Kliph Nesteroff is the author of "The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy." Vice Magazine calls him the "human encyclopedia of comedy." A stand-up of eight years, Nesteroff retreated to the shadows to study the art form and emerged the leading expert in his field. Along with rave reviews in The New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, the book has been praised by Judd Apatow, Mel Brooks, Bill Burr, Richard Lewis,, Merrill Markoe, Marc Maron, Norm Macdonald and Bob Odenkirk. Steve Martin has called it "a wonderful book" and "an important document." Exclaim! magazine called a recent Toronto appearance "like heroin for comedy nerds ... The depth of his knowledge about the history of American comedy combined with his off-the-cuff and funny yet eloquent stage presence made this show utterly engrossing."