<DIV><DIV><B>A <I>New York Times </I>Bestseller</B> Since his arrival at <I>The Daily Show</I> in 1999, Jon Stewart has become one of the major players in comedy as well as one of the most significant liberal voices in the media. In <I>Angry Optimist,</I> biographer Lisa Rogak charts his unlikely rise to stardom. She follows him from his early days growing up in New Jersey, through his years as a struggling standup comic in New York, and on to the short-lived but acclaimed <I>The Jon Stewart Show</I>. And she charts his humbling string of near-misses—passed over as a replacement for shows hosted by Conan O’Brien, Tom Snyder, and even the fictional Larry Sanders—before landing on a half-hour comedy show that at the time was still finding its footing amidst roiling internal drama.<BR><BR>Once there, Stewart transformed <I>The Daily Show</I> into one of the most influential news programs on television today. Drawing on interviews with current and former colleagues, Rogak reveals how things work—and sometimes don’t work—behind the scenes at <I>The Daily Show, </I>led by Jon Stewart, a comedian who has come to wield incredible power in American politics.</DIV></DIV>