In this sympathetic and wittily written biography, Altman explores the man behind the mirth as he chronicles Robert Benchley's journey, from the glittering lights of Broadway and wit of the Algonquin Round Table to the glamorously decadent Hollywood of the 1930s and 1940s. 25 photos.

Best friend. Critic. Mentor. Protector. Often, our mother is not just a mother; she is everything that helps us make it through life. That¿s why losing a mother is like losing a support system¿and getting used to a life without our mother is one of the most difficult things to do. Elizabeth Washington understands what it¿s like to lose a mother. But her mother¿s memories are still alive, memories that cause both laughter and tears. Life¿s Laughters and Cries is her attempt to share all that her mother was and all that she meant to Elizabeth. This book of poems has a powerful theme: love and family. Readers will enjoy being reminded that the most beautiful things in life are often those we already have.

This lighthearted and eye-opening book explores the role of comedy in cultural and political critiques of American society from the past century. This unprecedented look at the history of satire in America showcases the means by which our society is informed by humor—from the way we examine the news, to how we communicate with each other, to what we seek out for entertainment. From biographical information to critical reception of material and personalities, the book features humorists from both literary and popular culture settings spanning the past 100 years. Through its 180 entries, this comprehensive volume covers a range of artists—individuals such as Joan Rivers, Hunter S. Thompson, and Chris Rock—and topics, including vaudeville, cartoons, and live performances. The content is organized by media and genre to showcase connections between writers and performers. Chapters include an alphabetical listing of humorists grouped by television and film stars, stand-up and performance comics, literary humorists, and humorists in popular print.

“Absorbing . . . This is one of the finest books yet in Salvatore’s prolific career.”—Publishers Weekly Elbryan and Pony—soul mates from childhood who grew even closer over time—fervently hope that the tide of darkness is at last receding from the land of Corona. Yet if evil is on the retreat, why are hordes of goblins and bloody-capped powries slashing their way ever-deeper into civilized lands? A sinister threat now looms over Corona, for the power of the demon dactyl was not entirely vanquished by the sacrifice of the monk Avelyn Desbris. Instead, its darkness has infiltrated the most sacred of places—as a once-admired spiritual leader rededicates his life to the most vicious, most insidious revenge against the forces of good. There may be no stopping the spread of the malignant evil . . . “A gripping story . . . some of [his] best work.”—Booklist

Dr. Oliver Harding is long settled into the routines of a divorced, aging academic. But his quiet life is upended by his new colleague, Ruhaba Khan, a dynamic Pakistani law professor. Ruhaba unexpectedly ignites Oliver's long-dormant passions, a secret desire that quickly tips towards obsession after her teenaged nephew arrives to stay with her. Drawn to them, Oliver tries to reconcile his discomfort with the worlds from which they come, and to quiet his sense of dismay at the encroaching change they represent-both metaphorically and in Ruhaba's spirited engagement with the student movements on campus. After protests break out demanding diversity across the university, Oliver finds himself and his beliefs under fire, even as his past reveals a picture more complicated than it seems. As Ruhaba seems to fade in and out of reach, Oliver reacts in ways shocking and devastating. Sonora Jha has created a complex character both in tune and out of step with our time, an erudite man who first inspires and then challenges our sympathies. As the novel reaches its shocking conclusion, Jha compels us to re-examine scenes in a new light, revealing a depth of loneliness in unlikely places, the subjectivity of innocence, and the looming peril of white rage in America. An explosive and tense work of fiction, The Laughter is a fascinating portrait of privilege, radicalization, class, and modern academia that forces us to confront the assumptions we make, as both readers and as citizens.

In 1919, the United States made its boldest attempt at social reform: Prohibition. This "noble experiment" was aggressively promoted, and spectacularly unsuccessful, in New York City. In the first major work on Prohibition in a quarter century, and the only full history of Prohibition in the era's most vibrant city, Lerner describes a battle between competing visions of the United States that encompassed much more than the freedom to drink.

Incorporating fascinating new research, Mary Dearborn’s revelatory investigation of Hemingway’s life and work substantially deepens our understanding of the artist and the man. A St. Louis Post Dispatch Best Book of the Year The “most fully faceted portrait of Hemingway now available” (The Washington Post) draws on a wide array of never-before-used material, resulting in the most nuanced biography to date of this complex, enigmatic artist. Considered in his time the greatest living American writer, Hemingway was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize whose personal demons undid him in the end, and whose novels and stories have influenced the writing of fiction for generations after his death.