Esslin, Martin, The Theatre of the Absurd, 3d ed., Penguin, 1983.

Esslin's definitive study of absurdist theater is a classic of literary criticism.

Lenburg, Greg, Randy Skretvedt, and Jeff Lenburg, Steve Martin: The Unauthorized Biography, St. Martin's Press, 1980.

To date, this is the only biography of Martin. It was not authorized, or contributed to, by Martin, but it provides basic facts about Martin's childhood, young adulthood, and early career.

Weber, Max, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, translated by Talcott Parsons, with an introduction by Anthony Giddens, Routledge, 2001.

This classic, early sociological text was originally published in 1930, in German. Nonetheless, Weber's book has influenced many scholars. Weber makes connections between Protestantism and what was, in the 1930s, a spreading and consolidating "spirit of capitalism" in Protestant-dominated countries.

Woodward, Bob, Wired: The Short Life and Times of John Belushi, Pocket Books, 1984.

Woodward is a well-known...