Review: Monologue: What Makes America Laugh Before Bed

Monologue: What Makes America Laugh Before Bed by Jon Macks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book by a former Jay Leno Tonight show head writer quite a lot. I was thinking I might end up rating it a 5 star book. But as I got into the second half, I realized how dated some of the material was. Late night monologues are often politically based, and some of the jokes retold were very dated. If you want to relive some of the punchlines of the late 80s through the early 00s, this is quite a good book. The author tells his own story, coming from the political world, writing ads and speeches, and turning that into a job writing jokes. You get some of the background of that kind of work, and you get a history of late night monologues back to before Jack Parr. His WC “joke” is included in its entirety. While most of the jokes retold are from Leno’s Tonight Show, the author includes many stories and favorite bits from other late night hosts. If you are interested in reliving past late night monologue jokes, are of a certain age to understand the for-the-time topical humor (say 45+), and are interested in the behind the scenes work of a joke writer, this is perfect for you. If you just want the best of Leno’s monologues, this is also a good bet.

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