Mirth of a Nation: The Best Contemporary Humor
by Michael J. Rosen
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael J. RosenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2000-03-01
ISBN: 0060953217
Number of pages: 640
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Book Reviews of Mirth of a Nation: The Best Contemporary Humor
Book Review: Coffee-through-the-nose funny
Summary: 5 Stars
Michael J.Rosen is Director of the Thurber House; the restored boyhood home of James Thurber in Columbus, Ohio, which Garrison Keillor has dubbed the capitol/capital of American humor. This volume is the first of a planned series of biennial collections of the best funny essays by U.S. writers. From the misleading front matter to the spurious index this collection is a hoot! Sure, there are some duds (to my taste), but humor is an iffy business. A twisted metaphor which leaves me choking for breath could easily make you doubt both my and the writer's sanity - or vice versa. Even the guidelines for submissions are a delight. To whit: "TABS: Tabs should be between one quarter of an inch and one third of an inch deep. One third of an inch is preferred. If for whatever reason your tabs are not between one quarter and one third of an inch deep, please write to The Thurber House for a copy of Form 56G, on which you can explain your deviance from the tab-depth norm, ... In the unlikely event that your alternative tabbing is approved, you will then be asked to adjust your manuscript so that it is then not double spaced, but single spaced, and printed on paper that is less white." Their send-up of the often arcane submission regs of many publications goes on for four pages. (Maybe you have to be a submitter-to-periodicals to be amused.) This first collection includes several well known wits (Dave Barry, P.J. O'Rourke, Fran Lebowitz, Roy Blount, Jr., John Updike) and a host of lesser-knowns. A piece about ferrets as pets, and ferret websites, by Daniel Radosh left me gasping. (I was so convulsed that Pomonella not only climbed off my chest, but carried her feline dignity out of the room.) An interview with Lebowitz about money and wealth represents the very summit of humor - a social commentary both fiercely barbed and charmingly jocular. Tell your librarian! Good stuff!
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