Nobody Better, Better Than Nobody

by Ian Frazier

Nobody Better, Better Than Nobody is a collection of five extended essays that appeared in The New Yorker from 1978 to 1986. In the tradition of A. J. Liebling and Joseph Mitchell, Ian Frazier raises journalism to high literary art. His vivid stories showcase a strange and wonderful parade of American life, from portraits of Heloise, the syndicated household-hints columnist, and Jim Deren, the urban fly-fisher's guru, to small-town residents in western Kansas preparing to celebrate a historic, mutual massacre, to which they invite the Cheyenne Indians' descendants with the promise of free bowling.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1987

About the author

Ian Frazier (b.1951) is an American writer and humorist. He is the author of Travels in Siberia, Great Plains, On the Rez, Lamentations of the Father and Coyote V. Acme, among other works, all published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. He graduated from Harvard University. A frequent contributor to The New Yorker, he lives in Montclair, New Jersey.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/ianfra...

Reviews

[Steven Groner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early short stories... five in all. A quick read.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

solid essays from back when the new yorker was good.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings again. But I like how he seems to just pick a topic and write about it, maybe take a trip along the way.