Apropos of Nothing is a comprehensive account of Woody Allen's life, both personal and professional, and describes his work in films, theater, television, nightclubs, and print. Allen also writes of his relationships with family, friends, and the loves of his life.

Here, in his first collection since his three hilarious classics Getting Even , Without Feathers , and Side Effects , Woody Allen has managed to write a book that not only answers the most profound questions of human existence but is also the perfect size to place under any short table leg to prevent wobbling.
In hysterical flights of inspirational sanity we are introduced to a cast of characters only Allen could imagine: Jasper Nutmeat, Flanders Mealworm, and the independent film mogul E. Coli Biggs, just to name a few. Whether he is writing about art, sex, food, or crime, he is explosively funny. In “This Nib for Hire,” a Hollywood bigwig comes across an author’s book in a little country store and describes it in a way that aptly captures this magnificent volume: “Actually,” the producer says, “I’d never seen a book remaindered in the kindling section before.”
Praise for Mere Anarchy :
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
“The stories in Mere Anarchy deliver the same joys and foibles that have been with its author from the start.”
–Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“Uproarious . . . In each story the ornate and the vulgate slam together and make it rain polysyllabic absurdity.”
–The Wall Street Journal
“Nostalgically enjoyable . . . The stories in Mere Anarchy deliver the same joys and foibles that have been with its author from the start.”
–The New York Times
“Brilliant neurotica . . . unfailingly entertaining . . . [an] obsessive and seriously funny book.”
–Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Like the Carnegie’s one-pound sandwiches, Allen’s literary slapstick is . . . comedy on wry.”
–USA Today

A humor classic by one of the funniest writers today, SIDE EFFECTS is a treat for all those who know his work and those just discovering how gifted he is. Included here are such classics as REMEMBERING NEEDLEMAN, THE KUGELMASS EPISODE, a new sory called CONFESSIONS OF A BUGLAR, and more.

'I am greatly relieved that the universe is finally explainable. I was beginning to think it was me.' Thus begins 'Strung Out', Woody Allen's hilarious application of the laws of the universe to daily life. "Mere Anarchy", Woody Allen's first new collection in over 25 years, features eighteen witty, wild and intelligent comic pieces - eight of which have never been in print before. Surreal, absurd, rich in verbal play, bitingly satirical and just plan daft in the mode we have grown to love from his finest films, this flight-of-fancy collection includes tales of a body double who, mistaken for the film's star, is kidnapped by outlaws; a pretentious novelist forced to work on the novelisation of a Three Stooges film; a nanny secretly writing an expose of her Manhattan employers; crooks selling bespoke prayers on eBay; and how to react when you're asked to finance a Broadway play about the invention and manufacture of the adjustable showerhead.

Comprising the classic bestsellers Getting Even, Without Feathers , and Side Effects , this definitive collection of comic writings is from a man who needs no Introduction. Really–this book has no Introduction.
The Insanity Defense reveals many sides of Woody Allen as he holds forth on the most human of urges (“Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only for food: frequently there must be a beverage”); reflects on death (“I don’t believe in an afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear”); and notes the effect on history wrought by trick chewing gum, the dribble glass, and other novelties. There is also an inspiring story of the futile race to beat Dr. Heimlich to the punch: “The food went down the wrong pipe, and choking occurred. Grasping the mouse firmly by the tail, I snapped it like a small whip, and the morsel of cheese came loose. If we can transfer the procedure to humans, we may have something. Too early to tell.”
All Woody Allen fans will cherish this uproarious treasury–and those who don’t enjoy The Insanity Defense are just plain crazy.
“If you don’t care if you break into helpless whoops of laughter on buses, trains, or wherever you happen to be reading it.”
–Chicago Tribune , on Without Feathers
“Brilliant flights of fancy whose comic detail and inspired silliness are at once dramatic and controlled.”
–The New York Times, on Side Effects

Here they are--some of the funniest tales and ruminations ever put into print, by one of the great comic minds of our time. From THE WHORE OF MENSA, to GOD (A Play), to NO KADDISH FOR WEINSTEIN, old and new Woody Allen fans will laugh themselves hysterical over these sparkling gems.

Amazon.com Review
After three decades of prodigious film work (and some unfortunate tabloid adventures as well), it's easy to forget that Woody Allen began his career as one heck of a great comedy writer. Getting Even, a collection of his late '60s magazine pieces, offers a look into Allen's bag of shtick, back when it was new. From the supposed memoirs of Hitler's barber: "Then, in January of 1945, a plot by several generals to shave Hitler's moustache in his sleep failed when von Stauffenberg, in the darkness of Hitler's bedroom, shaved off one of the Führer's eyebrows instead..."
Even though the idea of writing jokes about old Adolf--or addled rabbis, or Maatjes herring--isn't nearly as fresh as it used to be, Getting Even still delivers plenty of laughs. At his best, Woody can achieve a level of transcendent craziness that no other writer can match. If you're looking for a book to dip into at random, or a gift for someone who's seen Sleeper 13 times, Getting Even is a dead lock.
From the Inside Flap
The classic, with 316,000 copies sold to date.

Three delightful one-act plays set in and around New York, in which sophisticated characters confound one another in ways only Woody Allen could imagine.
These plays (successfully produced on the New York stage and in regional theaters on the East Coast) dramatize Allen’s continuing preoccupation with people who rationalize their actions, hide what they’re doing, and inevitably slip into sexual deception—all of it revealed in Allen’s quintessentially pell-mell dialogue.

“I am greatly relieved that the universe is finally explainable. I was beginning to think it was me.”–Woody Allen
Here, in his first collection since his three hilarious classics Getting Even, Without Feathers, and Side Effects, Woody Allen has managed to write a book that not only answers the most profound questions of human existence but is the perfect size to place under any short table leg to prevent wobbling.
“I awoke Friday, and because the universe is expanding it took me longer than usual to find my robe,” he explains in a piece on physics called “Strung Out.” In other flights of inspirational sanity we are introduced to a cast of characters only Allen could imagine: Jasper Nutmeat, Flanders Mealworm, and the independent film mogul E. Coli Biggs, just to name a few. Whether he is writing about art, sex, food, or crime (“Pugh has been a policeman as far back as he can remember. His father was a notorious bank robber, and the only way Pugh could get to spend time with him was to apprehend him”) he is explosively funny.
In “This Nib for Hire,” a Hollywood bigwig comes across an author’s book in a little country store and describes it in a way that aptly captures this magnificent volume: “Actually,” the producer says, “I’d never seen a book remaindered in the kindling section before.”

New York comedian Alvy Singer reflects ruefully upon a failed relationship. When he first met Annie Hall on a tennis date, she was an insecure wallflower in trousers, vest and tie. But they shared a self-deprecating sense of humour, plus certain deep-seated neuroses, and love soon blossomed. Alvy supported Annie's hopes for a singing career and encouraged her to broaden her talents. But ironically, her increasing self-assurance, coupled with Alvy's obsession with death and his seeming inability to enjoy himself ('Life is divided between the horrible and the miserable'), spelt trouble for their affair.
Annie Hall is a bittersweet comedic masterpiece, rich in irony, invention, romantic insights and classic Woody Allen one-liners. It won Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture of 1977.

The long-awaited, enormously entertaining memoir by one of the great artists of our time.
In this candid and often hilarious memoir, the celebrated director, comedian, writer, and actor offers a comprehensive, personal look at his tumultuous life. Beginning with his Brooklyn childhood and his stint as a writer for the Sid Caesar variety show in the early days of television, working alongside comedy greats, Allen tells of his difficult early days doing standup before he achieved recognition and success. With his unique storytelling pizzazz, he recounts his departure into moviemaking, with such slapstick comedies as Take the Money and Run, and revisits his entire, sixty-year-long, and enormously productive career as a writer and director, from his classics Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Annie and Her Sisters to his most recent films, including Midnight in Paris. Along the way, he discusses his marriages, his romances and famous friendships, his jazz playing, and his books and plays. We learn about his demons, his mistakes, his successes, and those he loved, worked with, and learned from in equal measure.
This is a hugely entertaining, deeply honest, rich and brilliant self-portrait of a celebrated artist who is ranked among the greatest filmmakers of our time.

Woody Allen's classic neurosis, Jewish identity, humorous life philosophy and complex relationships are embodied in the comic strip, "Inside Woody Allen". "Dread & Superficiality: Woody Allen as Comic Strip" is a collection of the best of these comic strips, that were syndicated daily by King Features from 1976 to 1984, illustrated by Stuart Hample in collaboration with Woody Allen. This contemporary compilation of Woody Allen comics is shot off the original art, and includes sketches, photographs, and development work by Woody Allen, offering a rare glimpse into an aspect of his career that has long been overlooked. Working closely with Woody Allen, Stuart Hample has put together a smart and funny set of comics that shows 220 of the unique strips in full color. "Dread & Superficiality: Woody Allen as Comic Strip" is a gathering of tremendous talent, from the illustrations by Stuart Hample, to the immortal Woody Allen wit, to the illustrated introduction by R. Buckminster Fuller.

The Complete Prose of Woody Allen is a collection of fifty-two pieces of hilarious writing which firmly establish the author in the tradition of Groucho Marx and James Thurber. Woody Allen's prose displays his versatility and virtuosity with the written word, and his special brand of humour.
"If Allen had lived in Augustan England scholars would now be considering him alongside Dryden, Pope and Swift ... No five hundred page book ever contained a laugh a line, but his one gets pretty close." --- Daily Telegraph
"Touched by genius, Allen's talent is for feasting on the fantasies of his favourite writers. Nature, he says, is one vast restaurant. The same could be said of his most appetising art." --- Glasgow Herald
"Unless you agree that Woody Allen is one of the world's funniest writers, it is difficult to explain why you should exert every effort necessary to get hold of this book. All right, who's funnier?" --- Irish Times
"The Complete Prose is an ideal bedside companion, to be dipped into for quick hits of enjoyment." --- Will Self, London Review of Books

His first new collection of short humor in fifteen years is classic Woody Allen.
 
Zero Gravity is the fifth collection of comic pieces by Woody Allen, a hilarious prose stylist whose enduring appeal readers have savored since his classics Getting Even, Without Feathers, Side Effects, and Mere Anarchy. This new work combines pieces that have appeared in The New Yorker along with eleven written exclusively for this book, each a comic inspiration. Whether he’s writing about horses that paint, cars that think, the sex lives of celebrities, or how General Tso’s Chicken got its name, he is always totally original, broad yet sophisticated, acutely observant, and most important, relentlessly funny. Along with titles like “Buffalo Wings, Woncha Come Out Tonight” and “When Your Hood Ornament Is Nietzsche,”  included in this collection is his poignant but very funny short story,  "Growing Up in Manhattan.” Daphne Merkin has written the foreword.

Zero Gravity implies writing not to be taken seriously, but, as with any true humor, not all the laughs are weightless.

Nato a Brooklyn nel 1935, Woody Allen ha iniziato la sua carriera nello spettacolo a sedici anni, scrivendo battute per un giornale di Broadway, e ha continuato a scrivere per la radio, la televisione, il teatro, il cinema e il New Yorker. Ha lasciato la stanza dello scrittore decenni fa per diventare comico nei locali notturni e, da allora, un regista conosciuto in tutto il mondo.
Durante sessant’anni di cinema, ha scritto e diretto cinquanta film, recitando in molti di essi. Ha ricevuto numerosi riconoscimenti internazionali, diverse statue sono state erette in suo onore (qualcosa di cui non riuscirà mai a capacitarsi) e i suoi film sono stati studiati nelle scuole e nelle università di tutto il mondo.
In A proposito di niente, Allen racconta dei suoi primi matrimoni, con una fiamma della giovinezza e poi con l’amata e divertente Louise Lasser, che evidentemente adora ancora. Racconta anche della sua storia e dell’amicizia eterna con Diane Keaton. Descrive la sua relazione personale e professionale con Mia Farrow, che ha dato vita a film divenuti classici fino alla loro burrascosa rottura, per la quale l’industria dei tabloid ancora li ringrazia. Afferma di essere stato il più sorpreso di tutti quando a 56 anni è iniziata una relazione romantica con la ventunenne Soon-Yi Previn, diventata una storia d’amore appassionata e un matrimonio felice che dura da oltre ventidue anni.
Ironico, pienamente sincero, pieno di guizzi creativi e non poca confusione, un’icona della cultura mondiale racconta, non richiesto, la propria storia.