Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Comedy & Humour

Subtitled "512 boorish, insensitive, and socially obnoxious pointers for leading a simple, self-centered life," this little book is a hilarious parody of the best seller with a similar name. Here are just a few of the gems contained within. Number 24: Give little kids clothes for their birthdays. Number 101: Argue with everybody. Number 326: Leave the alarm on when he doesn't have to get up. This guide is bound to bring at least 512 laughs.

Successful romance novelist Nat Noland has just had his cage severely rattled. After receiving an email directly from God, he just can't seem to get anywhere with his new novel. In Just Desserts, the grand poobah of American comedy, Carl Reiner, will have you holding your sides like never before. Follow Nat on his romps around New York City, as he tries to make sense of this divine intervention. Reminiscent of Mark Twain's Letters from the Earth, Just Desserts sparkles with the slapstick comedy and madcap hijinks that Reiner fans have loved for decades.

Join Rick Reynolds as he guides you through the foibles, fumbles and pratfalls of his own life beginning with his bizarre childhood. From the drowning of his father at a family picnic, to a bank-robbing stepfather, to his mother's 3 marriages and innumerable affairs, Reynolds portrays a striking picture of the lengths people will go for love and the human connection.

In Funny People, Steve Allen conveys by anecdote and example the unique genius of four of the great comedians who have delighted our lives: Jack Benny, George Burns, Milton Berle, and Jimmy Durante. Laugh along with Steve Allen in this witty and perceptive exploration into comedy and comedians. Steve Allen, who has written best-selling books on lots of subjects, has now written one in the field for which millions of Americans consider him to be the longest reigning authority.

In More of the 776 Stupidest Things Ever Said, Ross and Kathryn Petras continue their connoisseur's compendium of awkward utterances, slips of the tongue, doubletalk, and just plain stupid statements from politicians, celebrities, sports figures, social leaders and average joes.

Sick of working your way to the top? America's most popular humorist, Dave Barry, shows you the alternate route, giving you tools to become the head of a major corporation in roughly a week. His surefire tips, from what shirt to wear to how to deal with pesky subordinates, will keep you laughing all the way up the corporate ladder.

What do best-selling writers Sue Grafton, Danielle Steel, Curtis Sittenfeld (prep) and Tom Clancy all have in common? They've all been shockingly murdered in a manner both gruesome and appropriate to their style. Now, an extremely paranoid Stephen King is convinced that he will be the next victim. With great trepidation, he leaves his heavily barricaded fortress in Bangor, Maine, to discover Who's Killing the Great Writers of America?

Meet the residents of Gammage, New York, a town on the verge of declaring bankruptcy, when inspiration strikes. Why not go native, and open a casino? With Not Enough Indians, actor, writer, producer, and former Saturday Night Live cast member Harry Shearer joins the ranks of such comedian/authors as Steve Martin and Michael Palin with a brilliantly funny, whip-smart satire of greed, collusion, distrust, and betrayal in the halls of Washington and the casinos of Native America.

Every other Thursday on Santa Monica Boulevard’s Comedy Central Stage, a motley assortment of prolific Hollywood writers, actors, and comics convene to reveal the most personal—and colorful—parts of their lives. Their soul-baring monologues reveal the sources of their creative genius, from wacky families, to psycho exes, random ramblings, and unbelievable Hollywood insights.

He's a grand guy, that Guy Grand—billionaire by birth, entrepreneur by avocation, and thoroughly unpredictable. He "keeps his hand in", buying into and revolutionizing industries ranging from championship boxing to African safaris. Is he a crackpot, or an eccentric, or perhaps a visionary with a goal of social redemption? Grand's greatest project, his tour de force, the cruise ship Magic Christian, sets sail on Easter Sunday, fully renovated into the most luxurious vessel ever to sail the seas.

From the fragility of life almost gone in an instant at a crosswalk, to avoiding the shoals of adolescence, to cell phones driving us to distraction (as we drive!) to turning the tables on telemarketers, to the Iraq War coming home to a small town in Pennsylvania, these pieces are filled with insight and sensitivity, laced with humor and understanding. In his own very unique way, John Grogan makes all of us feel more connected to each other and less like strangers living in a strange land.

Harry Beltway, idealistic young conservative and grandson of a famous evangelist, has just come back from a two-years tour as a missionary when he is persuaded to join the campaign staff of Tim Duncannon, an arch-conservative television commentator who has set his sights on the Republican nomination for presidency so that he can build a barbed wire fence around America.

In this fiendishly original novel, Mark Leyner is a leather-blazer-wearing, Piranha 793-driving, narcotic-guzzling monster who has potential rivals eliminated by his bionically enhanced bodyguards, has his internal organs tattooed, and eavesdrops on the erotic fantasies of Victoria's Secret models–fantasies that naturally revolve around him.

Shipwrecked on an unknown island, Lemuel Gulliver finds himself not merely a fish out of water, but a very big fish in a small pond. He awakens to find himself tied to the ground by the natives of Lilliput—tiny people small enough to fit in his pocket and play hide and seek in his hair!

Debuting at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in 1991, Catskills of Broadway was a critically acclaimed show that played to sold-out houses for more than a year, followed by a national tour. This audio recording captures the hilarity provided by comedians Dick Capri, Louise Duart, Mal Z. Lawrence, and Freddie Roman.