Biographies & Memoirs

One of the hottest stand-ups working today, Nate Bargatze brings his everyman comedy to life in this hilarious collection of personal stories, opinions, and confessions.

One part memoir, one part comedy special, one part crazy first date. Just you and Matt between the covers. What could be better?

Award-winning comedian Zarna Garg turns her astonishing life story into a hilarious memoir, spilling all the chai on her wild ride from escaping an arranged marriage and homelessness in India to carving her own path in America and launching a dazzling second act in midlife.

This is the definitive biography of Lorne Michaels, the man behind America’s most beloved comedy show.

America’s most beloved wiseass finally tells his life story with all the humor you’d expect from a man who made a career out of making fun of pretty much everything.

This hilarious and thoughtful memoir from comedy legend Anjelah Johnson explores questions of identity, belonging, and her two dreams as a kid: to be an actress and to be a chola....

New York Times bestselling author and viral stand-up star Kevin Fredericks (aka KevOnStage) turns his most cringe-worthy moments into comedy gold, sharing how the most embarrassing failures of his life put him on the path to success.

Bruce Vilanch is known as a go-to comedy writer for award shows, sitcoms, and top-heavy variety specials, but he has also been responsible for quite a few of the worst shows ever put on television—legendarily bad productions.

Comedian and New York Times bestseller Jenny Slate’s wild, hilarious, genre-bending essays read in her singular voice depict life and motherhood as you’ve never seen it before.

From a host of The Daily Show and stand-up comic, Michael Kosta, comes a wildly funny and insightful memoir about his unlikely journey from professional tennis player (#864 in the world) to professional comedian (there’s no ranking system in comedy but he’s probably . . . top 50?).

Decades ago, Paul Mooney set out not just make audiences laugh but to make them think. Black Is the New White is his blisteringly funny, no-holds-barred memoir of how he continues to succeed wildly at both....

Steve Martin is more candid than he’s ever been about his creative life—in this engrossing audio-biography centered around a series of conversations recorded over many afternoons at home with his friend and neighbor, writer Adam Gopnik....

First published in 1961, this is the autobiography of Harpo Marx, the silent comedian of The Marx Brothers fame. A truly gifted musician, brilliant comic, and wonderful person, Harpo comes alive in Harpo Speaks.

This inspiring, honest, uproarious collection of essays traces Sebastian Maniscalco's career from playing boxing rings and bowling alleys to reaching the pinnacles of comedy success....

In Big Beacon, Norwich's favourite son and best broadcaster, Alan Partridge, triumphs against the odds. TWICE....

A hilarious and honest new book in which John Hodgman, New York Times best-selling author of Vacationland, leaves vacation behind and gets back to work as a still somewhat famous person - and then loses his job....

In his compelling autobiography, Michael McIntyre reveals all....

In 2008, Kevin Matthews, a well-known ABC and CBS radio personality in Chicago, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Broken Mary is Matthews' story of his early years in radio and stand-up comedy....

This is a self-help book like no other. Because you are not helping yourself, James Acaster is helping you....

Miss May Does Not Exist is a remarkable love story about a prickly genius who was never easy to work with, not always easy to love, and frequently punished for those things, despite revolutionizing the way we think about comedy, acting, and what a film or play can be.

One of the most successful nightclub and theater comedians in America started out a long way from the stage, in the tiny farming community of Lithonia, Georgia.

The hilarious and heartwarming account of Miranda and her life changing dog, the inimitable and most lovable Peggy....

Alan Partridge dons his boots, windcheater and scarf and embarks on an odyssey through a place he once knew - it's called Britain - intent on completing a journey of immense personal significance....

Who is the man behind the many voices of Rob Brydon? Read by the man himself, this audiobook memoir will reveal the warm heart behind one of Britain's favourite impressionists....

From the New York Times bestselling author of Texts From Jane Eyre and Merry Spinster, writer of Slate’s “Dear Prudence” column, and cofounder of The Toast comes a collection of essays and cultural observations spanning pop culture—from the endearingly popular to the staggeringly obscure....

Nate Bargatze used to be a genius. That is, until the summer after seventh grade when he slipped, fell off a cliff, hit his head on a rock, and “my skull got, like, dented or something.” Before this accident, he dreamed of being “an electric engineer, or a doctor that does brain stuff, or a math teacher who teaches the hardest math on earth.” Afterwards, all he could do was stand-up comedy.* But the “brain stuff” industry’s loss is everyone else’s gain because Nate went on to become one of today’s top-grossing comedians, breaking both attendance and streaming records.

Throughout Zarna’s whole childhood in India, everyone called her “so American” just for reading the newspaper, having deep thoughts, and talking back to anyone over the age of thirty. When Zarna’s dad tried to marry her off at age fourteen, Zarna fled—first to the streets of Mumbai and ultimately to the glittering paradise of Akron, Ohio, where she got to become American for real.

How does the son of a Presbyterian minister wind up winning a Pulitzer Prize for writing a wildly inaccurate newspaper column read by millions of people? In Class Clown, Dave Barry takes us on a hilarious ride, starting with a childhood largely spent throwing rocks for entertainment—there was no internet—and preparing for nuclear war by hiding under a classroom desk. After literally getting elected class clown in high school, he went to college, where, as an English major, he read snippets of great literature when he was not busy playing in a rock band (it was the sixties).

"Selbsthilfe ist wie ein Lichtschwertkampf. Im Film sieht's top aus, aber in echt hackt man sich garantiert was ab." Self-Help boomt! Egal, ob Depression oder Herzprobleme, ob eine Karriere oder Selbstvertrauen aufgebaut werden sollen, Kindheitstraumata überwunden oder Familienkatastrophen gemanagt werden müssen – es gibt immer ein Buch von einem Mental Coach, das die Lösung aller Probleme verspricht. Maxi Gstettenbauer hat Hunderte dieser Bücher gelesen. Er weiß, wie man Freunde gewinnt und Menschen beeinflusst. Er weiß, wie man reich wird und die eigenen Überzeugungen reframed.

Sucka mitt hjärta men brist dock ej är ett urval av Mark Levengoods texter. I många år har Mark tillhört de populäraste radiorösterna i P1:s "Tankar för dagen", likaså har han varit en älskad krönikör i dags- och veckopress. I denna volym finner läsaren texter som tål att återvändas till, ofta och gärna.