JON MACKS, the author of four previous books, was the top writer for The Tonight Show With Jay Leno for all twenty-two years that Leno was on the air. He has also written for the Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Tony Awards, and for some of the nation’s top comedians, politicians, corporate leaders, and sports commentators. Among the stars he writes for are Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Hugh Jackman, Terry Bradshaw, and Chris Rock. He lives in Los Angeles.
From the opening monologue—what’s funny, what’s dangerous, what’s untouchable—to the best vs. worst guests, Macks covers the landscape of late-night comedy and punctuates the narrative with hysterical personal anecdotes, shining the spotlight on some of the very best late night jokes, and drawing from more than half a million of his own jokes written over the span of twenty years. With an insider’s expertise and a laugh-out-loud voice, Macks explains how late-night TV redefines the news and events of any given day, reshapes public opinion, and even creates our national zeitgeist.

Macks delves into the greatest moments and figures in late-night history, offering a first-hand perspective on how things went down: