12/16/2022
Comedian Seinfeld's (Is This Anything?) oversized photobook is a valentine to his 11-season TV series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (2012–19) and to the comedians he admired whom he interviewed on the show. The book opens with a fascinating oral history of the series' origin, including that Starbucks and Netflix both passed on sponsoring the show. Packed with color images, the book assembles back-and-forth banter between Seinfeld and other comedians in chapters devoted to topics like "Growing Up," "Relationships," "TV & Movies," "Music," "Money," "Other Comedians," "Sports," and more. It includes interviews with a roster of comedians who range from the veteran (Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Jerry Lewis, Don Rickles) to the contemporary (Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Howard Stern, Margaret Cho, David Letterman, Sarah Silverman, Chris Rock). The conversations are hilarious, but the book is also rich with autobiographical tales of seeking a life on stage. This is not comedians trading jokes; they're having real conversations filled with witty and astute observations. VERDICT Seinfeld collects funny and introspective conversations with several generations of world-class comedians. Ideal for those interested in stand-up comedy orclever observations about the world.—Kevin Howell