Will Cuppy, American Satirist

Will Cuppy, American Satirist
Author: Wes D. Gehring
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2013-10-11
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476601917

Download Will Cuppy, American Satirist Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Back in the golden age of humor books (late 1920s-early 1950s), when wits of the pantheon like Robert Benchley, James Thurber, and S.J. Perelman were producing their signature works, there was another singular satirist who more than held his own with such fast company: Will Cuppy (1884-1949). This factual funnyman's metier is dark comedy that flirts with nihilism. His agenda is baldly stated in such classic Cuppy book titles as How to Be a Hermit (1929), How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes (1931), and The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody (1950). This biography doubles as a critical study of a satirist whose shish-kebabing of humanity was often done through the veiled anthropomorphic use of animals. For a biographer, Will Cuppy represents a treasure trove of possibilities. He was a great humorist, and most of his best work is still in print, but until now he has never been the subject of a book-length study. His mesmerizingly complex and eccentric private life almost trumps the comic accomplishments of his public persona.

The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody

The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody
Author: Will Cuppy
Publisher: David R. Godine Publisher
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2008-10
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1567923771

Download The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

When it was first published in 1950, The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody spent four months on The New York Times best-seller list, and Edward R. Murrow devoted more than two-thirds of one of his nightly CBS programs to a reading from Cuppy's historical sketches, calling it "the history book of the year." The book eventually went through eighteen hardcover printings and ten foreign editions, proof of its impeccable accuracy and deadly, imperishable humor.

How to Become Extinct

How to Become Extinct
Author: Will Cuppy
Publisher:
Total Pages: 114
Release: 1941
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 9780226128269

Download How to Become Extinct Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Humorous essays poke fun at the natural world, extinct animals, pet snakes, and the noises of fish

How to Be a Hermit

How to Be a Hermit
Author: Will Cuppy
Publisher: Good Press
Total Pages: 181
Release: 2021-11-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Download How to Be a Hermit Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

How to Be a Hermit by American humorist Will Cuppy is a subjective and partly fictional account of Will's adventures as a hermit on Jones's Island in Wisconsin. Excerpt: "All was excitement that June morning among the clams of Jones's Island (pronounced, by your leave, in two good healthy syllables, thus: Jone'-sez). Softies by the bushel dug themselves deeper into the shoreward mud, and whimpering little quahogs out in their watery beds clung closer to their mothers as they heard the dread news relayed by their kinsfolk of Seaman's Neck, Black Banks Channel, Johnson's Flats, and High Hill Crick."

How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes

How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes
Author: Will Cuppy
Publisher: David R. Godine Publisher
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2005
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 9781567922974

Download How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

A survey of life on earth, in all its variety and pagentry, by a very annoyed humorist. From early man, the Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon, to irascible observations on mankind and the animal kingdom today (including "Birds I Could Do Without"), Will Cuppy, a perennially perturbed hermit, is your guide in these are very funny essays. For eight years, from 1921 to 1929, Will Cuppy lived alone on Jones Island, off Long Island's South Shore. From that outpost, he gained a reputation for his factual but funny magazine articles and wrote the book, How to be a Hermit, his first bestseller. His last, The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody, was left unfinished after Cuppy's death in 1949 and has become a classic of American humor. In between (among other titles) was this very funny collection. First published in 1931, the subjects include "What I Hate About Spring," "Awful Mammals," and "Why Be a Rhinoceros?" Great for anyone who loves classic American humor.

Dave Barry Slept Here

Dave Barry Slept Here
Author: Dave Barry
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2010-07-28
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 0307758710

Download Dave Barry Slept Here Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

“What caused the American Revolution? This is indeed a rhetorical question that for many years historians have begun chapters with. As well they should. For the American Revolution is without a doubt the single most important historical event to occur in this nation except of course for Super Bowl III (Jets 16. Colts 7. This historian won $35).” So goes the skewed sensibility, the muddied mind, the bent pen of one of America's funniest writers, Dave Barry. This time his subject is U.S. history, the way it's never been told before. Every single momentous event and crucial moment is covered, including . . . • The Birthing Contractions of a Nation • Kicking Some British Butt • Barging Westward • The Forging of a Large, Wasteful Bureaucracy • Deep Economic Doo-doo • The Fifties: Peace, Prosperity, Brain Death . . . and right up through the scintillating Reagan-Bush years, during which, Mr. Barry notes, America is steadfastly Napping Toward Glory. If you love to laugh, if you love your country, if you are unaware that “the Sixth Amendment states that if you are accused of a crime, you have a right to a trial before a jury of people too stupid to get out of jury duty,” Dave Barry Slept Here is the book you've been waiting for since 1776. Or at least since Super Bowl III. Praise for Dave Barry Slept Here “A dazzling performance . . . Barry is brilliant.”—The Washington Post Book World “[Dave] Barry turns his formidable wit to the subject of American history, with a result reminiscent of the Reduced Shakespeare Company: The better you know the original, the funnier it gets.”—Los Angeles Times “I fear that Mr. Barry's dream of making millions of dollars through mass sales of his book to a captive audience of innocent schoolchildren will not be realized, and he will have to be content with making readers laugh a lot, as this one did.”—The New York Times Book Review

Is Sex Necessary?

Is Sex Necessary?
Author: James Thurber
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2004-11-09
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 0060733144

Download Is Sex Necessary? Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The first book of prose published by either James Thurber or E. B. White, Is Sex Necessary? combines the humor and genius of both authors to examine those great mysteries of life -- romance, love, and marriage. A masterpiece of drollery, this 75th Anniversary Edition stands the test of time with its sidesplitting spoof of men, women, and psychologists; more than fifty funny illustrations by Thurber; and a new foreword by John Updike.

From Day to Day

From Day to Day
Author: David E. Johnson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2001
Genre: Education
ISBN:

Download From Day to Day Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Presents a list of birthdays of famous people and noteworthy events for every day of the year.

The Penguin Dictionary of Modern Humorous Quotations

The Penguin Dictionary of Modern Humorous Quotations
Author: Fred Metcalf
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2001
Genre: Humor
ISBN:

Download The Penguin Dictionary of Modern Humorous Quotations Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

From Woody Allen to P.G. Wodehouse, the last hundred years offer a rich banquet of humor. Just about any topic under the sun can inspire witty remarks. Fred Metcalf's clearly cross-referenced anthology provides countless gems--ideal for after-dinner speakers, would-be wags, and anyone in search of hours of amusement.

Lies

Lies
Author: Al Franken
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2004-07-27
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 1101219440

Download Lies Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The #1 New York Times bestseller by Senator Al Franken, author of Giant of the Senate Al Franken, one of our “savviest satirists” (People), has been studying the rhetoric of the Right. He has listened to their cries of “slander,” “bias,” and even “treason.” He has examined the GOP's policies of squandering our surplus, ravaging the environment, and alienating the rest of the world. He’s even watched Fox News. A lot. And, in this fair and balanced report, Al bravely and candidly exposes them all for what they are: liars. Lying, lying liars. Al destroys the liberal media bias myth by doing what his targets seem incapable of: getting his facts straight. Using the Right’s own words against them, he takes on the pundits, the politicians, and the issues, in the most talked about book of the year. Timely, provocative, unfailingly honest, and always funny, Lies sticks it to the most right-wing administration in memory, and to the right-wing media hacks who do its bidding.