cover image ‘The Daily Show’ (the Audiobook): An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests

‘The Daily Show’ (the Audiobook): An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests

Chris Smith, read by a full cast. Hachette Audio, unabridged, 13 CDs, 16 hrs., $35 ISBN 978-1-4789-3655-8

The structure of this book, which groups brief memories and insights from numerous people into a dialogue-like format, requires each narrator to name the speaker as well as his or her job and years of employment for every quote included. The repetition is clunky and awkward in the audio edition, which employs several actors to read in place of the people involved in the show. Unfortunately, the voices are uneven; it sounds as though the actors were taped separately. That said, Daily Show fans and comedy mavens will love learning about the behind-the-scenes politics, the relationships among the players, and the unfolding of a seminal comedy show, from its inception in 1996 to Stewart’s first appearance in 1999, to his last night with all the adoring gang, Bruce Springsteen, and Stewart’s replacement, Trevor Noah. [em]A Grand Central hardcover. (Nov.) [/em]