Esquire

Here they are--some of the funniest tales and ruminations ever put into print, by one of the great comic minds of our time. From THE WHORE OF MENSA, to GOD (A Play), to NO KADDISH FOR WEINSTEIN, old and new Woody Allen fans will laugh themselves hysterical over these sparkling gems.

An instant New York Times bestseller! From the bestselling author of But What if We’re Wrong, a wise and funny reckoning with the decade that gave us slacker/grunge irony about the sin of trying too hard, during the greatest shift in human consciousness of any decade in American history. It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between, one presidential election was allegedly decided by Ross Perot while another was plausibly decided by Ralph Nader. In the beginning, almost every name and address was listed in a phone book, and everyone answered their landlines because you didn’t know who it was. By the end, exposing someone’s address was an act of emotional violence, and nobody picked up their new cell phone if they didn’t know who it was. The 90s brought about a revolution in the human condition we’re still groping to understand. Happily, Chuck Klosterman is more than up to the job. Beyond epiphenomena like "Cop Killer" and Titanic and Zima, there were wholesale shifts in how society was perceived: the rise of the internet, pre-9/11 politics, and the paradoxical belief that nothing was more humiliating than trying too hard. Pop culture accelerated without the aid of a machine that remembered everything, generating an odd comfort in never being certain about anything. On a 90’s Thursday night, more people watched any random episode of Seinfeld than the finale of Game of Thrones. But nobody thought that was important; if you missed it, you simply missed it. It was the last era that held to the idea of a true, hegemonic mainstream before it all began to fracture, whether you found a home in it or defined yourself against it. In The Nineties, Chuck Klosterman makes a home in all of it: the film, the music, the sports, the TV, the politics, the changes regarding race and class and sexuality, the yin/yang of Oprah and Alan Greenspan. In perhaps no other book ever written would a sentence like, “The video for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was not more consequential than the reunification of Germany” make complete sense. Chuck Klosterman has written a multi-dimensional masterpiece, a work of synthesis so smart and delightful that future historians might well refer to this entire period as Klostermanian.

"Esquire The Handbook of Style brings readers vital information on every aspect of a man's wardrobe, from suits and shirts, to shoes and neckties, to watches and other accessories. The style-minded reader will find useful advice on suit fabrics and cuts, the right kind of trousers for his build, the essential outerwear to own, how to dress properly for an occasion, how to tie a tie, how to pack for a trip, grooming strategies, and much, much more"--Amazon.com.

For seventy years, Esquire has established a reputation for publishing the most innovative nonfiction in the country, and this remarkable anthology of more than fifty articles is a testament to that quality. "This collection is an inspiration," writes Esquire editor in chief David Granger, "as much for the stories contained within, as for the belief that the written word can change and enlighten the world, one story at a time." Book jacket.

Tender and satiric, hilarious and humane, Dogwalker plunks readers down in a land of misfits and the circumstantially strange–where one young man buys drugs from a dealer who locks his customers in a closet, while another lands a cat-faced circus freak for a roommate, and yet another must choose between his pregnant wife and the ten-pound slug he’s convinced will bring him a fortune. And throughout these stories moves a divinely inspired collection of dogs: three-legged, no-legged, dogs that sing, that talk, and that give birth to humans. Brilliant, perplexing, and moving, this is a daring debut that strolls along society’s fringes and unearths strange beauty among its misfits

"Times change. Technology changes. And so THE RULES must be updated. Hence this all-new book codifies Eqsuire's 851 rules to live by NOW. From work to style, women to communication, cars to fitness, these are the things successful men need to know to navigate life today." --

From Esquire's popular "What I've Learned" column comes a stunning, all-new collection of candid interviews with 65 actors, athletes, directors, musicians, writers, comedians, politicians, and other legendary figures. Every one of the impressive figures profiled here offers insights that reveal the humanity behind the famous face. The lessons these larger-than-life personalities convey are funny, inspirational, very down-to-earth--and always captivating. The profiles include: 50 Cent, Tim Allen, Woody Allen, André 3000, Kevin Bacon, Tony Bennett, Joe Biden, David Blaine, Albert Brooks, James L. Brooks, Jim Brown, James Lee Burke, Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton, George H. W. Bush (with Barbara Bush), Michael Caine, Chevy Chase, Chris Christie, Francis Ford Coppola, Kevin Costner, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Daniels, Ted Danson, Robert DeNiro, Bruce Dern, Danny DeVito, Robert Duvall, Art Garfunkel, Ricky Gervais, Phillip Glass, Elliott Gould, Kelsey Grammer, Robert Haas, Jim Harrison, Kevin Hart, Ethan Hawke, Jesse Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Joan Jett, Larry King, Padma Lakshmi, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lyle Lovett, James Meredith, Helen Mirren, Keith Olbermann, Gary Oldman, Yoko Ono, Mary-Louise Parker, Pelé, Sean Penn, Robert Redford, Lionel Richie, Amy Schumer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Slash, Aaron Sorkin, Harry Dean Stanton, Sting, Donald Sutherland, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher Walken, Sigourney Weaver, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and Thom Yorke.

A review of men's fashions from the thirties, forties, and post war period.

Take an entertaining look back at how to party it up like they did fifty years ago - in the age of 'Lounge.' Now re-introduced for the first time since its original publication in 1949, this book is full of classic advice and guidelines on how to throw a fabulous cocktail party. Complete with everything from directions on how to stock the bar to tips on making conversation to hilarious party games and 400 delightful and useful period illustrations, Esquire's Handbook for Hosts is a delightful reminder that even the most hopeless host can give a terrific party, whether it's New Year's Eve 1949 or 1999. The nostalgic chapters include: Eat - The World's Best Chefs Wear Pants, Foreign Flavors to Win Guest's Favors; Drink - What the Well-Dressed bar Will Wear, Five O'Clock Whistle Whetters; And Be Merry - Games, After-Dinner Witchcraft, How Attractive Are You to Women? and 365 excuses for a Party.

Have you ever wondered what it feels like: to be stuck in a tornado? “[It] is exactly the feel of a freight train approaching—that low, ever-louder howl and the shuddering ground.” to participate in an orgy? “And all the while, the thought that keeps going through your mind (and through the cab ride home, and into breakfast the next day): ‘I’m at an orgy! I’m at an orgy!’” to have a severe stutter? “The thing is, there’s a disconnect thing between my mind and my tongue. My mind’s processing a thousand words a minute, and the tongue is only squeezing out ten or twelve.” to be a mob hitman? “It’s nerve-racking. Don’t let anyone tell you any different. Anybody who’s any good at this is concentrating with every nerve in their body, trying to get it done right and trying not to get caught.” to be 105 years old? “I was born in 1897 and I’ve seen a lot in the world. I’ve seen everything there is to see. You look back and tell yourself, ‘What have I been doing all these years?’” If these tidbits whet your appetite for real, first-person accounts of some of life’s most exhilarating, harrowing, or downright strange experiences, then you’ll be sucked in by Esquire Presents: What It Feels Like. Collected by the ever-curious editors of Esquire magazine, here are more than fifty gripping tales—straight from the mouths of the people who’ve lived them.