America on Six Rubles a Day

Comrades in America, Inc, 1993. Second Edition [stated]. Third printing [stated]. Trade paperback. Very good. Lois Lowenstein. xiii, [1], 124, [6] pages. Signed "Yakov" on half-title page. Yakov Naumovich Pokhis, better known as Yakov Smirnoff (born 24 January 1951), is a Soviet-born American comedian, actor and writer. After emigrating to the United States in 1977, Smirnoff began performing as a stand-up comic. He reached his biggest success in the mid-to-late 1980s, appearing in several films and the television sitcom vehicle What a Country!. His comic persona was of a naive immigrant from the Soviet Union who was perpetually confused and delighted by life in the United States. His humor combined a mockery of life under Communism and of consumerism in the United States, as well as word play caused by misunderstanding of American phrases and culture, all punctuated by the catchphrase, "And I thought, 'What a country!'" The collapse of Communism starting in 1989, and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, brought an end to Smirnoff's widespread popularity, although he continued to perform. In 1992, he bought his own theater in Branson, Missouri, where he performed his last show on December 3, 2015. In the late 1990s he retooled his stand-up act to focus on the differences between men and women, and on solving problems within relationships. Smirnoff now teaches a course titled "The Business of Laughter" at Missouri State University and at Drury University. America on Six Rubles a Day or How to Become a Capitalist Pig Author: Yakov Smirnoff A collection of the Soviet comedian's classic punch lines, observations, and stories presented as a guidebook for fellow immigrants to the United States. His swipes at Soviet totalitarianism and his comparisons between his new home and his native land offer some light political humor. - Offers a humorous look at U.S. citizenship, homes, jobs, dating, language, food, television, health care, automobiles, travel, music, and holidays. BOOK REVIEWS Aaron (mellowtraveler) - Seattle, WA reviewed America on Six Rubles a Day or How to Become a Capitalist Pig on 1/21/2010 This is a strange book. Uncle Tom Yakov Smirnoff gives it to his home country, its women, its food, and its culture, for red-blooded U.S. capitalist types. A nice relic of the Cold War days that made Yakov popular (?). He can now be found in his very own eatery/nightclub establishment in Branson, Missouri, dishing out his doofus culture clash pap to the morons that go there. Anyway, this is a stellar bathroom book; don't worry, mine is staying there. Five stars.