Last Girl Before Freeway: The Life, Loves, Losses, and Liberation of Joan Rivers

Like her costume jewelry hawked on QVC, the comedy of the late Joan Rivers is an acquired taste. There is no denying that millions found her vicious, slash-and-burn barbs hilarious, while others cringed, wondering if she went too far joking about 9/11 and the suicide of her husband. Bennetts does an admirable job of describing the mostly unhappy life Rivers led and her attempts to overcome certain aspects (weight problems, religion, a prettier sister, etc.) for which there were no easy solutions. Her famous feud with Johnny Carson is extensively covered, along with reasons why the cause of the conflict may not be what Rivers claimed it to be. Erin Bennett is excellent at presenting the gossipy-type prose in a manner that captivates listeners, but after it's all over, you might find yourself questioning whether one word in the subtitle—liberation—was ever achieved by Rivers. An outstanding look into the philosophy of comedy and the mind-set of those who devote their lives to it. In the end, there is nothing really very funny about contemporary humor.