The Daily Show: An Oral History by Chris Smith

Title: The Daily Show (The Book): An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff, and Guests

Author: Chris Smith

Publisher: Grand Central 2016

Genre: Nonfiction - Media

Pages: 459

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (Nonfiction Adventure); I Love Libraries

For almost seventeen years, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart brilliantly redefined the borders between television comedy, political satire, and opinionated news coverage. It launched the careers of some of today's most significant comedians, highlighted the hypocrisies of the powerful, and garnered 23 Emmys. Now the show's behind-the-scenes gags, controversies, and camaraderie will be chronicled by the players themselves, from legendary host Jon Stewart to the star cast members and writers-including Samantha Bee, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Steve Carell, Lewis Black, Jessica Williams, John Hodgman, and Larry Wilmore-plus some of The Daily Show's most prominent guests and adversaries: John and Cindy McCain, Glenn Beck, Tucker Carlson, and many more.

I loved The Daily Show under Jon Stewart and was looking forward to learning more about the inner workings of the show. I liked that the book included interviews with all peoples involved and some show transcripts. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed that the book skipped over some big events and issues in the show's history. The book seemed to skim over a lot. And the book would definitely not be interesting to those who did not watch at least some of the episodes.