Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Andy Kaufman Revealed!: Best Friend Tells All

Andy Kaufman Revealed!: Best Friend Tells All

by Bob Zmuda

Best known for his sweet-natured character Latka on Taxi, Andy Kaufman was the most influential comic of the generation that produced David Letterman, John Belushi, and Robin Williams. A regular on the early days of Saturday Night Live (where he regularly disrupted planned skits), Kaufman quickly became known for his idiosyncratic roles and for performances that crossed the boundaries of comedy, challenging... (more)

Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman

Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman

by Bill Zehme

From renowned journalist Bill Zehme, author of the New York Times bestselling The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin' , comes the first full-fledged biography and the only complete story of the late comic genius Andy Kaufman. Based on six years of research, Andy's own unpublished, never-before-seen writings, and hundreds of interviews with family members, friends, and key players in... (more)

Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-up in the 1970s Changed America

Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-up in the 1970s Changed America

by Richard Zoglin

What Peter Biskind did for filmmaking, Time magazine critic Richard Zoglin does for comedy in this meticulously researched and hilariously readable account of stand-up comedy in the 1970s. In the rock-and-roll 1970s, a new breed of comic, inspired by the fearless Lenny Bruce, made telling jokes an art form. Innovative comedians like George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Robert Klein, and, later, Steve Martin,... (more)