Comedian Ritch Shydner is one of America's funniest and most enduring stand-up comics, a wry observer of life around him and a survivor of the 1980s comedy boom.

Besides becoming a comic's comic over the decades, he has starred on television's "Married With Children" and won awards for his writing as a member of the "Roseanne" staff.

The book's introduction is by Bill Maher, host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."

Dozens of photos and index!

In "Kicking Through the Ashes," Shydner collects all of his 1980s life experiences -- the good, the bad, and El Brookman's -- in one hard to put down memoir. He tells stories about Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Tim Allen, Carol Leifer, Richard Belzer, Johnny Carson, Andrew Dice Clay, Rodney Dangerfield, Tom Dreesen, Budd Friedman, Gilbert Gottfried, Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison, David Letterman, Bill Maher, Steve Martin, Jackie "The Jokeman" Martling, Rick Overton, Phyllis Diller, Kevin Rooney, Robin Williams, Richard Pryor and more!

But don't believe his publisher; consider what some of the world's funniest people think of Shydner:

About the Author: In the 1980s, Ritch Shydner made numerous appearances on TV, in-cluding Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He did an HBO half-hour special, One Night Stand.

You may also recognize him as Al Bundy's co-worker on Married with Children and from guest appearances on many other TV shows, such as Designing Women and Roseanne. He wrote for sitcoms such as Roseanne, The Jeff Foxworthy Show, and HBO's The Mind of the Married Man.

Shydner translated his modest success on TV into an obscure film career, appearing in Steve Martin's Roxanne and Eddie Murphy's Beverly Hills Cop II before moving on to minor roles in smaller pictures.

He wrote material for Jeff Foxworthy's Grammy nominated comedy albums Totally Committed and Big Fun. He also wrote for Ron White and Jay Leno.

In 2006, Shydner was co-author with Mark Schiff of a book on stand-up, I Killed: True Stories of the Road from America's Tom Comics. Four years later, he produced and performed in Jordan Brady's award-winning documentary on the world of stand-up comedy, I Am Comic.

For more information, please visit http: //www.RitchShydner.com

Twitter: @ritchshydner

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