Fierce Pajamas: Selections from an Anthology of Humor Writing

When Harold Ross founded 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 Groucho Marx, James Thurber, S.J. Perelman, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Calvin Trillin, Steve Martin, and Dorothy Parker.

This audio gathers together, for the first time, the funniest work of more than 30 New Yorker contributors. 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, film, 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 a great deal of healthy advice, including Steve Martin's on memory and middle age: "Bored? Here's a way the over-50 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."

This rich selection of humorous verse includes caustic gems by Dorothy Parker, the effortless whimsy of Phyllis McGinley, and Ogden Nash's unforgettable slapstick prosody.

Performed by Byron Jennings, Julie Halston, Michael Goz, Patrick Frederic, Chris Gannon, and Faith Prince.

Don't miss A Humor Revue, a New Yorker Festival event featuring Andrew Barlow, Noah Baumbach, Andy Borowitz, and Christopher Buckley.

©2001 The New Yorker; (P)2001 Random House Inc., Random House Audio, a Division of Random House Inc.