SOURCE: "The First Laugh," in The New York Review of Books, Vol. XXXI, No. 17, November 8, 1984, pp. 37-8.

In the following review, Crowther surveys the stories of That Old Gang O' Mine: The Early and Essential S. J. Perelman.

S. J. Perelman in his time moved more book reviewers to confess incontinence than any other author in the West. While not myself finding this appropriate as a measuring stick, I don't mean to sneer. Indeed, I see now why Antony wanted to bury Caesar, but not to praise him. The task is awesome for reasons neatly captured by a friend of mine who said, when it looked as if I might actually meet the man, "Gee, not only does he know S. J. Perelman—he is S. J. Perelman."

Just so, That Old Gang O'Mine is one book that won't be heretically compared to Perelman: it is Perelman. The...