false 121657 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 121657 2 117119 2001 Fierce Pajamas: An Anthology of Humor Writing from The New Yorker (Modern Library Paperbacks) total:158|5:47|4:64|3:36|2:7|1:4| 158 617 265 28 70184 3.89 198 42 57964657 563852 1576390 0375504753 9780375504754 3 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1185401522m/1576390.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1185401522s/1576390.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1576390.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_the_New_Yorker 3.71 7 The New Yorker in 1925, he described it as a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists of the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, George S. Kaufman, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Peter De Vries, Mike Nichols, Marshall Brickman, Woody Allen, Donald Barthelme, Calvin Trillin, George W. S. Trow, Veronica Geng, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Bruce McCall, Steve Martin, Christopher Buckley, and Paul Rudnick.

This anthology gathers together, for the first time, the funniest work of more than seventy New Yorker contributors. Parodists take on not only writers like Hemingway and Kerouac, but TV documentaries, Italian cinema, and etiquette books. (Enough have been published, Robert Benchley maintains, “that there should be no danger of toppling over forward into the wrong soup, or getting into arguments as to which elbow belongs on which arm.”) Other pieces offer perspectives on the heights of fame, the depths of social embarrassment, and the ups and downs of love and sex. Such well-loved sketches as Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” take their place alongside light-hearted essays on food, tennis, and taxis, and flights of fancy that follow an apparently simple premise to the point of no return, and sometimes well beyond. Here you will find large insights (Woody Allen: “Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage”) and hard-earned wisdom (Ian Frazier on dating your mom: “Here is a grown, experienced, loving woman—one you do not have to go to a party or a singles bar to meet, one you do not have to go to great lengths to know”). And, not least, a great deal of helpful advice, including Steve Martin’s on memory and middle age: “Bored? Here’s a way the over-fifty set can easily kill a good half hour: 1. Place your car keys in your right hand. 2. With your left hand, call a friend and confirm a lunch or dinner date. 3. Hang up the phone. 4. Now look for your car keys.”

A rich selection of humorous verse includes caustic gems by Dorothy Parker, the effortless whimsy of Phyllis McGinley, and Ogden Nash’s unforgettable slapstick prosody, as well as forays by luminaries who ought to have known better, like Robert Graves, Elizabeth Bishop, and W. H. Auden.

A wonderful gift for others, or a delightful treat for oneself, Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from a publication described by Auden as “the best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 4 0 false Fri May 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 12:22:39 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 12:42:28 -0700 2009 Harper's Bazaar. It is a lifestyle unattainable, writes White, without vast quantities of quinine...more...]]> 7528253 390579 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 151 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 5 1 false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Wed Oct 10 08:16:59 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 10 08:26:17 -0700 2007 more...]]> 76519418 1120843 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 4 0 false Thu Oct 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Nov 02 15:34:42 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 15:45:21 -0800 2009 more...]]> 43442324 772270 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 4 0 false Sun Jan 18 05:27:53 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 05:35:07 -0800 2009 more...]]> 9816857 220391 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 0 0 false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Sat Dec 01 15:54:00 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 01 16:03:33 -0800 2007 Audible.com

Narrator: Byron Jennings, Julie Halston, and more
Publisher: Random House AudioBooks, 2001
Length: 5 hours and 51 min.

Publisher's Summary
When Harold Ross founded The New Yorker in 1925, he described it as a "comic weekly." And alt...more...]]> 71075063 2731527 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 5 0 false Sun Sep 13 11:46:59 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 16:39:31 -0700 2009 The New Yorker spans the 20th century and is a smorgasbord of delights - from Groucho Marx to Steve Martin. The gang's all here: Garrison Keillor, Dorothy Parker, S. J. Perelman, E. B. White, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Robert Benchley, Ian Frazier....more...]]> 70717447 908272 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 3 0 false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Thu Sep 10 08:36:32 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 08:39:34 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4409373 147818 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 3 0 false Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Aug 11 17:19:23 -0700 2007 Thu Dec 17 04:46:17 -0800 2009 more...]]> 8786049 150537 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 4 0 false Wed Nov 07 06:29:26 -0800 2007 Thu Nov 29 08:45:07 -0800 2007 more...]]> 81498010 1897459 1576390 0375504753 9780375504754 3 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1185401522m/1576390.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1185401522s/1576390.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1576390.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_the_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he described it as a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists of the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, George S. Kaufman, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Peter De Vries, Mike Nichols, Marshall Brickman, Woody Allen, Donald Barthelme, Calvin Trillin, George W. S. Trow, Veronica Geng, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Bruce McCall, Steve Martin, Christopher Buckley, and Paul Rudnick.

This anthology gathers together, for the first time, the funniest work of more than seventy New Yorker contributors. Parodists take on not only writers like Hemingway and Kerouac, but TV documentaries, Italian cinema, and etiquette books. (Enough have been published, Robert Benchley maintains, “that there should be no danger of toppling over forward into the wrong soup, or getting into arguments as to which elbow belongs on which arm.”) Other pieces offer perspectives on the heights of fame, the depths of social embarrassment, and the ups and downs of love and sex. Such well-loved sketches as Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” take their place alongside light-hearted essays on food, tennis, and taxis, and flights of fancy that follow an apparently simple premise to the point of no return, and sometimes well beyond. Here you will find large insights (Woody Allen: “Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage”) and hard-earned wisdom (Ian Frazier on dating your mom: “Here is a grown, experienced, loving woman—one you do not have to go to a party or a singles bar to meet, one you do not have to go to great lengths to know”). And, not least, a great deal of helpful advice, including Steve Martin’s on memory and middle age: “Bored? Here’s a way the over-fifty set can easily kill a good half hour: 1. Place your car keys in your right hand. 2. With your left hand, call a friend and confirm a lunch or dinner date. 3. Hang up the phone. 4. Now look for your car keys.”

A rich selection of humorous verse includes caustic gems by Dorothy Parker, the effortless whimsy of Phyllis McGinley, and Ogden Nash’s unforgettable slapstick prosody, as well as forays by luminaries who ought to have known better, like Robert Graves, Elizabeth Bishop, and W. H. Auden.

A wonderful gift for others, or a delightful treat for oneself, Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from a publication described by Auden as “the best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 3 0 false Sat Dec 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Dec 19 13:01:14 -0800 2009 Sat Dec 19 13:05:59 -0800 2009 45942811 803282 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 5 0 false Tue Feb 10 11:01:26 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 11:02:23 -0800 2009 67116930 2620801 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 5 0 false Wed Aug 12 13:11:13 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 13:11:32 -0700 2009 61368831 940050 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 3 0 false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 04:08:26 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 04:08:26 -0700 2009 6186065 376804 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 5 0 false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Sep 14 00:53:30 -0700 2007 Mon Dec 24 11:32:23 -0800 2007 more...]]> 7825286 443435 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 5 0 false Tue Oct 16 21:27:13 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 17 11:47:17 -0700 2007 pul...more...]]> 2924918 134042 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 3 0 false Tue Jul 10 19:30:23 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 10 19:33:47 -0700 2007
Don't try to read this book cover to cover, unless you really, really like New Yorker humor. I made it about 2/3 through over the course of a month before giving up.

...more...]]> 46641704 1984192 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 1 0 false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Feb 17 10:08:05 -0800 2009 Tue Jun 02 13:17:16 -0700 2009
...more...]]> 49755053 1937951 1576390 0375504753 9780375504754 3 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1185401522m/1576390.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1185401522s/1576390.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1576390.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_the_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he described it as a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists of the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, George S. Kaufman, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Peter De Vries, Mike Nichols, Marshall Brickman, Woody Allen, Donald Barthelme, Calvin Trillin, George W. S. Trow, Veronica Geng, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Bruce McCall, Steve Martin, Christopher Buckley, and Paul Rudnick.

This anthology gathers together, for the first time, the funniest work of more than seventy New Yorker contributors. Parodists take on not only writers like Hemingway and Kerouac, but TV documentaries, Italian cinema, and etiquette books. (Enough have been published, Robert Benchley maintains, “that there should be no danger of toppling over forward into the wrong soup, or getting into arguments as to which elbow belongs on which arm.”) Other pieces offer perspectives on the heights of fame, the depths of social embarrassment, and the ups and downs of love and sex. Such well-loved sketches as Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” take their place alongside light-hearted essays on food, tennis, and taxis, and flights of fancy that follow an apparently simple premise to the point of no return, and sometimes well beyond. Here you will find large insights (Woody Allen: “Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage”) and hard-earned wisdom (Ian Frazier on dating your mom: “Here is a grown, experienced, loving woman—one you do not have to go to a party or a singles bar to meet, one you do not have to go to great lengths to know”). And, not least, a great deal of helpful advice, including Steve Martin’s on memory and middle age: “Bored? Here’s a way the over-fifty set can easily kill a good half hour: 1. Place your car keys in your right hand. 2. With your left hand, call a friend and confirm a lunch or dinner date. 3. Hang up the phone. 4. Now look for your car keys.”

A rich selection of humorous verse includes caustic gems by Dorothy Parker, the effortless whimsy of Phyllis McGinley, and Ogden Nash’s unforgettable slapstick prosody, as well as forays by luminaries who ought to have known better, like Robert Graves, Elizabeth Bishop, and W. H. Auden.

A wonderful gift for others, or a delightful treat for oneself, Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from a publication described by Auden as “the best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 3 0 false Tue Apr 14 05:02:06 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 06:07:01 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 05:02:06 -0700 2009 2744457 172707 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 5 0 false Thu Jul 05 12:55:45 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 05 12:55:45 -0700 2007 Also: Steve Martin teaches us how to overcome writer's block. Woody Allen imagines a hassled affair with Emma Bovary. What if Mamet was forced to write blurbs for a catalog of comfortable clothing?
When I'm b...more...]]> 51951725 994742 121657 0375761276 9780375761270 25 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617m/121657.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171834617s/121657.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121657.Fierce_Pajamas_An_Anthology_of_Humor_Writing_from_The_New_Yorker 3.91 158 The New Yorker in 1925, he called it a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists in the modern era—among them Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S. J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, Roy Blount, Jr., Steve Martin, and Christopher Buckley. Fierce Pajamas is a treasury of laughter from the magazine W. H. Auden called the “best comic magazine in existence.”]]> 2001 3 0 false Sat Sep 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 10:52:18 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 06:48:02 -0700 2009 1 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=121657