You know me Al

In the early decades of the 20th century, newspaperman and humorist Ring Lardner (1885-1933) made America laugh with his hilarious depictions of odd characters in the sporting world, Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood. His first great success was 'You Know Me All,' a fictional series of letters from a particular baseball hero to his friend, slyly revealing the letter writer as a crude, conceited, semiliterate, self-deceiving boob. The letters first appeared in 'The Saturday Evening Post' and were later published in book form in 1916. You know me all reveals Lardner as a satyrical master at the peak of his form - a fine, albeit misanthropic, storyteller with a superb feel for the niceties of characters and speech, and a sure instinct for what can make us laugh.