The Comedians
Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy
by Kliph Nesteroff
Recommended by Bill Burr and Robert Odenkirk
Check price on AmazonProof-backed recommendation
Amazon availability
Should I read this?
Recommended by 2 sources and appears in To Read While High, History, and Fiction.
Jokes change from generation to generation, but the experience of the comedian transcends the ages: the drive, jealousy, heartbreak, and triumph. From the Marx Brothers to Milton Berle to George Carlin to Eddie Murphy to Louis CK?comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff brings to life a century?s worth of rebels and groundbreakers, mainstream heroes and co...
Looking for Kindle, hardcover, paperback, or audiobook editions?
Check formats, pricing, and current availability directly.
Why recommended
Recommended by 2 sources and appears in To Read While High, History, and Fiction.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Robert Odenkirk
“I'm a fan of comedy, all the way back this book is SO FUN...great overview! via @amazon”
Appears In
Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider Accidental Presidents by Jared Cohen. Recommended by 10 sources.
“Accidental Presidents offers eight narrative portraits of men who succeeded to the U.S. presidency without election, using anecdote-rich scenes and readable context to show how personality and circumstance interact with office power. It’s strongest as a set of self-contained stories that make succession stakes concrete for non-specialist readers; it does not prioritize dense archival argument or exhaustive methodology, so expect some interpretive generalizations and repeated themes across cases. Use it for fast historical orientation rather than scholarly deep-dives.”
Similar books
How recommendation signals are reviewed
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.
The Comedians
View on Amazon →