Many readers will admit to having one book they return to again and again, a book that embodies certain qualities or elicits certain emotions. For me that book is GETTING EVEN. At a time when so much of what passes for literary humor is nothing more than transcribed standup routines, this collection of Woody Allen essays and stories is a reminder of just how much fun the written word can be, and how much skill it takes to transfer laughter from pen to page to reader. Allen's writing offers a gateway to the golden age of literary humor, when writers like Robert Benchley and S. J. Perelman ruled the roost. If your exposure to Woody Allen is limited to his films, and if you enjoyed Steve Martin's PURE DRIVEL, you owe yourself a copy of GETTING EVEN.