Biography Humor

Randall Stevens, at 20 years old in 1966, was a wide-eyed, naive boy still a year away from being able to claim adulthood at that magic age of 21. Having come up with the idea to join one of the best state police organizations in the nation, he began the journey to become a Massachusetts State Police Trooper.

In 1971, at the beginning of Monty Python mania, Eric Idle bought a crumbling ruin in the hills of Provence. With no electricity, no water, no road, and no plan, he set out to transform the neglected stone shack into what he lovingly calls a shackeau. Idle in Provence is the story of the...

When Rebecca Barry and her husband moved to upstate New York to start their family, they wanted to be surrounded by natural beauty but close to a small urban center, doing work they loved, and plenty of time to spend with their kids. But living their dreams turned out not to be so simple.

On December 22, 1953, Mort Sahl took the stage at San Francisco's hungry i and changed comedy forever. Before him, standup was about everything but hard news and politics. In his wake, a new generation of smart comics emerged - Shelley Berman, Mike Nichols, and Elaine May, Lenny Bruce, Bob Newhart, Dick Gregory, Woody Allen, and the Smothers Brothers, among others.

Chip Chinery's memoir is a look in front of and behind the curtain at what actually happened his first year as a full-time professional stand-up comedian during the ‘80s comedy boom. Chip kept a journal and snapped pictures at every gig. Some of the comics were or would become household names. Most would remain unsung. Then there was his 17-year-old opening act who would reach the pinnacle of stand-up fame and fortune.

From Richard Zacks, bestselling author of Island of Vice and The Pirate Hunter, a rich and lively account of how Mark Twain’s late-life adventures abroad helped him recover from financial disaster and family tragedy—and revived his world-class sense of humor Mark Twain, the highest-paid...

Born in 1903, and until his death in 2003, Bob Hope was the only entertainer to achieve top-rated success in every major mass-entertainment medium, from vaudeville to television and everything in between. He virtually invented modern stand-up comedy. His tours to entertain US troops and patriotic radio broadcasts, along with his all-American, brash-but-cowardly movie character, helped to ease the nation's jitters during the stressful days of World War II.

Fueled by curiosity—and occasionally one too many drinks—Zane Lamprey has raised glasses with people around the world, meeting them where they are most themselves—their local watering holes. In Glass Half Full, Zane takes readers back to his roots, delving into his childhood, his leap of faith moving to Hollywood, and the independent projects he hustled to create. Get a behind-the-scenes look at how he ultimately broke new ground in the travel show space with his Three Sheets and Drinking Made Easy and become inspired to drink up all the world has to offer.

Hast du dich mal gefragt, warum die Verkäufer im Discounter immer so gereizt sind? Ganz einfach: Wegen dir! - Verkäufer müssen längst nicht mehr nur Regale auffüllen, Kunden abkassieren und dabei freundlich lächeln. Sind sie einmal nicht in der Lage, die innersten Gedanken der "kleinen Könige" zu lesen und ihnen jeden noch so absurden Wunsch zu erfüllen, werden sie prompt für die "Servicewüste Deutschland" verantwortlich gemacht.

Both a hysterical tell-all memoir of the author's stumbles and triumphs in becoming mindfully masculine, as well as a practical drivers manual for navigating the twists and turns of mature manhood, Mindful Masculinity is a joy to read or to listen to. Scott Grace, once a prolific recording artist and stand-up comedian who opened for Robin Williams and many other legends, brings his comic touch to a very serious subject.

Una obra maestra de la sátira política -empapada en vodka y desternillante- sobre el ocaso de un Vladímir Putin senil en un futuro ya muy cercano...Vladímir P envejece a marchas forzadas aislado en un mundo poblado por los recuerdos de sus años en el poder. Para desprenderse del antaño todopoderoso gran líder con todos los honores (y horrores), y no levantar sospechas entre sus súbditos sobre su difícilmente disimulable demencia senil, se le invita con sumo tacto a pasar el resto de sus días confinado en una suerte de exilio vacacional entre los muros de su lujosa dacha, al atento y todo menos desinteresado cuidado de su personal doméstico.

Will there be light at the end of the birth canal? Does the word endometriosis make you want to stick a fork in your eye? No? Then perhaps this book isn’t for you. It’s funny, and (sometimes alarmingly) frank. It contains an impressive array of synonyms for "vagina", and it’s certainly NSFW.

The memoir of Murray Langston, aka The Unknown Comic, is a detailed account of the highlights and lowlights of each year of his life from June 27, 1944, until his 69th birthday on June 27, 2013. It's the story of how a poor kid from Montreal, being influenced by Jerry Lewis, longed to follow in his funny steps and somehow leave Canada and make it to Hollywood.

When The Flip Wilson Show debuted in 1970, Black faces were still rare on television, Black hosts nonexistent. So how did Clerow “Flip” Wilson go from Jersey City grade-school dropout to national celebrity, heralded on the cover of Time as “TV’s first black superstar”? Flip is a candid, entertaining biography of a consummate comedian who changed the face of American popular culture.

Lauren Weedman is not okay. She's living what should be the good life in sunny Los Angeles. After a gig as a correspondent with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, she scored parts in blockbuster movies, which led to memorable recurring roles on HBO's Hung and Looking. She had a loving husband and an adorable baby boy. In these comedic essays, she turns a piercingly observant, darkly funny lens on the ways her life is actually not okay.

Acclaimed biographer Jem Roberts narrates his brilliant new biography of the Beatles and their relationship with comedy. Includes a foreword written and narrated by Kevin Eldon, who also voices George Martin throughout the audiobook. Fab Fools is the full, hilarious story of how John, Paul, George, and Ringo laughed their way to the toppermost of the poppermost in their classic films, cartoons, and even pantomime, not to mention their experimentations with audio comedy through Sir George Martin's Parlophone comedy classics series.

Mike had managed to achieve his childhood dream of becoming a stand-up comedian in the San Francisco comedy scene of the 1980s. He was appearing on television and rubbing shoulders with the big stars of the day. His future was bright and the last thing he needed was a woman to come along who would shake his ideas of what true happiness was. But, come along she did, daring him to achieve something even greater than fame and fortune.

This dating memoir for couples, singles, and men and women alike explores healthy relationships, toxic ones, technology, self-discovery, and everything in between. With an initial reluctance to meet someone online, Lindsay attempts to break a poor decision cycle that leads to emotionally unavailable men. She takes on the challenge of dating apps and frivolous chats to find something meaningful and real.

Marks mormor tyckte inte om erotik. Hon krävde av morfar att lampan skulle vara släckt. Och sen sprang hon och gömde sig. Gud så Marks morfar svor, där han jagade henne i mörkret. Trots att han varit med i båda världskrigen svor han på att en ryss i en vallgrav inte är något mot en mormor bakom en chiffonjé. Den 25 augusti utkommer Och jag läste att det var omöjligt att leva lycklig förutan dig. Där resonerar Mark Levengood kring ensamhet och samhörighet, hur vi som människor kan hitta fram till varandra bakom möbler eller andra hinder.

I Hjärtat får inga rynkor vecklas Marks universum ut, en värld där kinesiska Elvisimitatörer skimrar i kapp med Danmarks drottning, där Körskoleläraren Som Gud Glömde samsas med Jesus i Orlando (som Gud helst skulle vilja glömma). Här möter vi nya vårar som blommar i krematoriets park och grannens otäta hund som blir misstänkt för att vara en vandrande njure klädd i päls. Hjärtat får inga rynkor lär oss varför det är vådligt att tolka folk i form av blombuketter samt faran av att stå på huvudet om man inte bär trosor.