Great perspective on he business and art of comedy from those that live it

This book was insightful and fun. As a collection of interviews, it is a good read since the variety of subjects acts as point and counterpoint. Rather than try to teach you comedy, the author illuminates this challenging subject with real insights from real people.

Great read, another stripe for the learning tiger 8)

Great insight and interviews. Each one of these comedy books adds to the big picture of what I want to do with comedy.

Prose/Readability: 4
Commitment to Objective/Unbiased Truth: 3
Interesting Content: 5
Perspective Shift: 4

Okay, I don't want to launch a career as a stand-up comic. Not hardly. But I've always been fascinated by the craft, and so far this book has been incredibly adept at laying bare the machinations of amazing routines I've long enjoyed and admired.

Well written overview of the craft of stand-up comedy. FA maintains his objectivity throughout interviews with many of his heroes. Nice conversational tone makes this an enjoyable all the way around.

A pretty good book that has good bits and pieces as well as advice from comedians about stand-up comedy. Definitely worth a read if you're an aspiring comedian.

I'm between "liked it" and "really liked it." This is inside stuff on the art of stand-up comedy and, as such, it's illuminating. The first fifty pages are Ajaye's views, organized and focused. The lion's share of the book consists of interviews conducted by Ajaye with 17 famous comedians (Jay Leno, Chris Rock, Jonathan Winters, Jerry Seinfeld, etc.) and 4 people who look for talent (agent, manager, club owner, etc.). Most of the interviews are about 8-10 pages. While there were minor differences in opinion among the comedians, most agree that a stand-up's performance needs to be honest, you should tape and analyze all your performances, and there should be transition between bits. Being yourself and filtering the humor through your point of view is perhaps more important than the jokes themselves. I recognized some similarities between a stand-up and a teacher. With most of the information coming in the form of interviews, there was some repetition, and some spontaneity at the expense of depth and organization. This is a fast but enjoyable and enlightening read (written in 2002).

We all have heard their routines, but I found it interesting to hear top comedians like Barr, Carlin, Jeni, Seinfeld and Shandling describe how they think about writing and performing standup. That stuff is timeless.

Also great to hear perspectives from club owners and agents, although that section may be a bit more dated in the Internet age. The book was published in 2002 but some of the interviews were done as early as 1987.

This is not at all a how-to book, but I liked the author's suggestion that aspiring comics deconstruct a few routines from their favourite performers to understand why we find them funny.

A must read, I believe that he should make another one with interviews from new comedians!!!

This is a great book for comedians. The first section offers useful techniques and advice for being a stand-up comedian. What I like best about the book, though, are the interviews with comedians. They offer great insight into the world of stand-up comedy, from developing material to navigating the business aspect. If you are a comedian or if you think you might want to try it someday, this book is a must-read.

great book for the aspiring stand-up comedian. provides lots of insight from the industry's top performers - seinfeld, carlin, roseanne, etc.

Acclaimed comedian and television writer Franklyn Ajaye interviews the pantheon of comedy, shedding light on an array of topics including writing, performing and overcoming creative blocks.