Sometimes it seems like every standup comedian worth his or her salt just has to do the book thing, and you might feel that yet another warmed-over stage routine is the last thing you need taking up valuable bookshelf space. Jon Stewart's book will come as an extremely pleasant surprise. He eschews the standard standup patter and instead gives us 18 short comic essays in a variety of styles that recall the prose work of Woody Allen, only with a few more references to genitals. Stewart proves himself a remarkably nimble humorist with a sharp eye for parody, whether he's writing "A Very Hanson Christmas" or "Adolf Hitler: The Larry King Interview."

HITLER: ...Larry, look, I was a bad guy. No question. I hate that Hitler. The yelling, the finger pointing, I don't know ... I was a very angry guy.

KING: And this ... new Hitler?

HITLER: I get up at seven, have half a melon, do the jumble in the morning paper and then let the day take me where it will.... Me!! The inventor of the Blitzkrieg... When you stop having to control everything it's very freeing.

Stewart is not afraid to flirt with bad taste, in fact, some of the pieces in this collection do for "flirting with bad taste" what Bill Clinton did for "not having sexual relations." But it's wonderful to see an edgy comedian taking on the traditionally cozy genre of the humorous essay, creating work that combines the wit of Robert Benchley with the energy and attitude of the best modern standup. Naked Pictures of Famous People proves that Jon Stewart is as comfortable, and accomplished, in front of a word processor as he is in front of an audience. --Simon Leake


Entertainment Weekly
"Brutally witty... On a par with Woody Allen's Without Feathers and Steve Martin's Cruel Shoes..."


Austin Chronicle
"Terrific night table reading for lovers of intelligent satire... smart... refreshingly offensive... unapologetically un-PC... a gift for just about anyone."


Book Description
In these nineteen whip-smart essays, Jon Stewart takes on politics, religion, and celebrity with a seethingly irreverent wit, a brilliantsense of timming, and a palate for the obsurd -- and these one-of-a-kind forays into his hilarious world will expose you to all its wickedly naked truths.He's the MTV generation's master of modern humor, a star of film, TV, and the comedy stage. This sultan of savvy serves up a whip-smart, utterly original collection of comic essays in Naked Pictures of Famous People. And as of January 11, 1999, you can enjoy the intelligence and self-deprecating charm he brings to contemporary comedy on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."In his first book, he translates that unique talent to the page, with humorous forays into a vast array of subjects: fashion, urban life, fast cars, cocktail culture, modern Jewishness, politics, and dating. A seethingly irreverent wit, Stewart has a genius for language and brilliant timing that makes his up-to-the-minute collection a must-have for humor lovers in search of a Woody Allen for the 90s.He's the MTV generation's master of modern humor, a star of film, TV, and the comedy stage. This sultan of savvy serves up a whip-smart, utterly original collection of comic essays in Naked Pictures of Famous People. And as of January 11, 1999, you can enjoy the intelligence and self-deprecating charm he brings to contemporary comedy on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."In his first book, he translates that unique talent to the page, with humorous forays into a vast array of subjects: fashion, urban life, fast cars, cocktail culture, modern Jewishness, politics, and dating. A seethingly irreverent wit, Stewart has a genius for language and brilliant timing that makes his up-to-the-minute collection a must-have for humor lovers in search of a Woody Allen for the 90s.


About the Author
Jon Stewart has hosted his own critically acclaimed late-night talk show, starred in his own HBO special, Unleavened, and played himself on the cult hit The Larry Sanders ShowStewart lives in New York City.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
December 1998

Like the many creative geniuses who frequent the pages of his book — Vincent van Gogh, Lenny Bruce, Martha Stewart, Hanson — Jon Stewart teeters on the divide between the brilliant and the insane. Nowhere has that been clearer than in print. Naked Pictures of Famous People, Stewart's ode to all things random, is an inspired work of enlightened lunacy, and a hilarious one at that. Stewart's comic imagination rears its gnarled head in such pieces as "Adolf Hitler: The Larry King Interview" ("So I'm planning furiously and snapping at people — as my therapist says, 'playing the dictator.' "); "The Last Supper, or The Dead Waiter" ("Jesus spent most of the time asking people whether or not a beard would make him look smarter. There was a bit of a scuffle when Paul liked the idea but Judas thought it was trendy. I say cut the hair. Please. You're not a musician and it's very B.C."); and "Vincent and Theo on AOL" ("VincentVG: Once again, only the blackness that is me can halt the work I am called upon to do. Today was a good day. I am still not able to eat, but stood twice and hope soon to wave to the young nurse who comes frequently to give Messerlich his enemas./TheTodster: Is anyoune her e naughty?/Lever180: u look great ffrom here."). As Naked Pictures of Famous People further confirms, Jon Stewart might well be the defining humorist of his generation. God help the poor bastards.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

He's the MTV generation's master of modern humor, a star of film, TV, and the comedy stage. This sultan of savvy serves up a whip-smart, utterly original collection of comic essays in Naked Pictures of Famous People. And as of January 11, 1999, you can enjoy the intelligence and self-deprecating charm he brings to contemporary comedy on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show." In his first book, he translates that unique talent to the page, with humorous forays into a vast array of subjects: fashion, urban life, fast cars, cocktail culture, modern Jewishness, politics, and dating. A seethingly irreverent wit, Stewart has a genius for language and brilliant timing that makes his up-to-the-minute collection a must-have for humor lovers in search of a Woody Allen for the 90s.

FROM THE CRITICS

Entertainment Weekly

"Brutally witty...On a par with Woody Allen's Without Feathers and Steve Martin's Cruel Shoes... Naked Pictures reveals a basic truth that's too often forgotten by the shock-for-shock's-sake satirists of the South Park era: You've got to be smart to be a smart ass."

Austin Chronicle

"Terrific night table reading for lovers of intelligent satire... smart... refreshingly offensive... unapologetically un-PC... a gift for just about anyone."

Book Magazine

Gerald Ford and Martha Stewart are but two of the newsmakers undressed, with some startling results, in comedian Jon Stewart's new collection­a romp through, among other things, the imagined private lives of renowned artists, a groveling despot and two ex-presidents. Readers familiar with Stewart's TV work already know his sense of humor: a brand of self-deprecation that falls somewhere on the good side of the tracks running between Woody Allen and Richard Lewis. He goes much further here, with a mutt of a book (18 shorts taken from secret transcripts, cyber dialogue, pencil sketches and lost letters) that's full of unexpectedly heavy laughs. Highlights include Vincent Van Gogh's adaptation to AOL porn-chat, Larry King's landmark interview with Hitler (who has decided to stop "playing the blame game" and is plugging his new book Mein Comfortable Shoes), and even a visit to the room-under-the-stairs where the Kennedys keep their less successful children. The brevity of the pieces combined with the flow of wit make this a buoyant read.­Eric Wetzel

Bruce Fretts

Naked Pictures reveals a basic truth that's too often forgotten by the shock-for-shock's-sake satirists of the South Park era: You've got to be smart to be a smartass. --Entertainment Weekly

Elle