American Satire: An Anthology of Writings from Colonial Times to the Present

This book satisfies both requirements of a good anthology. First, it stands on its own as an entertaining, satisfying book. Second, it acts as a valuable map, pointing the way to further investigation should an inspired reader choose to do so. Since it wears its serious intent on its sleeve, political satire finds favor with intellectuals (particularly academics) much more easily than other forms of humor. Thus, you can bet that American Satire spends plenty of time in the early days of the Republic. However, the pre-Civil War selections are very good and quite intelligible to the modern reader. Benjamin Franklin's "Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One" and Washington Irving's "Tales of a Traveler" remain absolutely hilarious. Editor Nicholas Bakalar also introduces a little-known American satirist, Fanny Fern (1811-1872), who deserves a nickel for every newspaper column written since (except the ones for which Robert Benchley deserves a quarter). Even more admirable than the library spadework is Bakalar's inclusion of Art Buchwald, Kurt Vonnegut, Russell Baker, P.J. O'Rourke, and Molly Ivins. Though your favorite author may not be here, it's nice to see that American Satire doesn't suffer from the post-1950 fade-out common in books of the type. This book is an excellent introduction to American satire; it amply demonstrates that in this genre, at least, the United States has a literary tradition that ranks with the best. --Michael Gerber