Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Angry Optimist by Lisa Rogak - Available

Angry Optimist

The Life and Times of Jon Stewart

by Lisa Rogak
Cassandra Campbell
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
Since his arrival at The Daily Show in 1999, Jon Stewart has become one of the major players in comedy as well as one of the most significant liberal voices in the media and on television today. In Angry Optimist, Lisa Rogak charts his unlikely rise to political stardom, from his early stand-up days to the short-lived but acclaimed Jon Stewart Show. Drawing on interviews with current and former colleagues, she reveals how things work behind the scenes at The Daily Show.

With speculation simmering about Stewart's possible retirement from The Daily Show and a contentious midterm election in 2014, this biography may come to serve as a capstone for a comedian who has wielded incredible power in American politics.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 9, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781494525552
      • File size: 180775 KB
      • Duration: 06:16:36

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      If you've ever wondered about what working at "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" is like, wonder no more. With consummate skill, narrator Cassandra Campbell takes listeners from northern New Jersey to Manhattan, where Stewart went from stand-up comic to a new generation's Walter Cronkite. And Stewart would be the first one to say people relying on him for news is a little goofy, but some people do. Campbell conveys Stewart's wit, charm, and sensitivity. The best section describes how Stewart's love for dogs has translated into "The Daily Show's" office being a home for hounds during the workday. As one staffer puts it, "I can't imagine working in an office without dogs around." M.S. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 24, 2014
      Cassandra Campbell brings a relaxed, casual tone to her narration of this unauthorized biography of political comedian Jon Stewart. It’s hard to imagine Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, born into an ordinary middle-class household in New Jersey, would grow up to become the satirical voice of a generation. Rogak chronicles this trajectory from childhood soccer player, to stand-up comedian, to Daily Show anchor. Along the way listeners learn of Stewart’s love of rock legend Bruce Springsteen, his supposedly mercurial temperament, and bits from his personal life. Most of this content is taken from previously published interviews rather than original reporting. To reader Campbell’s credit, she narrates Rogak’s superficial bio with a smooth, professional delivery that keeps the book moving at an easy pace for listening. She avoids trying to imitate Stewart’s voice, but manages to slip in just the right amount of humor when quoting him. This is an entertaining overview of Stewart’s life read well by Campbell. One only wishes the material had more depth. A St. Martin’s/Thomas Dunne hardcover.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 11, 2014
      In this pseudo-biography of Jon Stewart (né Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz), Rogak (Hillary Clinton in Her Own Words) packages a canned chronology of a figure's life and career. Starting from the very beginning, she tracks Stewart's childhood a short, Jewish kid in the WASPy neighborhood of Lawrenceville, N.J.; his adolescence as a class clown and talented soccer player; his first attempts at stand-up at the Bitter End and other New York haunts; his early stints on TV; his landing on The Daily Show in 1999; all 15 years of his tenure there up to the present; and all the various projects he has taken on in the meantime (including three books, several movies, award shows, and much more). While the thought-provoking questions surrounding Stewart's tenuous, and often contradictory, relationship to his work as both a fake-news-show host and an influential political pundit hang in the air, Rogak does little to shed new light on the topic. Instead, she borrows from other journalists to create an uninspired collection of repurposed quotes, which are interspersed with her own repetitive prose.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading