Russell Baker's Book of American Humor

Rating:
Summary: genuinely funny
Review: Humor being a matter of taste, it's difficult to find a collection that actually works. Russell Baker's collection really does accomplish what it sets out to do: "to make you laugh, or at least smile, or maybe just feel a little more interior warmth despite 'the situation'" (from the introduction). Running the gamut from sheer looniness to literary parody, and containing vintage material as well as contemporary items, this is a wonderful collection of items to lighten things up.

Rating:
Summary: Not that funny
Review: There are some gems in here, but not enough. The letter written by Groucho Marx is great, you can hear his voice in it. About two-thirds of the way through I got tired of wading through the muck to get to laugh-producing material, and gave up. I understand that this is not a joke book, but I just thought it would be funnier.