By Steve Martin
209 pages; Simon & Schuster

Can a man who made comic history with a gag-arrow-through-the-head be frankly disarming? Yes, as comedian and writer Steve Martin demonstrates with warmth and precision in his memoir, Born Standing Up (Scribner). Read it for the intelligent musing, for the insights into burlesque, bombing (onstage, that is), and the wily art of getting laughs.

— Cathleen Medwick