Synopses & Reviews
Great humorist at his best — 39 prodigal pieces never before collected, all from Liberty Magazine in the early 30s. Gentle, urbane wit aimed at taxes, horse racing, Europeans who live their own stereotypes, sand kicked in one's face at the beach, and much more. Illustrations by Peter Arno.
Synopsis
Finest humor from early 30s, about pet peeves, child psychologists, post office, and others. Mostly unavailable elsewhere. 73 illustrations by Peter Arno and others.
Synopsis
These -39 prodigal pieces- show Robert Benchley at the height of his whimsicality, damning with gentle urbanity all the things that peeve every one of us -- but with a wit and mock anger none of the rest of us could have managed. The discomforts of travel on trains, large and heavy suitcases that must be carried by unwilling porters, standing in line at the post office (then to learn that your package is improperly tied), malicious fogs that blot out the race track at the last lap, the sand that gets kicked into one's face at the beach, vitamins and their puffery, and all the petty annoyances that we grumble about ourselves but laugh at when they befall others.
The 39 prodigal pieces greatly enlarge the corpus of the best Benchley. Forty-four original illustrations, mostly by Peter Arno, are included.