Books like Improv Nation: How We Made a Great American Art

Full disclosure: I won a free ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. As you’d surmise, this is a history of the improv movement in the USA. Wasson presents it as an American artform--yes, there are antecedents in European traditions, but nothing quite like improv as the term is commonly understood. Anyway, he makes a persuasive case, but whether you accept it as American or not, the history--Nichols & May, Second City, the Groundlings, Saturday Night Live, SCTV, This is Spinal Tap, Stephen Colbert, and more--is fascinating.The book is a bit on the fragmentary side, a necessity when dealing with events unfolding in several parts of the country at more or less the same time. But that made the book more interesting for me. I enjoyed seeing the flow, how different people and events fit together. And I enjoyed getting to know legendary teachers like Del Close and Viola Spolin. I’ve long been a student of the history of comedy, so this book was right up my alley. Recommended!