Comedy is an art, but there is comedy to be gained in treating it as a science. What Are You Laughing At? Is a discussion of the genre of many mediums in comedy, trying to define a broad topic which an vary person to person. Attempting to gain a better understanding of the concept of comedy, writer for many hit comedy sitcoms in the past few decades Dan O'Shannon presents an intriguing delve into psychology and sociology behind it all. What Are You Laughing At? Is a fine take on the meaning and purpose of comedy, highly recommended. -- James A. Cox, Editor-In-Chief * The Midwest Book Review - Wisconson Book Watch *
As hard as it would be to define "'the meaning of life', defining 'comedy' is harder. And somehow Dan O'Shannon does it in his insightful, comprehensive, and funny new book, What Are You Laughing At?: A Comprehensive Guide to the Comedic Event. I've been writing humor for 35 years and I learned stuff! If you're planning on a career in comedy all you will need is this book and a rubber chicken. -- Ken Levine, Writer/producer MASH and The Simpsons
Creative individuals usually have difficulty explaining how they get their ideas. But O'Shannon's presentation of how comedy works in excellent and detailed. O'Shannon is certainly an expert at creating comedy, having written and produced television successes like Cheers, Frasier, and Modern Family. He confesses here, however, that in his job he does not use the model he describes here and that he did have scholarly help, which he praises and is thankful for. The result is a sophisticated model of humor that stands up quite well against more scholarly works like Matthew Hurley, Daniel Dennett, and Reginald Adams Jr.'s Inside Jokes (CH, Jan'12, 49-2983) and John Morreall's Comic Relief (CH, Sep'10, 48-0062). ...This is a book for anyone curious about the nature of humor. Summing up: Highly recommended. All readers. -- P. L. Derks, emeritus, College of William and Mary * Choice *
