Outrageous, Kliph Nesteroff
Outrageous, Kliph Nesteroff
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Outrageous
A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars

Author: Kliph Nesteroff

Narrator: Kliph Nesteroff

Unabridged: 10 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/28/2023

Synopsis

From the preeminent historian of modern comedy comes an expansive history of showbiz and the culture warsThere is a common belief that we live in unprecedented times, that people are too sensitive today, that nobody objected to the actions of actors, comedians, and filmmakers in the past. Modern pundits would have us believe that Americans of a previous generation had tougher skin and seldom complained. But does this argument hold up to scrutiny? In Outrageous, celebrated cultural historian Kliph Nesteroff demonstrates that Americans have been objecting to entertainment for nearly two hundred years, sometimes rationally, often irrationally. Likewise, powerful political interests have sought to circumvent the arts using censorship, legal harassment, and outright propaganda. From Mae West through Johnny Carson, Amos ’n’ Andy through Beavis and Butt-Head, Outrageous chronicles the controversies of American show business and the ongoing attempts to change what we watch, read, and hear.

About Kliph Nesteroff

Kliph Nesteroff is the author of We Had a Little Real Estate Problem.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Brendan on April 17, 2024

Comedians today will sometimes opine, "You can't say anything anymore without offending someone." Kliph Nesteroff is here to tell us all that you apparently could offend people since comedy started in his book Outrageous. Nesteroff's narrative is chock full of entertainment anecdotes from the 1800s t......more

Goodreads review by Katrisa on August 02, 2023

I am not sure how to feel after reading this book! On one hand, Nesteroff convincingly shows that the culture wars in America have been going on in a recognizable form for the whole scope of the book (this book covers from the 1800s to the early 2000s) with one side decrying entertainment as being u......more

Goodreads review by Jon on January 31, 2024

The more society changes, the more backwards people stay the same.......more

Goodreads review by Darren on January 01, 2025

3 1/2 STARS Probably to me the least interesting of Nesteroff’s books just because of the subject matter and having a decent amount of knowledge surrounding it. The comedians to be researched have been replaced with like news sources to research or think tanks to wonder about. Perfectly encapsulates......more

Goodreads review by Ed on June 30, 2024

Some things never change. Comedians have always been "cancelled" for being offensive, either to the conservative parts of society for being too edgy, or from the progressives for being too insensitive. The details change a lot, though, as society changes. Lenny Bruce was arrested for saying "Schmuck......more

Quotes

“Outrageous is required reading. An essential book of the social history of the United States—with laughs.”—Steve Martin“Outrageous is an enlightening and entertaining, detailed, and wide-ranging (and fun!) overview of the never-ending war between censorship and comic voices in showbiz going all the way back into the 1800s. Kliph Nesteroff is an expert unparalleled on the history of comedy, and this couldn’t be a more perfect book for our times. I loved it.”—Bob Odenkirk“Kliph Nesteroff is the Doris Kearns Goodwin of comedy. Outrageous is thought-provoking and often hilarious. I was only offended eight times.”—Judd Apatow

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