank Fay? Exactly."--Norm MacDonald "Kliph Nesteroff and this book are devoted to what I truly love--the art of comedy."--Mel Brooks "Kliph Nesteroff is a 'comedy nerd' in the deepest sense of the word . . . He is the preeminent historian of modern comedy."--Marc Maron "This is one of the best books I've ever read about show business . . . [Nesteroff] has amassed a dishy, informal, and knowledgeable history of comedy . . . This is straight talk about largely undocumented areas of show business and it is utterly fascinating. I feasted on this book and look forward to a possible sequel."--Leonard Maltin, Indiewire (Holiday Book Roundup) "Comedy tends to disappear, either into the boozy corners of a night club, or onto countless lost videotapes of TV variety shows that may never even make it to Netflix. That's what makes The Comedians so essential. No one charts the connections between the Jewy-old-masters of the TV age of comedy to the gay woman telling jokes into your ear right now on a podcast quite like [Kliph Nesteroff]."--John Hodgman, contributor to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart "Beginning in the always smoky, often dilapidated vaudeville theaters of the early 20th century and spanning over a hundred years, Nesteroff meticulously details the lives and careers of forgotten and famous comics . . . Nesteroff's exhaustive research is evident and historians will appreciate his thoroughness."--Associated Press "A definitive volume. A lively, raucous, and immensely entertaining love letter to funny business."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Both pop culture enthusiasts and entertainment scholars will relish this important history of American comedy."--Library Journal (starred review) "Indispensable."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "So flipping entertaining."--Cleveland Plain Dealer "A great book."--Splitsider "The Comedians is as good as they come. Nesteroff hits all the highlights and lowlights of this constantly evolving art form."--Portland Mercury "Comedy buffs will find a treasure chest of trivia . . . But Nesteroff's aims are far more ambitious. He weaves comedians into the larger American story, from racism . . . and blacklisting to the counterculture and the anti-war movement . . . An interesting, satisfying read."--Dallas News "Extraordinary . . . wildly, crazily revealing, and readable."--Buffalo News "The definitive history of the comedy business . . . downright majestic."--Forward "One of the most comprehensive and accessible accounts of the art form to date."--Flavorwire "Immensely entertaining, a fast read that's also a deep dive."--Ken Tucker, Yahoo TV "A valuable book . . . a compulsively readable history of American comedy . . . The book provides terrific insights into how the comedy greats of cinema created their personae and their acts . . . The book is also, no surprise, funny . . . My only complaint about the book? It's too short."--Glenn Kenny, RogerEbert.com "Highly recommended."--Longform "A rollicking history."--Macleans (Canada)


Best Sellers


Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9780802123985
  • Publisher: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
  • Publisher Imprint: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
  • Language: English
  • Returnable: N
  • ISBN-10: 0802123988
  • Publisher Date: 03 Nov 2015
  • Binding: Hardback
  • No of Pages: 432
  • Sub Title: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy


Similar Products

Add Photo
Add Photo

Customer Reviews

REVIEWS      0     
Click Here To Be The First to Review this Product
The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy
Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press -
The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy
Writing guidlines
We want to publish your review, so please:
  • keep your review on the product. Review's that defame author's character will be rejected.
  • Keep your review focused on the product.
  • Avoid writing about customer service. contact us instead if you have issue requiring immediate attention.
  • Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product.
  • Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.

The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy

Required fields are marked with *

Review Title*
Review
    Add Photo Add up to 6 photos
    Would you recommend this product to a friend?
    Tag this Book Read more
    Does your review contain spoilers?
    What type of reader best describes you?
    I agree to the terms & conditions
    You may receive emails regarding this submission. Any emails will include the ability to opt-out of future communications.

    CUSTOMER RATINGS AND REVIEWS AND QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TERMS OF USE

    These Terms of Use govern your conduct associated with the Customer Ratings and Reviews and/or Questions and Answers service offered by Bookswagon (the "CRR Service").


    By submitting any content to Bookswagon, you guarantee that:
    • You are the sole author and owner of the intellectual property rights in the content;
    • All "moral rights" that you may have in such content have been voluntarily waived by you;
    • All content that you post is accurate;
    • You are at least 13 years old;
    • Use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity.
    You further agree that you may not submit any content:
    • That is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
    • That infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
    • That violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
    • That is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation;
    • For which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any unapproved third party;
    • That includes any information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers;
    • That contains any computer viruses, worms or other potentially damaging computer programs or files.
    You agree to indemnify and hold Bookswagon (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.), harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.


    For any content that you submit, you grant Bookswagon a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell, transfer, and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. Additionally,  Bookswagon may transfer or share any personal information that you submit with its third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc. in accordance with  Privacy Policy


    All content that you submit may be used at Bookswagon's sole discretion. Bookswagon reserves the right to change, condense, withhold publication, remove or delete any content on Bookswagon's website that Bookswagon deems, in its sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of these Terms of Use.  Bookswagon does not guarantee that you will have any recourse through Bookswagon to edit or delete any content you have submitted. Ratings and written comments are generally posted within two to four business days. However, Bookswagon reserves the right to remove or to refuse to post any submission to the extent authorized by law. You acknowledge that you, not Bookswagon, are responsible for the contents of your submission. None of the content that you submit shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Bookswagon, its agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners or third party service providers (including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.)and their respective directors, officers and employees.

    Accept

    Fresh on the Shelf


    Inspired by your browsing history


    Your review has been submitted!

    You've already reviewed this product!