Books About the Round Table
	Wit's End: Days and Nights of the Algonquin Round Table by James R. Gaines Paperback: 251 pages Publisher: Harcourt; (January 1977) This is the best book out there about the roots, growth and history of the Round Table. Jim Gaines has done a remarkable job of presenting the colorful group. Packed with photos and illustrations, a must-have book for devotees of the Vicious Circle.
[hardcover] [paperback]	Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties (Hardcover) 352 pages. Publisher: Nan A. Talese (May 18, 2004) Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties (Paperback) 368 pages. Publisher:Harvest Books (June 6, 2005) By Marion Meade Highly Recommended. Seventeen years ago Meade wrote Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell is This? It remains the definitive Dorothy Parker biography; now she expands on the 10 most exciting years of Parker's life, along with Edna Ferber, Zelda Fitzgerald and Edna St. Vincent Millay. The subtitle of Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin is "Writers Running Wild in the Twenties" and it is an exciting read that zeroes in on one decade in the lives of the four women and those close to them. There are other, longer, and deeper biographies and autobiographies of the quartet, but this book digs beneath the surface about what made them so unique, powerful and passionate about what they did. [READ MORE CLICK HERE].
[hardcover] [paperback]	The Algonquin Wits: Bon Mots, Wisecracks, Epigrams and Gags by Robert E. Drennan (Editor), Heywood Hale Broun (Introduction) (Hardcover) 176 pages (illustrated), Replica Books, November 1, 2000 The Algonquin Wits: Bon Mots, Wisecracks, Epigrams and Gags by Robert E. Drennan (Editor), Heywood Hale Broun (Introduction) (Paperback) 176 pages (illustrated), Citadel Press, 1989 Highly Recommended. This is a great book for any fan of the Round Table. It first came out in 1968 and was reprinted in 1989 and 2000. It has a nice introduction by Heywood Hale Broun (son of Heywood Broun and Ruth Hale). It collects dozens and dozens of the famous quips and quotes. Besides Mrs. Parker, it includes Franklin Pierce Adams, Robert Benchley, Heywood Broun, Edna Ferber, Ring Lardner, George S. Kaufman, Harpo Marx, Harold Ross, Robert Sherwood, Alexander Woollcott and others "completing the circle". There are so many gems here. One of them: Mrs. Parker gave the following advice to a friend who's ailing cat had to be put away; "try curiosity."
	The Years with Ross by James Thurber Paperback: 336 pages; Perennial (re-issued Jan. 1, 2001) At the helm of America's most influential literary magazine for more than half a century, Harold Ross introduced readers to a host of exciting talent, including Robert Benchley, Alexander Wollcott, Ogden Nash, Peter Arno, Charles Addams, and Dorothy Parker. James Thurber captures not only a complex literary giant, but a historic friendship and a glorious era as well.
	Genius in Disguise: Harold Ross of the New Yorker by Thomas Kunkel Paperback: 512 pages; Carroll & Graf; (June 1996) Genius in Disguise is more than a portrait of Harold Ross. Ross is one of those precious few magazine editors whose essence so richly permeates their publication that to speak of the early years of the New Yorker without speaking of Ross is as unthinkable as Playboy without Hefner or Ms. without Steinem. Everything we associate with the sophisticated, urban magazine that refused to address itself to the "little old lady in Dubuque"--the eclectic (and sometimes obscure) subject matter, the obsessive attention to factual and grammatical perfection, even the visual style of the cartoons--was shaped by Ross. But an editor is nothing without writers and artists, and so Kunkel presents Ross as a team captain of sorts, seamlessly weaving anecdotes about the players into his rich portrait of Ross's life.
	Ferber: Edna Ferber and Her Circle by Julie Gilbert Paperback: 445 pages; Applause Theatre Books (February 2000) This enduring biography of the popular writer begins with Ferber's last years in New York City, exploring the setting in which she did all of her great writing. Diaries, copious correspondence, and the cooperation of distinguished living friends have resulted in a rich portrait of a period and a literary circle not yet fully documented, and an insightful engaging analysis of a writer highly influential in the shaping of twentieth century America.
	F.P.A.: The Life and Times of Franklin Pierce Adams by Sally Ashley Hardcover: 266 pages Publisher: Olympic Marketing Corporation; (September 1986) This is an extremely well-written book on a sadly neglected figure in American culture. The most popular newspaper columnist of his time, Adams made "Tinker to Evers to Chance" a national catchphrase and was mentor to George S. Kaufman, James Thurber and Dorothy Parker.
	Deems Taylor: A Biography by James A. Pegolotti and Gerard Schwarz Hardcover: 410 pages Publisher: Northeastern University Press; (October 2003) In this first biography of Taylor, James A. Pegolotti brings to life the remarkably multi-talented man within the context of his times. The captivating portrait recounts his formative years in the Bronx, his college years at New York University, where he composed four successive varsity musicals, his journalistic career first as a writer for the New York Tribune Sunday Magazine and then as the powerful music critic for the New York World, and his musical triumphs. Pegolotti also details Taylor's stints as editor of Musical America, president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), best-selling author of Of Men and Music and other books, collaborator with Disney and Leopold Stokowski on Fantasia, and even judge for the Miss America pageant. He describes how Taylor used his critic's pulpit to champion American music, opera, and musicians, and also chronicles his colorful personal life, including his third marriage at age sixty to a twenty-year-old costume designer.
	Laughter's Gentle Soul: The Life of Robert Benchley by Billy Altman Hardcover: 382 pages Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; (April 1997) Billy Altman's biography chronicles Robert Benchley's life from his birth in Worcester, Massachusetts, his schooling at Harvard, and early writing career in New York through the heady days of Hollywood and the Algonquin Hotel to his untimely death from cirrhosis in 1945. The stories are all here: Benchley's practical jokes, his legendary drinking, his strict separation of suburban family life and urban adultery. What is not in Laughter's Gentle Soul is any critical analysis of the stories, the writing, or the reasons for Benchley's self-destruction. Why, for example, was Benchley so admired by fellow humorists? Why did he not drink until the age of 31 and then apparently fall immediately into incurable alcoholism? Fans of Robert Benchley won't find anything in Laughter's Gentle Soul that they haven't read before; for those who are unfamiliar with the man, however, Altman's book provides a good first introduction.
	Robert Benchley: An Annotated Bibliography Bibliographies and Indexes in Popular Culture by Gordon E. Ernst Hardcover: 312 pages Publisher: Greenwood Press (May 30, 1995) The ultimate guide to the works of Robert Benchley. This volume draws together bibliographic information on books, essays, newspaper columns, and dramatic criticism. Appropriate for research collections on 20th-century humor or popular culture. This bibliography does a great service for those researching Benchley and his contemporaries by providing access to little known items written by this twentieth-century humorist, as well as providing information on the films he appeared in and the content of his recordings.
	Ross, The New Yorker and Me by Jane Grant, Janet Flanner (Introduction) Hardcover: 271 pages (illustrated with photos) Publisher: Reynal (1968) Jane Grant is the un-sung hero of The New Yorker. It was Grant -- wife of editor Harold W. Ross -- who pushed him to get the magazine off the ground. In this amazing book, it tells how she met and married the man, but this is just the beginning of the partnership. It tells of the roots of the Round Table -- which were in Paris, where Grant was stationed with the Americans (as a singer). Grant is a wonderful writer with an eye for detail. It has first-hand stories about life with Ross, Alexander Woollcott, Dorothy Parker and the others. The introduction is by her clsoe friend, Janet Flanner. It was Flanner in her "Letter From Paris" that helped usher in a new kind of journalism. It was Grant who brought Flanner to Ross' attention. The rest, as they say, is history. If you love The New Yorker, you'll treasure this book. Many archival photos too.
	Voices Offstage: A Book of Memoirs by Marc Connelly Hardcover: 258 pages (illustrated with photos) Publisher: Holt, Rinehart & Winston (1968) Broadway fans may recall Marc Connelly as a long-time member of the playwright community. He won a Pulitzer Prize for "The Green Pastures" in 1930. Connelly will always be remembered for his collaborations with George S. Kaufman. In his book, Connelly details how he went from McKeesport, Pennsylvania, to Broadway. It was a bumpy ride, but he makes a good storyteller. Connelly was an original member of the Vicious Circle and was very close to Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley. The book is one yarn after another. But one thing missing is how his wife divorced him and married Robert E. Sherwood, his friend from the Round Table. A good book about old Broadway.