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RuthReader
Posted April 11, 2009
Wise, wonderfully smart, wildly funny. An American Classic.
I have enjoyed Henry Alford's essays and humor pieces since his early days at SPY. I'm always thrilled whenever I find one of his pieces in the New Yorker or Vanity Fair or anthology because know that his uniquely bent view of the world is going to not only crack me up, but look at the modern world in a new way. I understand how some might not fully appreciate Alford's genius--after all satire requires a level of sophistication, although I know that you needn't have read classic American humorists such as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, and Dorothy Parker (who he is akin to) to find this book (part humor book part memoir) incredibly funny and moving.
I also know that a fan of Foxworthy and Barry, (like me) will bust a gut reading this, and wish you could sit down and have a beer with Henry Alford.1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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LOOKING FOR ELDER WISDOM? LOOK ELSEWHERE
Henry Alford set out to find wisdom from old people and he failed. Having found very little, the writer ends up telling about his quest instead. He interviewed a playwright, an actress and a professor, with minimal results. After a point, he is reduced to interviewing his mother and stepfather. His mother, while witty, had no wisdom to impart. His drug-addicted stepfather was interviewed twice, but to no avail. Too much of book deals with author's personal life, his family, and his partner's 17-year-old late cat. The half dozen grains of wisdom in this book are buried under a heap of chaff. If you're thinking about buying this book as a graduation gift, take this bit of wisdom: Don't.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 13, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted January 25, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted May 16, 2011
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Anonymous
Posted November 22, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted February 6, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted October 13, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted January 28, 2009
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