James Thurber

A henpecked husband copes with the frustrations of his dull life by imagining he is a fearless airplane pilot, a brilliant doctor, and other dashing figures.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The 13 Clocks

My life and hard times

E. B. White

The first book of prose published by either James Thurber or E. B. White, Is Sex Necessary? combines the humor and genius of both authors to examine those great mysteries of life -- romance, love, and marriage. A masterpiece of drollery, this 75th Anniversary Edition stands the test of time with its sidesplitting spoof of men, women, and psychologists; more than fifty funny illustrations by Thurber; and a new foreword by John Updike.

Or Why You Feel the Way You Do

Is Sex Necessary?

Relates what happened when an evil sea captain banished the letter O from the island Ooroo.

The Wonderful O

Though many try, only the court jester is able to fulfill Princess Lenore's wish for the moon.

Many moons

James Thurber is universally admired for his hilarious sense of humour, off-beat imagination and unique take on the world around him. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, in which a young man's fantasies have a much more powerful hold on him than reality, is probably his best-known prose work, but this selection also contains wonderfully entertaining essays, poetry and cartoons gathered from all of Thurber's collections. Poking fun at his own weaknesses and those of other people (and dogs) - the English teacher who looked only at figures of speech, the Airedale who refused to include him in the family, the botany lecturer who despaired of him totally - James Thurber is essential reading for everyone who loves to laugh.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Other Pieces

Lanterns & Lances

James Thurber's unique ability to convey the vagaries of life in a funny, witty, and often satirical way earned him accolades as one of the finest humorists of the twentieth century. A bestseller upon its initial publication in 1945. The Thurber Carnival captures the depth and breadth of his talent. The pieces here, almost all of which first appeared in The New Yorker, include selections from such beloved classics as My World and Welcome to It, The Owl in the Attic, The Seal in the Bathroom, and Men, Women and Dogs. Thurber's take on life, society, and human nature is timeless and will continue to delight readers even as they recognize a bit of themselves in his brilliant sketches.

The Thurber Carnival

Published to coincide with the 125th anniversary of James Thurber’s birth, this treasury combines, for the first time, Fables for Our Time and Further Fables for Our Time with Thurber’s unpublished preface and ten previously uncollected or unpublished stories. James Thurber has been called “one of the world’s greatest humorists” by Alistair Cooke (Atlantic), “one of our great American institutions” (Stanley Walker), “a magnificent satirist” (Boston Transcript)—and few works reveal Thurber’s genius as powerfully as his fables. Perennially entertaining and astutely satirical, Thurber pinpricks the idiosyncrasies of life with verbal frivolity, hilarious insights, political shrewdness, and, of course, quirky, quotable morals. Now, readers can savor 85 fables by the twentieth century’s preeminent humorist collected for the first time in a single anthology: Fables for Our Time, Further Fables for Our Time, Thurber’s unpublished preface, and ten previously uncollected fables—illustrated by ten contemporary artists including Seymour Chwast, Mark Ulriksen, Laurie Rosenwald, and R. O. Blechman—Collected Fables is a must-have for readers of all ages.

Collected Fables

Contains two of the humorist's short stories: the story of aviator Smurch, an amusing satire on the "perilous heights of fame," and Walter Mitty, a man who endures his ordinary life by escaping into fantasy.

The secret life of Walter Mitty

The greatest man in the world

Lanterns and Lances

Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Quillow, a tiny toymaker, defeats a ferocious giant named Hunder and saves his town from destruction.

The Great Quillow

The Macbeth Murder Mystery ...

James Thurber, whimsical fantasist and deadpan chronicler of everyday absurdities, brought American humor into the 20th century. His comic persona, a modern citydweller whose zaniest flights of free association are tinged with anxiety, remains hilarious, subtly disturbing, and instantly recognizable. Here, in over 1000 pages, editor Garrison Keillor presents the best and most extensive collection ever assembled. Over 100 pieces include “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and “The Catbird Seat,” the brilliantly satirical Fables for Our Time, the classic My Life and Hard Times, and the best of The Owl in the Attic, Let Your Mind Alone!, My World—And Welcome to It, and the other famous books. Plus 500 wonderful drawings, including The Seal in the Bedroom and celebrated sequences like “The Masculine Approach” and “The War Between Men and Women.” Rounding out the volume is a selection from The Years with Ross, a memoir of the New Yorker publisher, and a number of wonderful early pieces never collected by Thurber. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

James Thurber: Writings & Drawings (LOA #90)

Fünfundsiebzig Fabeln für Zeitgenossen. Den unverbesserlichen Sündern gewidmet.

Fables for Our Time and Famous Poems

Gathers previously uncollected cartoons and humorous stories

James Thurber

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