Overall, I'd give this book a miss. There were a few chapters that were amusing and one or two moments where I laughed out loud, but that was offset by chapters that were crass, boring, or no longer relevant (this book is was published in 1998 - something I didn't realize until I started reading it).

"During the spring of 1935," the first entry begins, "I had the good fortune of making as my close acquaintance none other than John F. (Jack) Kennedy." Thus begins a romp through the fantastic and absurdly imagined worlds of the rich and famous, which I somehow discovered in the non-fiction section of my local library. Perhaps not as topical 10+ years on, Naked Pictures is still no less hilarious.

Fans of the Daily Show will recognize Stewart's usual dry wit in dealing with celebrity, while fans of satirical writing will appreciate the multitude of forms which the various pieces take, from a series of Christmas newsletters from the Hanson family (you know, Isaac, Taylor and Zack?) to Renaissace-inspired drawings in "Da Vinci: The Lost Notebook." In what I believe is the pinnacle of the book, Stewart attempts to "bring back literacy and the ancient art of letter writing" by portraying Vincent van Gogh in a series of AOL chatrooms, at a time when those were the highest form of internet culture.

A fun, quick read, for anyone looking to have a laugh at pomp and circumstance, or interested in seeing what Jon Stewart did before "America (The Book)".

Gosh I’ll bet these essays were funny when they published. Many of them felt a bit out of date or irrelevant. That’s kind of to be expected. A lot of comedy becomes irrelevant after a few years. That’s alright. It is well written, but I think I’m more of a Sedaris fan when it comes to comedic essays.

Eh... I guess this book is occasionally clever? Stewart certainly knows his history, and gets in a good rib at seminal figures every twenty pages or so, but the majority of chapters/vignettes in this book were honestly a slog. I'll be sticking to the Daily Show.

This was a present from some friends, for which I am very thankful. It's a series of comedic essays, similar to Steve Martin's Pure Drivel or Woody Allen's Without Feathers, and it is quite funny. Not really laugh-out-loud funny, but funny. I think Stewart's comedy is best rendered as a spoken art. He's fantastic with inflection and timing, which unfortunately doesn't translate so well onto the page.

Still and all, there's a lot of good stuff in here. "The Devil and William Gates" is excellent, as are "Adolph Hitler: The Larry King Interview" and "The Cult."

Yes, I know, quite a change in tone, but that's what keeps life interesting.

All of these stories are great... but the book is worth buying just for the piece Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Sitcom. I have the words "Greetings from Miss America" written in lipstick on my vanity stand mirror (read it and you'll get it).

Still funny after 20 years.

A very funny book and, along with Steve Martin's "Pure Drivel" and Chris Buckley's "Wry Martinis", my impetus to write my first (quite sloppy) collection of essays on pop culture, "Smirking into the Abyss".

Jon juxtaposes some great cultural icons, such as the correspondences between Princess Diana and Mother Teresa, Vincent Van Gogh trying to communicate with his brother in an internet chat room, The Last Supper taking place in a trendy restaurant, Hitler guesting on "Larry King", and my favorite, the progression of the yearly 'Christmas form letter' from the mom of the kids from Hanson.

The only pitfall is, as with any pop culture-driven book (as I quickly learned) is that the shelf-life can be very brief, so some references are stale, unless you can take yourself back to the late 90's as you read to appreciate the pith with which Jon nails the reference. But, for the most part, the pieces hold up remarkably well. This is a very funny book.

Mostly not funny... one imagines that at the time of their original New Yorker publication, they were more relevant to current events and therefore more than mildly amusing.

Still, you can definitely see Stewart's style emerging here, pre-Daily Show, which is interesting as an insight into his early career. His real comedic genius was yet to come.

Is there a Yiddish word for "meh"? If so, I choose that word to describe this book.

when i first got back into reading, all of my material was made up of books i got for 10 cents at my library paperback sale.

i am very relieved that i am no longer in that era of my life.

this was just ok.

part of a series i'm doing in which i review books i read a long time ago

It's incredible what a book written for its time is like shortly after that time has expired... this is pure late nineties. The Zeitgeist is so thick you can spread it on your bagel. Despite the fact that you get that eerie cringe of an outdated joke (think Monica Lewinsky jabs in this day and age) every now and then, it's still a fun read for passing an afternoon without internet or tv (which is how I employed it.)