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  <id>1698163</id>
  <title><![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[158648317X]]></isbn>
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  <description><![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]></description>
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        <name><![CDATA[William Knoedelseder]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
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  <average_rating>3.68</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>25</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Sep 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Sep 16 13:36:35 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Sep 21 16:13:20 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'm not trying to get a blurb on the dust jacket or anything, but this was a real page turner. Focusing on the comedians' strike of 1979, author Knoedelseder does a wonderful job of illustrating the personalities of all these stand ups against the backdrop of their unionizing. <br/><br/>Honestly, ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71452229">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71452229]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>77692021</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Rob]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
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  <average_rating>3.68</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>25</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Nov 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Nov 13 16:03:30 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Nov 13 16:16:31 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I picked this up at the library on a whim after reading about it on Mark Evanier's blog. I started reading a few pages when I was resting and the book I was in the middle of was in another room. I found it difficult to put down and tore through the thing. I'm not sure what it was exactly--the writin...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77692021">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77692021]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77692021]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>75744456</id>
    <user>
    <id>2059153</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Noah]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.68</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>25</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Oct 25 23:15:19 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Oct 25 23:15:24 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book is outstanding. It strikes just the right balance between history and story, with three-dimensional characters and vivid scenes, and it finds a good focal point for what could otherwise turn into a sprawling mess. If you're at all interested in the world professional comedians inhabit or i...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75744456">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75744456]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75744456]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>71683299</id>
    <user>
    <id>1129089</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Joan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Lansdale, PA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1129089-joan]]></link>
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  <isbn>158648317X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781586483173</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">9</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1698163.I_m_Dying_Up_Here_Heartbreak_and_high_times_in_stand_up_comedy_s_golden_era</link>
  <average_rating>3.68</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>25</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Sep 18 11:48:15 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Sep 18 11:49:44 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[So I've studied comedy a lot because I want to get into it.  This book pretty much soley focused on the Comedy Store in LA and the people involved in it.  A pretty good read, but seriously, I wonder why not that many women were involved in it? ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71683299]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71683299]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>78298445</id>
    <user>
    <id>1860003</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jeff]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Tulsa, OK]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1860003-jeff]]></link>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">9</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.68</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>25</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Nov 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Nov 19 05:02:15 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Nov 19 05:06:31 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Great book that delves into the comedy scene of the 1970s when Jay Leno, Letterman, Richard Lewis, Robin Williams and others were all coming up.  Very fun read.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78298445]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78298445]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <id>229763</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jules]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Palo Alto, CA]]></location>
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    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
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  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1698163.I_m_Dying_Up_Here_Heartbreak_and_high_times_in_stand_up_comedy_s_golden_era</link>
  <average_rating>3.68</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>25</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at>Thu Sep 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Sep 17 17:12:52 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Sep 17 23:19:46 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[An entertaining and well-paced read about a period in comedy history that I knew little about. Would be a fitting companion to Steve Martin's <em>Born Standing Up</em>. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71605444]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71605444]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>81049227</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Kati]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.68</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>25</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Mon Dec 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Dec 14 21:26:47 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 14 21:30:43 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Heartbreaking and fascinating. The only thing that bugs me is the frequent misuse of apostrophes in plural possessives.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81049227]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81049227]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>76941934</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Crbianfool]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
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  <average_rating>3.68</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>25</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
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  <published>2007</published>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <read_at>Fri Nov 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Nov 06 13:24:01 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Nov 06 13:25:20 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[F*cking awesome story.  High as balls but well told and fascinating.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76941934]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76941934]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>81934119</id>
    <user>
    <id>1757741</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kevin &quot;El Liso Grande&quot;]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Kokomo, IN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1757741-kevin-el-liso-grande-sprinkle]]></link>
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    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
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  <average_rating>3.68</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>25</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
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    <rating>2</rating>
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  <read_at>Mon Dec 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Dec 24 04:37:54 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 24 04:38:52 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[slightly interesting, nothing really groundbreaking.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81934119]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81934119]]></link>
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      <review>
  <id>81914520</id>
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    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
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    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
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  <date_added>Wed Dec 23 20:44:00 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 23 20:44:00 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81914520]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>81471027</id>
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    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
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    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
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  <date_added>Sat Dec 19 06:13:49 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Dec 19 06:13:55 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81471027]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
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    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
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  <date_added>Thu Dec 17 23:46:48 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 23:46:48 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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  <isbn>158648317X</isbn>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">9</text_reviews_count>
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    <![CDATA[I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era]]>
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  <average_rating>3.68</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>25</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Garry Shandling, and many other soon-to-be-stars were once young, broke, and funny in 1970s L.A. They were also friends...until one event changed everything. <p>  <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> chronicles the collective coming of age of the standup comedians who defined American humor during the past three decades. Born early in the Baby Boom, they grew up watching <em>The Tonight Show</em>, went to school during Viet Nam and Watergate, migrated en masse to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and created an artistic community unlike any before or since. They were arguably the funniest people of their generation, living in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter. For one brief shining moment, standup comics were as revered as rock stars. It was Comedy Camelot but, of course, it couldn't last.  In the late 1970s William Knoedelseder was a cub reporter assigned to cover the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of Leno, Letterman, Andy Kaufman, and others. He got to know many of them well. And so he covered the scene too when the comedians-who were not paid for performing at the career-making-or-breaking venue called The Comedy Store-tried to change an exploitative system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. <p>  Now Knoedelseder has gone back to interview the major participants to tell the whole story of that golden age and of the strike that ended it. Full of revealing portraits of many of the best-known comedic talents of our age, <em>I'm Dying Up Here</em> is also a poignant tale of the price of success and the terrible cost of failure-professional and moral.</p></p>]]>
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  <published>2007</published>
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