Product Description

The Emmy award-winning former executive producer of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report has assembled a stellar lineup of men who have one thing in common: all have been dumped...and are willing to share their pain and the lessons learned.

Relationships end. And in almost all of them, even the most callow among us take something away. This is a book about that something, whether it be major life lessons, like "If you lie, you will get caught," simple truths like, "Flowers work," or something wholly unique like, "Watch out for the high strung brother in the military."
This anthology will be comprised of longer and shorter pieces, drawn from an array of impressive celebrities, writers and public figures. Some pieces may be a paragraph in length while others will be full-blown essays. All of them will be about that salient something men take away from a failed relationship. Yes, men learn.
This is not a touchy-feely book. This is not a self-help book. This is a book packed with smart, funny and insightful stories from men you probably thought never got dumped, or if they did, would never admit it.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37915 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Amazon.com
Amazon Best of the Month, February 2008: New York magazine knew what they were talking about when they said, "If you've laughed in the last ten years, Ben Karlin was responsible." The latest project of this former senior editor of The Onion, former executive producer of both The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, and co-author and co-editor of America (The Book) collects 212 pages of semi-insightful and mostly hilarious life lessons from a lineup of writers and comedians in a book with the best title so far this year, Things I've Learned from Women Who've Dumped Me. Ben's own mom kicks things off with "I Think My Son Is a Catch," but read on to enjoy contributions from Andy Richter ("Girls Don't Make Passes at Boys with Fat Asses"), Stephen Colbert ("The Heart Is a Choking Hazard"), Jason Nash ("Don't Enter a Karaoke Contest Near Smith College; You Will Lose to Lesbians"), Dan Savage ("I Am a Gay Man"), and David Rees ("Get Dumped Before It Matters"). Filled with High Fidelity-style insight into the inner workings of the modern male mind, this is an anthology for readers of all genders, no matter their relationship status. --Brad Thomas Parsons

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Our Moment with Ben
Ben Karlin is a man who holds a virtual PhD in Modern American Comedy. Karlin's career kicked off as the editor of The Onion and he is the former executive producer of the award-winning The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and co-creator and former executive producer of The Colbert Report. He was also a co-author and co-editor of the bestselling America (The Book) and his latest project takes him back to the book world as the editor of the anthology Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me, 212 pages of semi-insightful and mostly hilarious life lessons from a lineup of writers and comedians. Amazon.com senior editor Brad Thomas Parsons caught up with Karlin to talk about his new book, the writers' strike, the serious job of writing comedy, and what makes him laugh (hint: it isn't America's Funniest Home Videos). You can read the complete interview or listen to the podcast on Amazon Wire.

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From Publishers Weekly
Karlin, coauthor of Jon Stewart's America, establishes that if there is one thing men have in common, it is their lack of understanding and the misguided information they have acquired about women. With miniessays from famous comedians and writers, including Nick Hornby, Stephen Colbert and Bruce Jay Friedman, this book is organized into short chapters of truth, testimonies and realizations about the women that got away and, sadly, the women that they never had to begin with. Some of the essays offer advice, such as Bob Odenkirk's bitter nine-year plan, where he discusses why nine years is the perfect amount of time to be in a bad relationship (by year nine you [had] tried everything, including depression and deep boredom). Some of the men's experiences proved to be valuable lessons such as Dan Savage's essay I Am a Gay Man, where he finds that women can be detestable, and learns that he doesn't have to fake being straight or join the priesthood and can instead just be a gay man; or Patton Oswalt's realization that his crazy, stripper ex-girlfriend helped him appreciate his wife. Whether the men pathetically recall their failed dating attempts or are celebrating their record number of dumps as learned experiences, these witty, comical approaches to being dumped are sure to entertain anyone who has entered the world of dating. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Ben Karlin was the executive producer of The Daily Show and the co-creator and executive producer of The Colbert Report. He lives in New York City with his wife.

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Customer Reviews

Who would publish this? And who would read it?
OK, humor is an individual thing, but most of these essays are not funny (although they try to be). The bottom line: The book isn't funny; it isn't illuminating; it isn't worth reading.

Hilarious
I hate to leave a boring review of such a funny book, but those guys are the comedians, so I'll leave the jokes to them. There wasn't a single story that didn't make me laugh. They weren't all throw-your-head-back-and-cackle stories, but they all had merit. Plus, I learned a lot about women and how to keep things in perspective.

This one's NOT for the ladies

Ben Karlin is a very clever man, and he has some very clever friends who contributed to this book. Why they want to talk trash about their past relationships I just don't know, any more than I know why I read it. All in the name of entertainment, I guess. The authors' credits include the comedy news tabloid The Onion, The Colbert Report and other Comedy Central shows, and an array of screenwriting and comedy writing experience. Very clever men.

And you know, I'm sure most of them really love women, or respect them, or at least don't hate them. I'm fairly sure it's just the premise and structure of the book setting the misogynistic tone. Even when cataloguing their own mistakes that caused the dumping, the writers always allude to the behavior or personal characteristics of the dumper as being key to the whole mess. The women get no right of rebuttal; true, Ben Karlin's mother introduces him in the foreword, but she also blames the women who dumped her son as "fools and idiots."

One writer brooded about his baby daughter "hating him" until the day she said her first word -- "Daddy" -- and all was forgiven. Another contributor describes his revulsion at the physical characteristics of his first girl (actually his brother's girl, but never mind that ...) and then realizes he's trying to bat for the wrong team. In one of the more poignant lessons, we learn that "girls don't make passes at boys with fat ...." Oh but why dwell on it, because eventually he trimmed down and got married. According to the dedication of this book, "This one's for the ladies." Are we supposed to apologize? Sympathize?

Why three stars? I did my best to filter for the fact that I don't enjoy such a cutting style of humor. And with that borne in mind, I have to say that it's a very funny book in its way.

Linda Bulger, 2008