Greg Proops The Smartest Book In The World

The art of comedy is unlike a canvas waiting to be picked up then painted on. The comedian has already been hung to dry in the gallery. The world's funniest people have a connection to wandering minds of entertainment seekers. What if history became a place of play? But done so in a British vocal range? From the iHeart Radio Studio I'm Unplugged and Totally Uncut with the very funny Greg Proops. From Greg Proops, the beloved star of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and the creator, voice, and general know-it-all behind The Smartest Man in the World podcast, comes a cultural dictionary as hilarious as the man himself, THE SMARTEST BOOK IN THE WORLD: A Lexicon of Literacy, a Rancorous Reportage, a Concise Curriculum of Cool (Touchstone; May 5, 2015; Hardcover). Greg Proops brings his “gift of gab” (Rolling Stone) and his “bold, never boring voice” (New York Times) to the printed word with this electrifying compendium of essential wisdom and obscure knowledge, ancient rulers and overlooked feminists, and more than one fantasy baseball team. THE SMARTEST BOOK IN THE WORLD unleashes Proops’s fascinating and far-reaching knowledge, and plenty of laughs too. He offers up a cultural guide to the must-see and must-have albums, riffs on the merits of poetry and proper punctuation, and jaunts through lessons on everything from the history of baseball to how to steal precious art. Filtered through his distinctive voice and Proopsian panache, the exploits of the Roman Emperors read like a gossip column and entire novels fly by in a single sentence. Illustrations throughout by Proops’s wife, the artist Jennifer Canaga, bring inspired visuals to his riotous writing. Spanning genres and generations, Greg Proops gives readers a rollicking reference guide guaranteed to make anyone the smartest person in the room. This book is the perfect companion to The Smartest Man in the World and an uproarious introduction for the uninitiated. Audiences fell in love with Greg Proops’ brazen jokes and signature suit on the improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway?—following him from the original British show to the show’s current season now on the CW. Proops launched his own smash-hit podcast, The Smartest Man in the World, in 2010. His rapid-fire references, thought-provoking commentary, and improvisational style draw thousands of listeners each week and led Rolling Stone to name it one of “The 20 Best Comedy Podcasts Right Now.” It has been a top iTunes Podcast and has been downloaded more than 10 million times. ABOUT GREG PROOPS Greg Proops is a revered stand-up comic from San Francisco, and he records his chart-topping podcast “The Smartest Man in the World” from live shows around the world as well as Cleveland. Mr. Proops has been a voice actor in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and played Bob in Bob the Builder. He has been a guest on @Midnight on Comedy Central; Red Eye; The Late, Late Show; and Chelsea Lately. He lives in Hollywood.