Rating: 
Summary: Gems of American Humor
Review: "Fierce Pajamas" is an incredible collection of piece by some of the century's most famous humorists -- from Groucho Marx himself to SJ Perlman, Garrison Keillor, Thomas Meehan (who wrote the book to the musical "The Producers), Marshall Brickman, Woody Allen, Roy Blount, Christopher Buckley, Steve Martin, and more. Some of the pieces bring a smile, others a chuckle, and quite a few made me laugh out loud. Trawling through seventy-five years of The New Yorker, the editors (who contribute a terrifically smart and funny introduction) have come up with some real winners--and even the also-rans are worth the time. The perfect book for your bedside table... or bathroom.
Rating:
Summary: Gems of American Humor
Review: "Fierce Pajamas" is an incredible collection of piece by some of the century's most famous humorists -- from Groucho Marx himself to SJ Perlman, Garrison Keillor, Thomas Meehan (who wrote the book to the musical "The Producers), Marshall Brickman, Woody Allen, Roy Blount, Christopher Buckley, Steve Martin, and more. Some of the pieces bring a smile, others a chuckle, and quite a few made me laugh out loud. Trawling through seventy-five years of The New Yorker, the editors (who contribute a terrifically smart and funny introduction) have come up with some real winners--and even the also-rans are worth the time. The perfect book for your bedside table... or bathroom.
Rating: 
Summary: Not one of the better New Yorker collections
Review: Although I am a big fan of The New Yorker, I'm sorry to say this book did not make me laugh. I found it too obscure and I felt stupid I was not familiar with all the proper nouns. The one story here that is an exception is Larry Doyle's "Life Without Leanne," a wonderfully-crafted and indeed funny short short. I was hoping for some basic humor in this volume about everyday life, which follows other recent collections The New Yorker has put out in recent years ("Wonderful Town," "Nothing But You," etc.), and am sadly disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: the new york times overstated the case
Review: Based on the review in the New York Times I was very eager to get the book. However, I've found, as I've browsed through it that a lot of the choices are just not that great. Each of the authors has written much funnier stuff. As a NYer, suffering from post-9/11shocksyndrome, I really wanted/needed some escapist belly laughs. Unfortunately, the book just doesn't deliver more than a wry smile.
Rating:
Summary: HIGH BROW AND HUMORLESS
Review: Having received this book from my wife as a Christmas present, I looked forward to several moments of good laughs.
Wrong.
Fierce Pajamas is a eccentric collection of high brow, dark cliques humor. If you think you have a high IQ, live upper East side and need to read what's in, this is your baby.
Rating:
Summary: Such a great book that I had to give it away!
Review: I bought this book to take on vacation and my hosts loved the book so much that I had to leave it with them...and since I couldn't finish all the essays, I'm going to have to buy it again. It's so funny. I'm going to buy it for gifts... It's a riot.
Rating:
Summary: Such a great book that I had to give it away!
Review: I bought this book to take on vacation and my hosts loved the book so much that I had to leave it with them...and since I couldn't finish all the essays, I'm going to have to buy it again. It's so funny. I'm going to buy it for gifts... It's a riot.
Rating: 
Summary: A chortle here and there...
Review: I think I agree a bit with all the reviews- some of the pieces are just hilarious and I laughed out loud, reading the funny parts over and over. But on the other hand, there were a few pieces that were so obscure that I felt like I was working to find the humour. I like sly, subtle humour (although a huge belly laugh is a nice treat now and then) but there are a few pieces that were a little too esoteric for my taste. It's a great volume to have, though, to pick and choose from at leisure. When you get a good one- it's worth the entire collection!
Rating:
Summary: The New Yorker isn't what it used to be
Review: I was very disappointed in the book. Perhaps I shouldn't be, because it's been evident for decades that The New Yorker has deteriorated sadly since the days Harold Ross was editing it. After all, what can one think of a magazine that published 'The Greening of America'?I found several humorous articles, but they were all written before 1950. If you're interested in humor, a MUCH better bet is Muir's "The Oxford Book of Humorous Prose". It contains many articles which first appeared in The New Yorker, along with other funny pieces from all over the world
Rating:
Summary: Simply the best of the best
Review: If I were teaching a course in 20th Century American Humor, "Fierce Pajamas" would be my textbook. It is simply the best collection of the best short pieces by the best humor writers of our times--Robert Benchley, James Thurber, E. B. White, Dorothy Parker, S. J. Perelman, Groucho Marks, Steve Martin, Veronica Geng, Woody Allen, Ogden Nash, Martin Amis, John Updike, Mike Nichols, Garrison Keillor, Clarence Day, Frank "The Cliche Expert" Sullivan, Leonard (alias Mr. K*A*P*L*A*N) Ross--what more could one want? (Since you ask, dozens of other fine writers are represented in this unique collection.) Okay,there's not a single Abbott and Costello or Martin and Lewis routine in the whole book. But you knew that. This is wit,satire,irony--humor with an edge--not goofball slapstick. But anyone who can't get a belly laugh out of Steve Martin's "Changes in the Memory After Fifty", Ian Frazer's "Dating Your Mom", or David Owen's timely "What Happened to My Money?" should have his pulse checked. I've been sipping this rare, bubbly vintage for a month or so and am about to go back for seconds. Not only am I recommending it to my friends, I'm impoverishing myself sending copies to everyone I care about! Have a sip yourself.
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