The Best of "This American Life": Lies, Sissies & Fiascoes

Are you a sucker for a well-told story--one that'll make you hoot with pleasure, drop your mouth in disbelief, tear up with empathy? If that be the case, you're likely already a fan of the brilliant beyond-hip This American Life. If you're not yet familiar with the Public Radio show and its ingenious host, Ira Glass, Lies, Sissies & Fiascoes will tickle your ears and engage your sense of wonderment. Underscored by adroitly chosen musical bits from Jonathan Richman to Liz Phair to Yo La Tengo, The Best of TAL springs into action illustrating the criterion for true fiasco with Jack Hitt's lively narrative of an uproariously bad production of Peter Pan. David Sedaris recounts reeling off insults and complaints in iambic pentameter as a teen bitten by the Drama Bug (which bites "Jews, homosexuals and plump women who wear their hair in bangs" the hardest). Dishwasher Pete tells how he duped the Letterman show, Scott Carrier gives a moving account of how his life unraveled and came back together during the season he conducted interviews with schizophrenics, and Ira Glass sounds off on getting over heartbreak. --Paige La Grone