2024 the best comedian review

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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 200 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 100 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 21st century.

Reviewer: Frank Paprota
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Hilarious History Lesson: Takes You on a Side-Splitting Ride
Review: Kliph Nesteroff's "The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy" is more than just a history book - it's a laugh-out-loud journey through the wild world of American humor.Nesteroff throws out the stuffy textbook approach and dives headfirst into the often outrageous lives of the comedians who shaped American humor. From vaudeville veterans to stand-up pioneers, the book offers a comprehensive and entertaining survey of the genre.Nesteroff peppers the narrative with hilarious anecdotes that bring these legendary funnymen (and women) to life. You'll find yourself constantly surprised, chuckling, and eager to learn more about these fascinating figures. It also covers the dark side of many comics - sides you never knew about or would have guessed by their public personas.The book doesn't just focus on the usual suspects. Nesteroff shines a light on lesser-known comedic talents, sending you down delightful rabbit holes on YouTube to discover forgotten gems. At the same time, he sheds new light on the personal lives of your favorite comedians, revealing surprising stories you never knew.Nesteroff's writing style is engaging and easy to read. It feels like you're having a conversation with a knowledgeable and witty friend who just happens to be an expert on American comedy history.Whether you're a comedy aficionado or simply enjoy a good laugh, "The Comedians" is a must-read. It's a thoroughly enjoyable and informative book that will leave you with a newfound appreciation for the hilarious history of American comedy.

Reviewer: M Tucker
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: American Comedy Overview
Review: Comedian and historian of comedy Kliph Nesteroff has written an informative, entertaining, fantastic, outstanding, surprising and sometimes shocking history of American comedy. I am very excited about this book, I could not put it down, I tell everyone I know about it, it was thrilling from the opening pages. Kliph is a walking encyclopedia of comedy history knowledge, he did a mass of research and conducted hundreds of interviews to put this book together.This is an excellent and engaging book but it is not a complete history of American comedy. The actual history is too big to be covered in 400 pages, some will be overlooked. Starting with vaudeville the author immediately misses Mark Twain, the most iconic figure of American comedy. I think the author is trying to identify important groundbreaking performers and acts, who they influenced and how that style or genre is appreciated today. So, of course some performers will be overlooked or hardly mentioned. I think the biggest miss is the author’s treatment of Bob Hope.He is mentioned but his early enormous successes are minimized while his later failures and difficulties were accentuated. Hope gets a minor mention in the chapter about vaudeville. He is completely ignored in the chapter on radio. That was a monstrous mistake. What made Hope important to the history of comedy is, as Richard Zoglin points out in his book Hope: Entertainer of the Century, the development of the topical monolog. Five nights a week Hope would deliver a monolog covering current events, poking fun at fellow entertainers or life situations. Jack Benny and Fred Allen did not do that. Hope on radio, in the movies (the Road Pictures!) and later with the troops during World War II deserves a bigger mention. As it turned out the author decided to put all of that in the chapter Hippie Madness at Decade’s End. Yeah, Hope killed any appeal he had to the generation of the 60s by 1969. His career should not be judged by how it ended.Others I think important get no mention or are mentioned in passing. The Bickersons come up but I don’t think the author saw fit to name the stars: Don Ameche and Francis Langford. Bob and Ray are shamefully neglected. If you aren’t going to mention Bob and Ray you sure as hell are not going to mention Coyle and Sharpe. Mal Sharpe is still around. For me, Bob and Ray and Coyle and Sharpe were much more significant than Firesign Theater. Sorry, but that is the cold fact of the matter.Kliph began this project wanting to look at the connection between the Mob and comedy. He expanded the focus but I’m glad he did not leave out that significant moment in history; the anecdotes are fascinating. When the story moves into the 60s and 70s Kliph is fascinated by the influence LSD had on so many of the comedians. That fascination stays with him and he has said his next book will be about how LSD influenced the entire entertainment industry.Kliph traces the beginnings of standup to Frank Fay. A man in a suit standing in front of an audience talking. But he was not talking about current events or anything that personally impressed or dismayed him. For Richard Zoglin it was Bob Hope who did exactly that 5 nights a week on his radio show. Neither Jack Benny nor Fred Allen did that. That was different. According to Zoglin it had not been done before…except for Will Rogers. He is the one I think of when I think of a man on stage humorously examining current events and playfully making fun of himself. Sure he used props, a lariat. He was a vaudeville star and not mentioned once in Kliph’s wonderful book. But Hope, with the fast banter and wisecracks, developed that style into a real comedy act. So, the reader will get a very good look at the history of comedy from vaudeville to today but must keep in mind significant contributions will be missed and some important figures will be ignored completely.I did enjoy this book but it seemed to end abruptly and the overlooked comedians piled up. A few I thought should have gotten a mention: Greg Giraldo and Patrice O'Neal. It also seems to me that quite a few female comics were not mentioned in the final chapter The New Millennium.Overall this is a wonderful book but the misses bring the rating down to 4 stars. But it is a solid and enjoyable 4 stars.

Reviewer: Jon Hunt
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Wonderfully informative
Review: "The Comedians", by Kliph Nesteroff, offers a terrific look at comedy from its earliest days. As I finished the last pages I thought to myself, "wow!" What makes this book so fascinating is the breadth of the author's writing. From Vaudeville to the current day, Nesteroff gives the reader so much as he delves into every aspect of what it must be like and what it must have BEEN like to be a comedian. On the one hand, the book could be subtitled, "Booze, drugs, rejection and stealing" (other comedians' material) because that is a central feature of the book. That, coupled with how many comedians felt about each other, (voiced here) adds a human dimension to those who have made us laugh over the years.What I particularly liked about the book was that on almost every page, it seems, a new name was introduced and it made me stop and think about my memory of that particular comedian. The chapters are nicely arranged and it's fun to read how certain comedians got their start in the business. Of course, the more well-known of the group are discussed, such as Bob Hope, Milton Berle and Johnny Carson, but how many of us remember Godfrey Cambridge, Corbett Monica or Stanley Myron Handelman?There are some surprises and I was amazed at Nesteroff's description of the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts". Never would have guessed. "The Comedians" is a remarkable tribute to the comedy "industry" and those who have served it. I highly recommend it as it's thoroughly enjoyable from cover to cover.

Reviewer: KC
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Partial History of US Comedy
Review: Interesting, but there are surprising omissions. What of the Ritz Brothers? Nipsey Russell? Foster Brooks? Jerry Clower? It seems heavily researched, yet for only a small slice of the world of comedy. Bob Hope's latter career gets panned, as does the Dean Martin roasts, yet there was good humor in Hope's monologues and moments of brilliance at the roasts More could have been said about Bill Cosby, and it's surprising that there's scant mention of The Carol Brunette Show and cast, as well as Red Skelton and many more.The omissions is why I give it only three stars. The book is well written and entertaining, but once you notice some names are missing, the omissions tend to leap out at you. It's only a small sliver of the world of comedy, and if you approach it that way it works well. But it's not an exhaustive account.

Reviewer: Kyle Burles
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Nesteroff is a brilliant and informative historian. This is THE book you want if you are looking at the history of comedy and comedians.

Reviewer: Grillbearer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Kliph Nesterof has written the definitive history of American comedy across all platforms. Invaluable for fans of comedy and the influential people who became part of American culture throughout the late 19th c. onwards.

Reviewer: Ivamney Augusto Lima
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Me ajudou a entender a historia da Comédia Stand Up

Reviewer: Beatrice M.
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Sto leggendo questo libro per la tesi.E' un libro molto bello e completo sulla storia della standup comedy, dal vaudeville ai grandi comedians del XX secolo.L'unica pecca del libro è la poca organizzazione delle note.Anziché a piè pagina, sono a fine libro, quindi c'è molta difficoltà.Ad ogni passaggio, si è costretti a sfogliare un sacco di pagine.

Reviewer: Anonymous
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Excelente produto e entrega rápida.