Survival of the Dumbest

by Wil Anderson

'Did you know that in the last ten years, 31 Australians have died from watering the Christmas tree while the lights were still plugged in? And at least a couple of those were watering plastic trees. Now I don't want to seem callous, but to me that's not a tragedy - that's natural selection.'

In SURVIVAL OF THE DUMBEST, Wil Anderson turns his sharp gaze and wicked wit to the stupid, strange and perplexing quandaries of popular culture. Wil spares no-one, not even himself, as he delivers an almighty forehead slap to the modern world. And let's face it: between TV, politics, oversexed sports stars, advertising and automatic phone-banking systems - there are a lot of foreheads that need one.

Wil Anderson caused cornflake snorting incidents as a breakfast announcer on Triple J, hosts ABC TV's ever-popular The Glass House and continues to thrill audiences at just about every comedy festival known to man. Now Wil has set down some of his funniest rants and observations in this book. Let's just hope there are enough people left who can read…

Genres: Nonfiction, Australia, Humor, Comedy

258 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

William James "Wil" Anderson is an Australian comedian.

Reviews

[Jessica Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quite funny. I've been a fan of Wil Anderson since he was on jjj. This book was like going and seeing him perform live which was entertaining. I recommend this book to anyone who thinks he is a funny stand up comic.

[Scott Donald · Rating 1 out of 5]

These stories would have been much more enjoyable as a stand up routine. However on paper, Anderson's humour struggles to outperform his topic.

[Amy Marley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laughter really is the best medicine when human behaviour is gobsmackingly (so a word!!) confusing!

[Kerenza · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

If your not able to head out to a Wil Anderson show the next best thing is reading his book! This collection of past Wil articles had me laughing out loud, cringing at some bad taste jokes, and then laughing some more.


Wil’s rants were the highlight of my day. He just gets it! He is the Ying to my Yang . His rants make my rants weak in comparison. He is realistically my favourite comedian and I could not fault this book. Which was also a bargain $1 snap-up at a country market…winning!

Other than the obvious, what I also loved about this book was it was a snapshot to my past, and by my past I mean Australia’s, and by past I mean the last ten years. A lot of the references were out dated yet took me back and I still could relate and agree with Wil and it was interesting to see how things actually turned out, as compared to Wil’s musings. Based on the numerous Heath Ledger references, which were none too flattering I find moving about the most painful thing on earth, with the possible exception of camping, and sitting through the films of Heath Ledger , Wil surely didn’t expect Heath to turn out to be one of our greatest exports, or to tragically die so young. Wil also did not expect Julia Gilliard to become Prime Minister, and definitely did not expect Tony Abbott, aka The minister for missing the point to ever leave the back bench!

After a terrible day at work reading Wil’s book on the way home had me laughing out loud, and I couldn’t agree with him more on most points! And the whole time I was reading the book I could hear Wil’s voice. One thing guaranteed to give me road rage is “baby on board” bumper stickers. Who cares if there is a baby in board? its not like I'll spot the sticker and think: “well i was going to run that car off the road but now i know that there is a baby on board…”

I am also pretty sure that this is the best description of Easter I have read... Now let me point out I’m not having a go at easter here…I love nothing more than commemorating Jesus's death by eating chocolate eggs delivered by a magical bunny (just like it says in the bible).

This are but a few of the moments I was the crazy one laughing out loud in public, and that happened for most of the book. I feel like Wil is my kin , and his opinion on movie theatre etiquette was spot on! I'm sure Meagan will agree here .. and she has witnessed my movie theatre fellow patron aggression haha. when in the movie theatres please try to keep it to a whisper. Think of the movies as church but with better snacks (and whilst we’re on the topic, please confine your munching to the loud bits of the movie.)

If I could fault the book it would be this…. I could never agree to this. Your probably getting sick of reading my rants and raves, but indulge me a little longer… Please do not ever stop Wil.

Now excuse me whilst I go block out my calendar for the comedy festival, crack open my Wilosophy DVD and watch the Gruen transfer. Im sure I can even squeeze in a glass house episode before bed….

[Cass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Australian comedian Wil Anderson puts his humour to paper and delivers commentary on politics, common sense, celebrities and life in general.

As a big fan of Wil Anderson’s work, I honestly can’t believe it took me 10 years to discover his first book. Survival of the Dumbest did not disappoint.

Each chapter of Survival of the Dumbest is written in a style not unlike Anderson’s stand up comedy. It’s fast paced, very witty and there are segues aplenty. This means that while reading, there is never a dull moment.

While some of the content has only aged well if you remember current events from 2006, most of it still stands up well. Buying a house still sucks, rugby league players still behave inappropriately, politicians are still stabbing each other in the back, and certain shock jocks are still being vile.

I don’t feel the content that has aged takes anything away from Survival of the Dumbest. If anything, I found a lot of good nostalgia value in remembering celebrity indiscretions, television shows, movies and events that had long since slipped my mind. I found it especially funny that Anderson lists why three of the four Prime Ministers since John Howard (the PM at the time the book was written) shouldn’t go on to be Prime Minister. Oops.

I would recommend this book to fans of Wil Anderson or anyone who enjoys a good laugh-out-loud-funny book. It would also help greatly if you can remember when John Howard was the Australian Prime Minister, Bec and Lleyton Hewitt were honeymooners, and the names of Australian Idol’s first winner and runner up.

[Belinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have loved Wil Anderson since his days on the breakfast shift with Adam Spencer on Triple J. Since he hosted The Glasshouse and made regular appearances in comedy galas screened on TV. I did not however, love his book. The friend who lent it to me couldn't recommend it to me highly enough, but I found myself forcing my way through it. Perhaps it was because I have outgrown his style of comedy, which involves heavily ragging on the same celebrities over and over. Perhaps it is because I have heard all these jokes before; his book was published in 2006 and Anderson is a notorious recycler when it comes to his material.

There were a few interesting highlights, but this was mainly in the section on politicians, as the political landscape before Kevin Rudd seized power from Kim Beazley before the 2007 election. As an historical artifact, it is interesting to see Anderson's opinions of who are now the key movers and shakers of Australian politics, but were then the new kids on the block. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to redeem the book. Books like Survival of the Dumbest have a short shelf life and I would be leery of picking up a similarly styled book again, no matter how much I like the author.

[bigmuzz]

i've been a fan of wil anderson's for years, through his work on the glasshouse, gruen transfer, and comedy festivals on tv, so when i found this book in the library i knew it would be good. the book reads much like his standup material both in style, pacing and wit. the only downfall was that i had read a lot of the material before from the newspaper columns this book was collected from, and the constant references to warnie and shannon noll can become a little strained at times. that being said though, any fan of wil's will love this book no matter what, and even though i had read some of it before, it was still funny the second time around :)

[Drew (graysonsyd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst it is legitimately funny, Survival of the Dumbest is essentially a greatest hits compilation of Wil Anderson's columns strung together to make an extended piece of work. Unfortunately, it felt like I had already read the majority of the book before even picking it up and the expanded or 'new' sections don't really add any extra weight to exactly what's on offer. As stated, Survival of the Dumbest is genuinely funny, but considering it's fans of his columns that are most likely to pick this up, the price for déjà vu seems altogether a little unfair.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wil writes like he talks - once you wind him up he doesn't stop. But it's a great story written or spoken. He says what many of us think about stupidity and how none of us is immune. It's funny and at the same time sensible enough to make you think he's onto something. I'll admit I am a huge fan of Wil and I am possibly biased - but over the years when conversations start about stupidity, I recommend this book. Many of my friends read it and loved it until one of them never gave it back. I despaired of ever finding another copy until online books came out and saved the day.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book to read - it flowed nicely and was very funny in some places. I have to admit that I am a fan of Wil Anderson though as I love his style of comedy and so I was probably more likely to enjoy his book.

It is quite a quick read - I read it over a few days on the commute to work and back although I did get a couple of strange looks when I tried to smother a laugh out loud moment.

[Meredith Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is much like Wil Anderson’s standup style. This makes it accessible and easy to read, however, it also results in familiarity of some of the subject matter. Funny as his observations are, their ‘then topical’ nature detracts a little from later readings.

[David Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tad dated now (John Howard is no longer Prime Minister) yet still good material. I now also ponder why the great Australian dream is said to be owning a home when really it is getting a century, during a test debut, at Lords, as opening batsman, on the first day, of the first Ashes test match

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Hillarious read that had me laughing my ass off!

[Kirill · Rating 4 out of 5]

used to love Anderson's column in Herald's Sunday.

[Sean Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 / 5). Oh, Wil Anderson, never change. But lay off poor Winona!

[Anne Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very funny.

[Hadeel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I laughed a lot. Has a really witty jokes

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This read is a weird kind of cookie: soft and chewy on the outside and rock hard on the inside. It was funny the first chapter but bland the rest.

[Peta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good light read but some of the jokes are understandably a bit dated and at times a bit repetitive.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Wil Anderson, he always has a knack for making me laugh, and in this book I was snorting with laughter, though some of the jokes were a bit dated I still very much enjoyed this book :)

[Jennifer Mitton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 'Laugh out loud' read! Genuinely funny, lighthearted humour. Great for reading on the plane, I read it twice!

[Mella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humorous anecdotes and tales about the life of Wil Anderson. Nice funny read.

[Katharine (Ventureadlaxre) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly amusing, but I wish I hadn't paid for this.

[Rae · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't really find it funny, could only read the first chapter before I gave up on it. Maybe he's better live?