The Benchley Roundup: A Selection by Nathaniel Benchley of His Favorites

Robert C. Benchley

University of Chicago Press, 1983 - Fiction - 333 pages

A hilarious collection by the inimitable writer whom Dave Barry calls his idol, "the funniest writer who ever lived"!
American humor wouldn't be the same if it weren't for Robert C. Benchley. His sketches and articles, published in periodicals like Life, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker, earned him a reputation as one of the sharpest humorists of his time; his influence—on contemporaries such as E. B. White, James Thurber, and S. J. Perelman, or followers like Woody Allen, Steve Martin, and Richard Pryor—has left an indelible mark on the American comic tradition. The Benchley Roundup collects those pieces, selected by Benchley's son Nathaniel, "which seem to stand up best over the years," a compendium of the most endearing and enduring work from one of America's funniest and most penetrating wits.

"It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by then I was too famous."
—Robert Benchley

Contents

• Take the Witness: 1
• How to Get Things Done: 5
• The Social Life of the Newt: 11
• Football Rules or Whatever They Are: 16
• The Tortures of WeekEnd Visiting: 20
• From Nine to Five: 26
• Shakespeare Explained: 33
• Christmas Afternoon: 36
• Family Life in America: 41
• Do Insects Think?: 44
• The Stranger Within Our Gates: 46
• Opera Synopses: 51
• Malignant Mirrors: 57
• How to Understand International Finance: 59
• KiddieKar Travel: 61
• Uncle Ediths Ghost Story: 67
• French for Americans: 71
• Is This the Missing Link?: 76
• The Mystery of the Poisoned Kipper: 79
• Ask That Man: 83
• Edithas Christmas Burglar: 87
• What Does It Mean?: 92
• A Talk to Young Men: 94
• Paul Reveres Ride: 98
• Throwing Back the European Offensive: 103
• More Songs for Meller: 108
• Compiling an American Tragedy: 111
• Interoffice Memo: 114
• Fascinating Crimes: 121
• Back to the Game: 124
• The Typical New Yorker: 130
• Carnival Week in Sunny Las Los: 138
• Another Uncle Edith Christmas Story: 143
• If These Old Walls Could Talk: 149
• Happy Childhood Tales: 152
• The Sunday Menace: 155
• Can We Believe Our Eyes?: 160
• Not Murder but Suicide: 164
• One Minute Please: 169
• Looking Shakespeare Over: 174
• How I Create: 178
• FirstCatch Your Criminal: 183
• The Noon Telephone Operator: 187
• Fall In: 190
• Could You Tell Me?: 194
• The Wreck of the Sunday Paper: 198
• WhatNo Budapest?: 201
• Minds Eye Trouble: 204
• How to Understand Music: 210
• The King and the Old Man: 214
• The Real Public Enemies: 217
• MatineesWednesdays and Saturdays: 222
• The Chinese Situation: 227
• Saturdays Smells: 230
• Route Nationale 14: 233
• Naming Our Flowers: 239
• JohnnyontheSpot: 241
• Down with Pigeons: 244
• Contributors to This Issue: 249
• No Pullmans Please: 251
• Mysteries from the Sky: 253
• Isnt It Remarkable?: 255
• Do Dreams Go by Opposites?: 257
• News from Home: 259
• The Childrens Hour: 262
• Back to Mozart: 264
• Spy Scares: 266
• Artists Model Succumbs: 268
• Ladies Wild: 270
• Cocktail Hour: 275
• Why We Laughor Do We?: 277
• Weather Records: 281
• Home Made Jokes: 283
• Men of Harlech: 285
• Summer Shirtings: 289
• Word Torture: 292
• I Know of It: 294
• The Card: 296
• How Long Can You Live?: 299
• My Face: 301
• Easy Tests: 305
• Encore: 307
• Hey Waiter: 309
• Sporting Life in America: 314
• Why I Am Pale: 319
• Whoa: 322
• The Menace of Buttered Toast: 323
• Do I Hear Twenty Thousand?: 326

About the author

Robert C. Benchley (1889-1945), a premier humorist of his time and member of the Algonquin Round Table, wrote for the New York World and New York Tribune Graphic as well as many other periodicals; his work was widely syndicated and anthologized.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Benchley Roundup: A Selection by Nathaniel Benchley of His Favorites
• Author: Robert C. Benchley
• Editor: Nathaniel Benchley
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1983
• ISBN: 0226042189, 9780226042183
• Length: 333 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / General; Humor / Form / Essays; Humor / General; Literary Collections / Essays