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.

Laugh with political humorist Gerald Gardner, as he takes an entertaining and probing look at how six American Presidents over three decades—John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan—deliberately and effectively employed humor to achieve their political goals.

This sequel to Beaches picks up after the tragic death of Bertie Barron, who has entrusted the care of her eight-year-old daughter, Nina, to her best friend, the dazzling entertainer Cee Cee Bloom. But life in the Hollywood spotlight never prepared Cee Cee for this role: mother to a little girl she barely knows. For several years, it all seems to work for her: career, motherhood, and even high-profile romance with a marvelous and unlikely lover.

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.

Few people had a better perspective on comedy and comedians than the master of it all, Steve Allen. In Funny People, Allen conveys insightful and personal observations—by anecdote and example—of some of the 20th century' s greatest comic performers: Jack Benny, George Burns, Milton Berle, and Jimmy Durante. Laugh along with Steve as he offers witty and perceptive looks at comedy legends whose work has stood the test of time.

Freudian slips, spoonerisms, double-talk, and nonsense from famous and infamous figures past and present, are all here in one digest that will have you howling with laughter. Imagine saying to the Beatles, "You'll never make it…Go back to Liverpool." That's what a Decca Records executive told the Fab Four in 1962. Senator S.I. Hayakawa allegedly pointed out, "The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep."

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.

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 Hollywood writers, actors, and comics convened to reveal the most personal—and colorful—parts of their lives. Their soul-baring monologues revealed the sources of their creative genius, from wacky families and psycho exes to random ramblings and unbelievable Hollywood insights.

Guy Grand—billionaire by birth, entrepreneur by avocation, and thoroughly unpredictable—is a grand guy. He "keeps his hand in"—buying into and revolutionizing industries ranging from championship boxing to African safaris. Is he a crackpot, an eccentric, or perhaps a visionary with a goal of social redemption?

From columnist and author of Marley and Me, John Grogan, comes a collection of more than 80 newspaper articles. In pieces that reflect his unique understanding of the crazy-quilt world we inhabit, Grogan shows us all sides of the human condition. From the fragility of life at a crosswalk to cell phones driving us to distraction (as we drive!), from 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.

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.

Ever wish you had an immediate snappy comeback or a perfect putdown? We all have, only to later think of what we could—or should—have said. Then who better to call on than Shakespeare, who mastered the art of dramatic conflict with rapier wit rather than swordplay? This audiobook is an entertaining and witty collection of some of the most cutting jeers and outrageous affronts ever spoken. Never miss an opportunity for a well-aimed insult by borrowing from the Bard.

Mid-19th century Britain—and America—come to life in this darkly humored classic by Charles Dickens. Martin Chuzzlewit the elder is an old man whose death will result in a vast inheritance—but for whom is the question. Though his avaricious and sycophantic relatives hope to benefit from his demise, Martin has other plans. He raises an orphan, Mary Graham, who looks after him and draws an income—so long as the old man lives. But young Martin—named for his grandfather who has raised him along with Mary—falls in love with the orphan, which threatens to spoil the elder Chuzzlewit's plans.

It occurred to standup comic and comedy writer Carol Liefer that she had to stop telling one of her favorite stories—seeing The Beatles perform at Shea Stadium—because it dated her. But then she thought: What's that about? "I see now that when you deny your age, you deny yourself, and when you lie about your age, you become your inauthentic twin. But most important, when you lie about your age, they win." And, of course, by 'they,' she means the terrorists. In this uproarious audiobook, Leifer reveals all—her age, her outlook, her life philosophy—with a no-holds-barred approach.

As a busy mother of six, Laura Bennett is on an impossible mission: raising a brood of fast-moving, messy, wild sons (and one happily civilized daughter) in the jungles of Manhattan. What other choice does she have than to sit back, grab a martini, and let the boys be—er—boys? In Didn't I Feed You Yesterday?, Laura gives her irreverent take on modern motherhood and proves that a strong sense of humor and an even stronger self of self-care are the mother's milk of sanity.

Recorded live at the Friar's Club in New York City, this collection of stand-up routines features some of the greatest American comedians at the height of their comic skills. Presented by Joey Adams—and with introductions by television legends Milton Berle and Phyllis Diller—this recording captures performances by Norm Crosby, Freddie Roman, Soupy Sales, and Henny Youngman. In this nostalgic, hysterical collection, you'll laugh all the way through hundreds of hilarious jokes, gags, and putdowns.

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.

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.