In OUTRAGEOUS, Kliph Nesteroff, an authority on the history of show business and particularly comedy, demolishes the argument that we live in an age of heightened sensitivity. He has the receipts to prove that long before the phrases “cancel culture” and “woke mob” were dreamed up, artists and entertainers were threatened and publicly shamed. He chronicles the same arguments throughout the decades, from Uncle Miltie to Eddie Murphy. Along the way, he explores how right-wing think tanks weaponized this approach to create the perpetual state of culture war in which we now live, compounded by technology; Nesteroff points out that “haters and complainers” have always been with us, but years ago you’d read the newspaper once then toss it out, while social media repeats those stories ad nauseam and augments them with opinion. For what it’s worth, Frank Zappa comes off as a sage, predicting much of our current morass when he was doing battle with Tipper Gore over music lyrics in the 1980s. A worthwhile reminder that we have been down this road many times before, and will take the trip again.

Comedians today will sometimes opine, "You can't say anything anymore without offending someone." Kliph Nesteroff is here to tell us all that you apparently could offend people since comedy started in his book Outrageous.

Nesteroff's narrative is chock full of entertainment anecdotes from the 1800s to today. Each page is littered with primary sources (my favorite!) and some background on various entertainment trends over 200 years. Whatever someone may think of this book they cannot say Nesteroff did not do his homework. His knowledge of show business is extensive and he gives the reader plenty of interesting nuggets of information.

However, this approach is also a problem. Nesteroff uses a lot of sources but it also leads the reader to ask what sources really matter? Are they being cherry picked to make a point or did they really represent the majority or minority of Americans during the time period being discussed. One singular quote from a newspaper that is cited sparingly or never again does not make a convincing argument.

And what is Nesteroff's argument? At a high level, he is making the point that comedy and show business has been under attack since day 1. I believe Nesteroff convincingly proves this. However, there are other sections which veer into specific politics and seems to be making other arguments which are not full fleshed out. It makes the central conceit of the book feel a bit too surface level to be fully convincing. That said, any author who can seamlessly talk about minstrel shows and The Simpsons in the same book is clearly talented.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Abrams Press.)

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Abrams Press for an advance copy of this look at the world of entertainment, censorship, controversy both real and imagined, and how every new art form is looked at as a threat, by elders in entertainment, or by people making money on protest for both profit and power.

Being a comedian is almost impossible today, nobody likes jokes. The music is for degenerates from degenerates. Politicians should do something, or we will. God is Angry. These sound like bits that lead any network TV show, political mailer, and talking points on most debates about culture from last night. However like history these same arguments repeat themselves. Groucho Marx was complaining about how hard people were making it to be funny in the 1950's. Bing Crosby's crooning music was called to sexual by the Catholic Church in the 1920's. Crooning music. Religious groups and ethnic groups, along with politicians have always tried to keep control of people by making their taste the taste of the American people. and God has been angry at things far worse than blues music, or women wanting an end to wife jokes. Even the violence is the same. Autonomous threats through the mail, the FBI firebombing a black entertainment center, pipe bombs outside theaters to stop movies, or shows. Even beating entertainers for daring to be thought of as human. Kliph Nesteroff, cultural historian, writer and king of comedy lore has in Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars written a history of entertainment and the attempts to suppress it from a unique view, from both sides of the issue, detailing that what is occurring today is just the latest battles in a war that will continue for as long as people want to be entertained.

The book begins with a study of the politics behind the culture war, from the John Birch Society to the many groups who seem to be maddened by everything that happens that they don't like. This will come up in this book quite a bit, but while the names of the organizations change, the names do not, showing the power of the culture wars grift in giving people power and even more important money. From there it is a chronological trip through entertainment, starting with blackface and dialects that were once so popular, and the history of Amos and Andy, which I never knew, through movies, comedy, stage shows, radio, television and more up to the present day. What I found again interesting was that again the names stayed the same. People hated Frank Sinatra's music for its debase sound, Sinatra in turn found rock music gross and wrong. Steve Allen was receiving death threats for the Commies he had on his show, as his fame faded and entertainment changed, suddenly he didn't like the new stuff, and complained about it. Danny Thomas didn't like that you couldn't do ethnic humor. Mort Sahl became misogynistic. And this being America, violence being our number one entertainment always seemed to the solution to everything.

A fascinating book, a book I found myself endlessly sharing with friends and coworkers. Hating Bing Crosby being the big shocker. But the story of the Frito Bandito, Groucho on not being funny. The violence. The same words used over and over from the blues, to rap to Bart Simpson. Nesteroff is a great writer, one with a gift for entertainment knowledge, and an ability to share it in a very informative interesting way. Nesteroff also has a very good grasp on the politics, what makes these political groups want to make waves, the control that people want, and of course the money. And the money and fame is why many entertainers gatekeep so much, complaining about the next generation while watching their opportunities fade. A book that was far more than I expected, and one I really enjoyed, and loved to share.

Recommended for fans of entertainment, and those who care about what is happening in the world. It is reassuring in a way to find that this has been going on since well the first man started riffing in front of fire in a cave. And yet seeing that representation in media scares so many people, saying you are ruining my movie, music, show, podcast with your woke agenda, is discouraging, as people are still being lead. A book that will really make one think about entertainment, and what to fight for.

I am not sure how to feel after reading this book! On one hand, Nesteroff convincingly shows that the culture wars in America have been going on in a recognizable form for the whole scope of the book (this book covers from the 1800s to the early 2000s) with one side decrying entertainment as being unbecoming America because it offends morality and the other side saying we should be less racist/homophobic/sexist etc. Both sides protesting and both sides claiming the other side is trying to curtail free speech. On the other hand, it did make me feel a little better to see how societal mores have generally become more accepting and more sensitive to minority groups.
Basically angry trolls have been threatening the collapse of society because of entertainers for as long as entertainers have been performing. And old-timey trolls were just as vitriolic and violent as current day trolls - I think we just hear about them more with the prevalence of social media.
I am not sure if it is comforting or super depressing to see that not much has changed over 200 years, but regardless this book was really well researched and engaging to read (but also a bit horrifying)

Thank you to Netgalley and Abrams Press for this advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started this. What I found was an eye-opening, engrossing, enraging, and entertaining look at how comedy and comedians have been challenged/censored for their perspectives, actions, and viewpoints. From the days of blackface, Mae West, Bob Hope, and Johnny Carson to modern day, this is a timely and fascinating read. A giant rebuttal to anyone who thinks that harmful/hateful "humor" was tolerated in earlier times, or that complaints about comedians being "too political" is new (Bob Hope was deemed "too political" at one point!).

Many thanks to Abrams and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review

Thank goodness for Kliph Nesteroff! He wrote a great book about the history of comedy called The Comedians, which if you haven't read before this one, please do. His latest one is called Outrageous and is about how comedy has always been "under attack". This is not a new thing. While every generation has their unique challenges, comedians being "cancelled" is not one of them. Talk to Lenny Bruce in the '50s or Andrew Dice Clay in the '80s. Nesteroff does a great job of putting all of these comedy controversies in perspective. Must read for comedy fans.