10% OFF Code: TRYIT

From ancient phrases etched in stone to today's cutting-edge multimedia commercials, selling has always meant grabbing attention," says its narrator, the respected talk-show host Dick Cavett. "The point? Moving the product. The means? Tapping into desire — creating need." From the first known advertisement, a wine shop's sign from ancient Babylon, to the eve of the high-tech 21st century, Cavett and a host of advertising experts tell the story of not just how advertising became an industry in the first place, but how it became the huge, shape-shifting industry we regard today as both wildly creative yet somehow sinister.

Even the most ad-loathing viewer will recognize many of the iconic examples of this ultra-commercial art form of the thousands this documentary includes: Burma-Shave roadsigns, the smoke-blowing Camel cigarettes billboard in Times Square, the Volkswagen Beetle touting itself as a "lemon" on a whole magazine page, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing"; mascots from Tony the Tiger to the Marlboro Man (a symbol of freedom, we hear, for postwar office workers shackled to their desks) to the Taco Bell chihuahua; and of course Coca-Cola's "I'd like to teach the world to sing," whose conception the final episode of Mad Men fictionalized by putting into the mind of its protagonist, 1960s Madison Avenue "creative" Don Draper.

It’s extremely rare that the hottest stand-up comedian in the country would sit down and give away all of his secrets.

1. First Time Funny
2. Robert Klein's Influence
3. Education
4. Comedy Club Training
5. Why Comedy?

In his most provocative and practical book yet,one of the foremost thinkers of our time redefines what it means to understand the world, succeed in a profession, contribute to a fair and just society, detect nonsense, and influence others. Citing examples ranging from Hammurabi to Seneca, Antaeus the Giant to Donald Trump, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows how the willingness to accept one’s own risks is an essential attribute of heroes, saints, and flourishing people in all walks of life.