Heartland

Mort Sahl is the pioneer and still the champion of stand-up contemporary satire. As Woody Allen attests, he is the forerunner of today's comedians. This book evokes reflection and laughter. In Mort Sahl's humor and in his anger, America becomes his loving and righteous obsession. He makes us aware that politics is a sometimes serious, sometimes silly, and always dangerous game. Sahl was the first entertainer to argue the illegality of actions by the CIA and FBI, the first to question the official accounts of the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. He paid dearly for his belief, yet he never lost his audience or his respect for it. Sahl's humor is part of America's growing up. Laughter convinces that Mort Sahl is one of the most talented writers of comedy alive. And he's alive! This is the funny and touching story of his leaving, and looking for home.