Ring Lardner 
You Know Me Al 

In the early decades of the twentieth century, newspaperman and humorist Ring Lardner (1885–1933) made America laugh with his hilarious depictions of odd characters in the sporting world, Tin Pan Alley, and Hollywood. His first great success was
You Know Me Al, a fictional series of letters from a popular baseball hero to his friend, slyly revealing the letter writer as a crude, conceited, semiliterate, self-deceiving boob.

The letters, created while Lardner was writing a sports column for
The Chicago Tribune, first appeared in
The Saturday Evening Post and were later published in book form in 1918.
You Know Me Al reveals Lardner as a satirical master at the peak of his form: a fine albeit misanthropic storyteller with a superb feel for the niceties of characters and speech and a sure instinct for provoking laughter.

عن المؤلف

Journalist and short story writer Ring Lardner (1885–1933) was primarily associated with the
Chicago Tribune, the home newspaper for his syndicated column. Lardner covered a sports beat for several years, which provided the inspiration for
You Know Me Al and other humorous baseball stories.