Of All Things

by Robert Benchley

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Genres: Humor, Essays, Nonfiction, Classics

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Works, including How to Sleep , the film of 1935, and My Ten Years in a Quandary , the book of 1936, of Robert Charles Benchley, humorist, critic, and actor, often pitted an average American against the complexities of modern life.

People best knew Robert Charles Benchley as a newspaper columnist. He began at the Lampoon and meanwhile attended Harvard University and wrote many essays and articles for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker.
From New York City and his peers at the Algonquin Round Table, short style brought acclaim, respect, and success to Benchley to contemporaries in the burgeoning industry.

Benchley contributed best remembered influential topical or absurdist essays to The New Yorker. He also made a name in Hollywood, when his popular success won best short subject at the academy awards of 1935, and his many memorable appearances in such as Foreign Correspondent of Alfred Joseph Hitchcock and a dramatic turn in Nice Girl? . He wrote his legacy in numerous short appearances.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed Robert Benchley's humor, since I first got interested, in the members of The Algonquin Round Table. His shorts from the 30's are very amusing and are a lot of fun to watch. I ran across this book, at my local bookstore. I have read many stories, from the other members, but never Benchley, until now.

I enjoyed many of the stories that is in this collection, Benchley's voice comes through all of them. But sadly, do to so many years since it's publishing, the book is close to a 100 years old. Some of the stories are battered by time. But I still, found something enjoyable from each story.

[Michael Malice · Rating 1 out of 5]

WASP "humor." If you like jokes about furnaces, bridge and Yale, this is for you.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was worth reading this book just to be reminded of how far we have come in the past 90 years. And the author's dry sense of humor was delightful. My favorite chapter was "The Scientific Scenario". He has nice skills with satire.

[Steve Shilstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only was Benchley a humorist of note, he was a humorist of the entire scale and then some.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and wonderful reads. Silly but poignant!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't believe I had ever heard of Robert Benchley before reading this, though I've since learned more about him (such as that he's the grandfather of the author of Jaws) and watched one of his short films (How to Sleep, which is available for free on YouTube). I think I saw his name on a list of authors to read if you like P.G. Wodehouse, so Donald and I gave this freebie a try between other books.

It's been months since we finished it, but I think my impression was that it was amusing in spots, but that it felt more dated and less funny than Cuppy's How to Be a Hermit. Cuppy's book is the more recent of the two—published in 1929, while these essays by Benchley were published in 1921—but the choice of subject matter make the more recent one feel fresher and more relevant (to me) than a mere eight years' difference should make.

For example, one of these essays relates the process of college football fans gathering to listen to the progress of a game being played at a distant stadium. But because this was before radio broadcasts of sporting events, the events of the game were communicated via telegraph, with an announcer relaying the play-by-play. There's a great deal of confusion and mistakes, and the whole thing feels bizarre and far-removed from the modern experience. (Some of the essays are less severely dated than this, but this one stands out in my memory more than most of the others.)

Anyway, it's been too long since reading it for me to make many more comments. I'd consider reading more of the author's work.

[Sterlingcindysu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time for a short freebie for Kindle from Amazon. I'm always amazed at how well his writing and choice of topics have held up over 100 years. (Well, sad to say, the essay about the phone book will not be relevant soon.) How many of us still try to catch the bartender's attention at a crowded bar? There's even an essay on "fuel savings" but the fuel is coal, not gas.

I just finished reading Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson, and Benchley makes some comments about the League of Nations here.

Can you imagine reading on a ticker tape what was happening in a football game?

I looked it up, Horace W. Furnace did *not* invent the furnace.

[Joseph Teller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Time is not kind...

Most of the material in this book has none of its humorous edge, too much is period refers to things long past to the point of forgotten. Unless you are reading it purely from historical curiosity its probably not worth the effort.

[Glasdow Teacosy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. Not every essay was a winner, and many of the pop cultural references from the 1920s were obscure, but Benchley’s writing when focused on people was witty, biting, and truthful. The best humor usually is.

[Ronald J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up because Dave Barry said Benchley was one of his favorite humor authors. I didn't think the stories here were very humorous, more charming really.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too lightweight for 5 stars, but some very amusing stuff in this collection. It makes a good bedside book for dipping into.

[Cookie M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of Benchley's writings, but still amusing.

[Ci · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the same light-as-souffle genre of P.G. Wodehouse and some writings of E.B. White, this book is very light-hearted. The major problem is that the topics are very aged -- most of the household appliances he mentioned would be a mystery to modern reading -- and some of his opinions may now be considered prejudicial. This book is the product of a bygone time with all its flavor and oddities and charms preserved in these aged pages.

[Cayenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bob Benchley is very much the Dave Barry of the 1920's. Very funny, but pretty silly too. I laughed out loud a lot, but I didn't finish all the articles. Some of them were about topics I couldn't relate to--like coal burning furnaces. I still got the gist, but it wasn't as funny. About halfway through my fickle brain was ready to move onto another book.

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get the impression that some people don't understand that this book is written as satire.

If you want a very good example of dry American humor from the early 20th century (1920s..1940s), read this book. If you are familiar with Robert Benchly's work in short films, you'll hear his voice coming through as you read.

[David Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Benchley's first collection has its moments, starting with the dedication to the inventor of "the Bessemer steel converter" and continuing through the preface, which merely reproduces the Declaration of Independence, but most of what follows is lesser Benchley, light but rarely outright funny. He hadn't hit his stride and there's no use pretending.

[Jennifer Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and light!

Mr. Benchley is an easy read that tickles the over tickled mind even by today's so-called smart and sophisticated set of writers that uses way too many bad words to get their point across!