Getting Even

Collection of Woody Allen shorts from The New Yorker of the late 1960s. Very funny stuff. Standout is 'Death Knocks', in which the Grim Reaper tries unsuccessfully to collect a New Jersey dress manufacturer who just isn't ready to go. After three decades of prodigious film work & some unfortunate tabloid adventures, it's easy to forget that Woody Allen began his career as one heck of a great comedy writer. Getting Even, a collection of his late '60s magazine pieces, offers a look into Allen's bag of shtick, back when it was new. From the supposed memoirs of Hitler's barber: "Then, in January of '45, a plot by several generals to shave Hitler's moustache in his sleep failed when von Stauffenberg, in the darkness of Hitler's bedroom, shaved off one of the Fhrer's eyebrows instead..." Even tho the idea of writing jokes about old Adolf--or addled rabbis, or Maatjes herring--isn't nearly as fresh as it used to be, Getting Even still delivers plenty of laughs. At his best, Woody can achieve a level of transcendent craziness that no other writer can match. If you're looking for a book to dip into at random, or a gift for someone who's seen Sleeper 13 times, Getting Even is a classic, with 316,000 copies sold to date. The classic, with 316,000 copies sold to date.

Woody Allen revenges himself on such significant subjects as death, obesity, organized crime, the invention of the sandwich and much more.