CATEGORY

Amazon Significant Seven, February 2008: New York magazine knew what they were talking about when they said, "If you've laughed in the last ten years, Ben Karlin was responsible." The latest project of this former senior editor of The Onion, former executive producer of both The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, and co-author and co-editor of America (The Book) collects 212 pages of semi-insightful and mostly hilarious life lessons from a lineup of writers and comedians in a book with the best title so far this year, Things I've Learned from Women Who've Dumped Me. Ben's own mom kicks things off with "I Think My Son Is a Catch," but read on to enjoy contributions from Andy Richter ("Girls Don't Make Passes at Boys with Fat Asses"), Stephen Colbert ("The Heart Is a Choking Hazard"), Jason Nash ("Don't Enter a Karaoke Contest Near Smith College; You Will Lose to Lesbians"), Dan Savage ("I Am a Gay Man"), and David Rees ("Get Dumped Before It Matters"). Filled with High Fidelity-style insight into the inner workings of the modern male mind, this is an anthology for readers of all genders, no matter their relationship status. --Brad Thomas Parsons

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Our Moment with Ben
Ben Karlin is a man who holds a virtual PhD in Modern American Comedy. Karlin's career kicked off as the editor of The Onion and he is the former executive producer of the award-winning The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and co-creator and former executive producer of The Colbert Report. He was also a co-author and co-editor of the bestselling America (The Book) and his latest project takes him back to the book world as the editor of the anthology Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me, 212 pages of semi-insightful and mostly hilarious life lessons from a lineup of writers and comedians. Amazon.com senior editor Brad Thomas Parsons caught up with Karlin to talk about his new book, the writers' strike, the serious job of writing comedy, and what makes him laugh (hint: it isn't America's Funniest Home Videos). You can read the complete interview or listen to the podcast on Amazon Wire.

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