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 Location:  Home » Books » General » How to Be a Stand-Up Comic  
How to Be a Stand-Up Comic
How to Be a Stand-Up Comic
Author: Richard Belzer
Publisher: Citadel
Category: Book

List Price: $9.95
Buy Used: $3.94
You Save: $6.01 (60%)





Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars 4 reviews
Sales Rank: 296623

Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7

ISBN: 0806513195
Dewey Decimal Number: 817
EAN: 9780806513195
ASIN: 0806513195

Publication Date: June 1, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Also Available In:

  • Hardcover - How to Be a Stand-Up Comic
  • Hardcover - How to be a Stand-up Comic
  • Audio Cassette - How to Be a Stand Up Comic

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Comedian Richard Belzer promises that he can turn anyone into a stand-up comedian. Here he makes good on that promise and provides a generous helping of laughs in the process. This irreverents and informative book prepares wannabe comedians with tips and inside information from a seasoned veteran. Photographs.


Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars What's with the bad reviews?   September 28, 2008
I'm serious about that. This isn't a stand-up routine. When I was in eighth grade, I did a project on how to be a stand-up comedian, and of all of the books that I used for research, this was the one that I used the most. The others were a bit... well... boring. I thought stand-up comedy was supposed to be entertaining, and the other books weren't. I could have just read straight through this book in one sitting, but I was supposed to look through several books.

The truth is that this book is really a stand-up comedy routine on how to be a stand-up comedian. As another review mentioned, there is very little text in it, and mostly pictures, but the text was very useful for me. Some of the pictures were helpful. There are a lot of jokes in it, but that's a good thing. Another review commented on the profanity, but that's something that sells. A lot of comedians do it. It really is an informative book, and I can't believe that it's not as easy to find.

I might be the only person that was helped by it, but it might help you even more.



2 out of 5 stars Very disappointed   October 13, 2001
 2 out of 11 found this review helpful

I was disappointed at all the four letter words, vulgarity and the mention of one night stands while he is married. I felt it was also degrading to women. I love Richard Belzer as an actor but as a writer I was disappointed in the book. Does he want his two daughters to read his book?


3 out of 5 stars You'd expect more from a man with only one testicle.   March 5, 1999
 10 out of 13 found this review helpful

First of all, I had a terribly hard time locating this book... For good reason it turns out. Although published in 1988, 'How To Be a Stand Up Comic' appears to be a remainder from an earlier, long forgotten era. Shoddy production value, crappy packaging and all together amateur layouts do little to improve this book's allure - once opened it can be read in a single bowel-movement. Not to say that this book is entirely disappointing, it isn't. Richard Belzer is a master of his craft. Being a Stand Up Comic. Writing and assembling a book which captures his celebrated, irreverent wit proves daunting. Entirely devoid of substance this 208 page collection of cheap, grainy B&W photos masquerades as a `book,' containing no more than 6 pages of text. What fills up the remaining 202 pages are a serious of poor-quality black and white photographs of `The Belz' in a series of `comedic' skits. Whereas these pictures could ideally have served to coincide and reinforce the text, Belzer uses them as a way to replace his written word leaving the `reader' cheated. This is basically a scrappy attempt at a half-hearted and entirely unrealized premise. Rarely do you see a talent such as Richard Belzer's so blatantly betrayed. I anxiously await the publication of his next work `Conspiracies You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Believe' which will hopefully ameliorate my current feeling of betrayal.


2 out of 5 stars You won't learn how to be a stand up comic reading this book   March 17, 1998
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

While reading this book is mildly amusing, you will not learn how to construct a joke or bring out your funny side by reading it. In short you won't learn much about "how to be a stand up comedian". I was disappointed because I do think Belz is a funny guy. I just didn't think the book was very instructive.

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