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Humorists: From Hogarth to Noel Coward
by
Paul Johnson
The author of the masterly volumes Intellectuals, Creators, and Heroes returns with a collection of biographical portraits of the greatest humorists and wits in history.
In Intellectuals, Paul Johnson offered a fascinating portrait of the minds that have shaped the modern world. In Creators, he examined a host of outstanding and prolific creative spirits. And in Heroes, he...more
In Intellectuals, Paul Johnson offered a fascinating portrait of the minds that have shaped the modern world. In Creators, he examined a host of outstanding and prolific creative spirits. And in Heroes, he...more
ebook, 272 pages
Published
November 30th 2010
by HarperCollins e-books
(first published October 29th 2010)
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I don't know what to say about this one. Johnson presents a series of short biographies about people he considers the greatest Western humorists. He also introduces a thesis -- that all humor either stems from order or chaos -- and attemps to prove that point through the work of his selected funnymen. (And they are all men, btw.) Little mini-biographies arranged around a central theme are actually a great pleasure: you learn just enough to stay interested, you're given a lens through which to co...more
I read this book because I love almost everything Paul Johnson has written. I learned several things about characters, including ...
• William Hogarth
• James Thurber
• Marx Brothers
• Benjamin Franklin
• Charles Dickens
• Damon Runyon
• WC Fields
• Samuel Johnson
• Laurel and Hardy
• Thomas Rowlandson
• G. K. Chesterton
• Chaplin
Most of Johnson books are about major historic events or personalities. This book was about people from the arts which is not really my area of interest and certainly not my area o...more
• William Hogarth
• James Thurber
• Marx Brothers
• Benjamin Franklin
• Charles Dickens
• Damon Runyon
• WC Fields
• Samuel Johnson
• Laurel and Hardy
• Thomas Rowlandson
• G. K. Chesterton
• Chaplin
Most of Johnson books are about major historic events or personalities. This book was about people from the arts which is not really my area of interest and certainly not my area o...more
Humorists is a very pleasant read. The introduction, explaining humor, laughter, and comedy, makes the book worthwhile by itself. However, it seems that Johnson is trying to do something that is perhaps left untried. He creates some broad categories that are useful in understanding the subjects' humor, and he gives some hilarious examples of the humor. (The Dickens examples are particularly good.) Yet, I did not fully understand what warranted some of the characters' inclusion in the book, altho...more
Publicado en http://lecturaylocura.com/humoristas/
Una de mis películas favoritas es el musical Cantando bajo la lluvia (1952) dirigido por Stanley Donen y el propio Gene Kelly, protagonista de la inolvidable escena que da título a la no menos inolvidable cinta. Tiene tantas escenas memorables que sería difícil quedarse solo con una.
De hecho, me quería centrar en una de ellas que considero un paradigma metanarrativo de lo que cuesta hacer humor, conseguir que la gente se ría. Para los que no sepa...more
Una de mis películas favoritas es el musical Cantando bajo la lluvia (1952) dirigido por Stanley Donen y el propio Gene Kelly, protagonista de la inolvidable escena que da título a la no menos inolvidable cinta. Tiene tantas escenas memorables que sería difícil quedarse solo con una.
De hecho, me quería centrar en una de ellas que considero un paradigma metanarrativo de lo que cuesta hacer humor, conseguir que la gente se ría. Para los que no sepa...more
«Johnson es un escritor con un don genuino. La habilidad de transformar vastas extensiones de la historia en una narrativa absorbente le asegura público durante años.»
THE NEW YORK TIMES
«El talento de Johnson contando historias vívidas se combina con un asombroso dominio de grandes y complejos temas y con una inagotable capacidad de convertirlas en algo comprensible y absorvente.»
LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK REVIEW
«Johnson teje de forma magistral un hilo narrativo entre estas figuras, muchas de las cua...more
THE NEW YORK TIMES
«El talento de Johnson contando historias vívidas se combina con un asombroso dominio de grandes y complejos temas y con una inagotable capacidad de convertirlas en algo comprensible y absorvente.»
LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK REVIEW
«Johnson teje de forma magistral un hilo narrativo entre estas figuras, muchas de las cua...more
This book is a collection of short biographical sketches about notable humorists -- many of whom I had never thought of as humorists, e.g., Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Johnson, and G.K. Chesterton. I found Paul Johnson’s analysis and insights highly perceptive as usual. And the sketches are short introductions that give you a taste of the individual's life; for the full meal you'll need to consult a biography. I was also impressed by the author’s diction and vocabulary: I often had to scramble for a...more
Humorists is a step down for Johnson after his engaging works on Creators and Heroes (and, I believe, Intellectuals, which I have not yet read). I still enjoyed getting to know many of these famous and not-so famous greats, but the prose wandered more, and his characters' sexual oddities seemed to occupy vastly more of Johnson's attention than they deserved. Still, he got me to watch two great Chaplin movies (Gold Rush and The Kid), for which I am grateful.
Anything by the great British writer Paul Johnson is worthy ready. Anything. This is an idiosyncratic book about humor and those who made it in their books, speeches, appearance, films, and plays. You may wonder at his choices (or omissions) but you will find yourself alternately chuckling, giggling, guffawing, snorting and just plain laughing as Johnson recounts the humorous antics of his picks as history’s greatest wits.
Humor tends to be very personal and cultural. It is interesting to see the choice of subjects used to illustrate the humorists - bare bottoms & pie throwing. The choices seem to be between "chaos" humor and one liners. But then I have always heard that comedy is hard.
Aug 25, 2011
Dave Ward
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
humor,
non-fiction
Humorists: From Hogarth to Noel Coward by paul Johnson(Harper Collins 2010)(920) contains mini-biographies of a number of humorists. None of these are my favorites, and none were of any real interest to me. 3/10, finished 8/24/11.
I enjoyed reading this book but the focus was too arbitrary. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for the humorists Johnson chose to write about when there were so many he left out.
Some parts of this were quite good; however, some of the humorists indulged in various kinds of bawdy humor, which was not exactly pleasant reading.
"Praise for the work of Paul Johnson: "A tour de force�A remarkable achievement." � New York Times Book Review
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So far, so good. I thoroughly enjoyed the chapter on Benjamin Franklin. It gave great insight into a prominent historical figure.
Apr 12, 2013
Coldfeet22
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
biographical-history,
literary-criticism
Jan 13, 2013
Eddy Allen
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
biograph-and-history
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Paul Johnson works as a historian, journalist and author. He was educated at Stonyhurst School in Clitheroe, Lancashire and Magdalen College, Oxford, and first came to prominence in the 1950s as a journalist writing for, and later editing, the New Statesman magazine. He has also written for leading newspapers and magazines in Britain, the US and Europe.
Paul Johnson has published over 40 books incl...more
More about Paul Johnson...
Paul Johnson has published over 40 books incl...more
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