Naked Pictures of Famous People

I'm halfway done with my 50 book challenge! Book #25 was Naked Pictures of Famous People by Jon Stewart. I'm a big fan of Stewart's work on The Daily Show and really enjoyed America (The Book), so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately I found Naked Pictures to be a fairly disappointing collection. It's not that the pieces in the book aren't funny, but on the whole they fall short of what I'd expect from a comedian of Stewart's caliber. Part of it could be that the book was originally published in 1998 and many of the stories in the book deal with topics that now seem dated (e.g. Taco Bell chihuahua, Hanson), but even some of the more general ones fall flat. The good news is that the nineteen essays in the book make for a quick read, so sifting through for the five or six good ones may still be worth the work as long as you keep your expectations in check. In other words, don't fall for Entertainment Weekly's "On a par with Woody Allen's Without Feathers and Steve Martin's Cruel Shoes." review.

To learn more about the book I recommend CNN's review. Harper Collins has also posted an excerpt from one of the funnier stories titled "Adolph Hitler: The Larry King Interview".