Naked Pictures of Famous People (Paperback: 176 pages)

Book Magazine

Gerald Ford and Martha Stewart are but two of the newsmakers undressed, with some startling results, in comedian Jon Stewart's new collection—a romp through, among other things, the imagined private lives of renowned artists, a groveling despot and two ex-presidents. Readers familiar with Stewart's TV work already know his sense of humor: a brand of self-deprecation that falls somewhere on the good side of the tracks running between Woody Allen and Richard Lewis. He goes much further here, with a mutt of a book (18 shorts taken from secret transcripts, cyber dialogue, pencil sketches and lost letters) that's full of unexpectedly heavy laughs. Highlights include Vincent Van Gogh's adaptation to AOL porn-chat, Larry King's landmark interview with Hitler (who has decided to stop "playing the blame game" and is plugging his new book Mein Comfortable Shoes), and even a visit to the room-under-the-stairs where the Kennedys keep their less successful children. The brevity of the pieces c...ombined with the flow of wit make this a buoyant read.—Eric Wetzel Read more Less