Laurence Maslon and Michael Kantor's book review of "Make' Em Laugh"

Let Em laugh: the funny career in the United States. [Hardcover]

Lawrence Mason and Michael Canter

384 pages, $45.00

ISBN-10: 0446505315

Non-fiction

Discussant: Steven King, MBA, MEd

Who doesn't like to make a joke? TV shows and radio specials prove one thing: people like to laugh. For a long time, people have always thought that laughter is the best medicine. Laugh, or at least find humor in less obvious places, driving us all. As Mark Twain is famous, "There is nothing to bear with the attack against laughter."

Laurence Maslon and Michael Kantor wrote an extraordinary book in Make' Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America, which is a companion to the PBS series of the same name. In their introduction, the two witty authors assert that they are seeking to find out why the United States has laughed in the past 100 years - and more importantly - why. About 365 pages, you will read why comedy exploded in the United States in about fifty years. The close-up analysis of reading comedy and comedians makes us laugh and laugh is refreshing.

These two comedy surgeons are completely separate, and whether you define comedy as Lucy Bauer's antics, you can provide something for everyone [and people of all ages]. Imitation of Billy Crystal; or Robin Williams's comic mastery. However, the most refreshing reading may be their analysis of former comedians: WC Fields and Charlie Chaplin.

During your twists and turns through the book, you will uncover interesting facts:

* Charlie Chaplin's salary with Mutual Film Corporation totaled $670,000 in 1916, making him the highest-paid person in human history.

* Jim Carrey, whose comic glory is close to a huge proportion, was originally part of a sitcom called the Duck Factory in 1984.

* Carol Burnett woos Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, with a song that claims to admire him, breaking into comedy.

The knowledge in this book will make any trivia enthusiasts fascinated for a long time.

You won't read this masterpiece at once, it's too big - the table is big. Instead, you will read it in a bite-sized section, possibly reading three to six pages at a time. In this way, you can get a very comprehensive picture of the comedy and the personality behind it. who knows? Perhaps the free reading of this book will prove that laughter is really the best form of medicine.

It also sprinkled a joke. You won't stop laughing...

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Orignal From: Laurence Maslon and Michael Kantor's book review of "Make' Em Laugh"