Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything
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- Create Date：2021-11-21 08:52:17
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
- ISBN：1476756112
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Summary
The New York Times bestseller about two guys who went out for coffee and dreamed up Seinfeld A wildly entertaining must-read not only for Seinfeld fans but for anyone who wants a better understanding of how television series are made （Booklist， starred review）。
Comedians Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld never thought anyone would watch their sitcom about a New York comedian sitting around talking to his friends。 But against all odds， viewers did watch first a few and then many， until nine years later nearly forty million Americans were tuning in weekly。 Fussy Jerry， neurotic George， eccentric Kramer， and imperious Elaine people embraced them with love。
Seinfeldia， Jennifer Keishin Armstrong s intimate history is full of gossipy details， show trivia， and insights into how famous episodes came to be。 Armstrong celebrates the creators and fans of this American television phenomenon， bringing readers into the writers room and into a world of devotees for whom it never stopped being relevant。 Seinfeld created a strange new reality， one where years after the show had ended the Soup Nazi still spends his days saying No soup for you！， Joe Davola gets questioned every day about his sanity， and Kenny Kramer makes his living giving tours of New York sites from the show。
Seinfeldia is an outrageous cultural history。 Dwight Garner of The New York Times Book Review wrote: Armstrong has an eye for detail 。Perhaps the highest praise I can give Seinfeldia is that it made me want to buy a loaf of marbled rye and start watching again， from the beginning。 "
Comedians Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld never thought anyone would watch their sitcom about a New York comedian sitting around talking to his friends。 But against all odds， viewers did watch first a few and then many， until nine years later nearly forty million Americans were tuning in weekly。 Fussy Jerry， neurotic George， eccentric Kramer， and imperious Elaine people embraced them with love。
Seinfeldia， Jennifer Keishin Armstrong s intimate history is full of gossipy details， show trivia， and insights into how famous episodes came to be。 Armstrong celebrates the creators and fans of this American television phenomenon， bringing readers into the writers room and into a world of devotees for whom it never stopped being relevant。 Seinfeld created a strange new reality， one where years after the show had ended the Soup Nazi still spends his days saying No soup for you！， Joe Davola gets questioned every day about his sanity， and Kenny Kramer makes his living giving tours of New York sites from the show。
Seinfeldia is an outrageous cultural history。 Dwight Garner of The New York Times Book Review wrote: Armstrong has an eye for detail 。Perhaps the highest praise I can give Seinfeldia is that it made me want to buy a loaf of marbled rye and start watching again， from the beginning。 "
Reviews
Danielle Mintzlaff
，
It was a good book。 I learned a lot about Seinfeld from it。
Emma
，
interesting and gave me a lot of fun facts to annoy my friends with but i really was looking for some analysis as to why seinfeld was so successful or more into how it changed tv。 she mainly just gave us facts about the writing process and statistics
Juliette Ernst
，
Behind the scenes and creation of Seinfeld is always intriguing from the pilot to the foursome landed in jail as the finale of the show！ A lot of detail which I quickly skimmed through as I didn’t need all the blah blah blah！
JJ
，
Perfectly fine， well researched。 But that’s the lasting impression， this is just a book report on a larger scale。 I’m not demanding salacious behind the scenes secrets， or tell all exposes from the cast， but this is more of a compilation of other books and interviews than it’s own perspective。 You can feel that in the parts outside of production details。 Extrapolating meaning from stray lines of dialogue， giving the show credit for things it may have popularized， but didn’t invent。
Anita O'brien
，
This book was OK， kind of boring at times and even took some of the magic away from the show。 And the entire cast and crew really come across as unlikable， esp Seinfeld who I always thought was a good natured type of comedian。 Oh well
Nat
，
Starts as a five-star history of the 80s and 90s mainstream television market， then devolves into a boring meditation on obsessive fans in the show's afterlife。 Starts as a five-star history of the 80s and 90s mainstream television market， then devolves into a boring meditation on obsessive fans in the show's afterlife。 。。。more
André Reis
，
it's a great book if you just finished seinfeld like i did for the first time， and want to keep yourself a little more obssessed with the show， its plotlines， backstage and random trivia。 it's a great book if you just finished seinfeld like i did for the first time， and want to keep yourself a little more obssessed with the show， its plotlines， backstage and random trivia。 。。。more
Jake Chavez
，
Probably like most， I read this as an already avid fan of Seinfeld。 I would say 80% of the content in this book though is already common knowledge。 There wasn't much said that I didn't know already myself。The reason I give it two stars however， is the amount of content in this book that was completely unnecessary。 Towards the end， there's an entire tangent regarding a Twitter account called @Seinfeld2000。 This was stupid， and un-insightful content that didn't need to be apart of the story。 In no Probably like most， I read this as an already avid fan of Seinfeld。 I would say 80% of the content in this book though is already common knowledge。 There wasn't much said that I didn't know already myself。The reason I give it two stars however， is the amount of content in this book that was completely unnecessary。 Towards the end， there's an entire tangent regarding a Twitter account called @Seinfeld2000。 This was stupid， and un-insightful content that didn't need to be apart of the story。 In no way did it have anything to do with the show or its legacy。 。。。more
Chip Redihan
，
Reruns of this show defined my childhood and teen years。 Nostalgia bringing me comfort to the point where I cranked it out in 2 days
Stephanie
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As a huge Seinfeld fan， I devoured this book quickly。 It is interesting and well-written， full of anecdotes and fun facts related to the show about nothing。 My takeaway was that it’s pretty shocking the show got on the air at all， given the fact that NBC let Larry David and his fellow inmates run the asylum， resulting in a show that went on to be the phenomenon that it became。 The back end of the book was a little too bogged down in the years after the show went off the air， but yada yada yada， As a huge Seinfeld fan， I devoured this book quickly。 It is interesting and well-written， full of anecdotes and fun facts related to the show about nothing。 My takeaway was that it’s pretty shocking the show got on the air at all， given the fact that NBC let Larry David and his fellow inmates run the asylum， resulting in a show that went on to be the phenomenon that it became。 The back end of the book was a little too bogged down in the years after the show went off the air， but yada yada yada， overall a fun read for fans。 。。。more
Roland Spamalot
，
Seinfeld is a huge part of my existence and I truly never get tired of watching it， while this book was enjoyable to read I learned nothing really new from having watched the bonus features on the dvd。 But it was still a fun read， and often reminded me why I love the show so much。 So basically， yada yada yada
Bettys Book Club
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Everything about the show about nothing 。。。Seinfeld is coming to Netflix this Friday October 1st！If you’re a Seinfeld fan this is a must read！ Armstrong starts at the inception of the show and takes a junior mint deep dive into the Seinfeld cavity。 I became a fan of the show during its syndication period， but I did watch the finale live because well， who didn’t？ Here are some fun facts that I didn’t know before I read this book:🎄 All the stories came from the writer’s real experiences。 Festivus Everything about the show about nothing 。。。Seinfeld is coming to Netflix this Friday October 1st！If you’re a Seinfeld fan this is a must read！ Armstrong starts at the inception of the show and takes a junior mint deep dive into the Seinfeld cavity。 I became a fan of the show during its syndication period， but I did watch the finale live because well， who didn’t？ Here are some fun facts that I didn’t know before I read this book:🎄 All the stories came from the writer’s real experiences。 Festivus is real！！ 🤗 The motto of the show was no hugging， no learning💁🏻♀️ There wasn’t supposed to be an Elaine character， but NBC insisted it needed a female POV🚪 Kramer was based on Larry’s David real neighbour Kenny Kramer。 NBC paid Kenny to use his name。 The real Kramer went on to run a successful Seinfeld bus tour。🤬 They would fire all the writers after each season because Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld felt that they had mined all their stories。👋 Larry David quit after season 7 but came back to write the finale。 That’s why the show became a bit lighter and more slapsticky in season 8 and 9。 David brought more of the dark comedy to the series。🍜 The real soup Nazi said the role ruined his life。🥾 John O’Hurley and the real J。 Peterman would tour together and make appearances。 The real Peterman expanded his business rapidly due to the success of the show but he did it too quickly and went bankrupt。 。。。more
Jodi J
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As a Seinfeld fan， I enjoyed this book。 It was a bit of a look behind the scenes， showcasing how actors were selected and how episodes were created。 For a nerd like me， it was quite a fun read。 NOTE: There is a moderate amount of swearing in this book。
Hanna Hope
，
Seinfeldia is， as you might guess， a book about the hit 90s TV show Seinfeld。 It was interesting enough， even for someone like me who has never really loved Seinfeld， so I bet real fans would love it。 And it's a great time to read it as Seinfeld has just started streaming on Netflix。 It would be fun to read the chapters about popular episodes and storylines and then re-watch them。 Seinfeldia is， as you might guess， a book about the hit 90s TV show Seinfeld。 It was interesting enough， even for someone like me who has never really loved Seinfeld， so I bet real fans would love it。 And it's a great time to read it as Seinfeld has just started streaming on Netflix。 It would be fun to read the chapters about popular episodes and storylines and then re-watch them。 。。。more
Jenni Zintel
，
If you spend a significant amount of time perusing my Goodreads reviews， 1。 Oy， I'm sorry; please seek better entertainment 2。 You'll notice that I am very stingy with 5 star reviews。 So it may strike some of you as odd that this is one of those rare 5 star reviews。 However this book achieved precisely what the writer set out to do。 She took the reader into the inner workings of Seinfeld。 She told entertaining stories in an entertaining way。 She shared tales of how fandom of the show went beyond If you spend a significant amount of time perusing my Goodreads reviews， 1。 Oy， I'm sorry; please seek better entertainment 2。 You'll notice that I am very stingy with 5 star reviews。 So it may strike some of you as odd that this is one of those rare 5 star reviews。 However this book achieved precisely what the writer set out to do。 She took the reader into the inner workings of Seinfeld。 She told entertaining stories in an entertaining way。 She shared tales of how fandom of the show went beyond people watching it "because it's on TV！" and of the impact it still has on pop culture more than 20 years after the show ended。 Maybe some of the information wasn't new to diehard fans who have been steeped in online Seinfeld forums since the alt。tv。 days， but I learned enough new stuff that at least once or twice I stopped to text a fun fact to a friend。 I listened to the audiobook， which was read by a voice actor who did great impressions while doing quotes - not trying to disguise her voice， but mimicking tone and pitch。 Great addition to the enjoyment of the book。I was informed。 I was entertained。 Mission accomplished and job well done！ 。。。more
Kevin
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Seinfeld is my favorite sitcom of all-time and was very excited to read this Seinfeldia。 But unfortunately a large chunk of the material is a lot of former writers of the show explaining how their real life experiences led to ideas for episodes of the show。 It begins to get repetitive after 100 pages。 If you want to know the origins of the Soup Nazi， Festivus， casting of each of the characters then are some fun anecdotes。 The more interesting notes about the show are how NBC executives reacted t Seinfeld is my favorite sitcom of all-time and was very excited to read this Seinfeldia。 But unfortunately a large chunk of the material is a lot of former writers of the show explaining how their real life experiences led to ideas for episodes of the show。 It begins to get repetitive after 100 pages。 If you want to know the origins of the Soup Nazi， Festivus， casting of each of the characters then are some fun anecdotes。 The more interesting notes about the show are how NBC executives reacted to certain episodes， how they treated the sitcom from the beginning and it initially not being widely accepted into become the poster child & breadwinner for the network。 Overall a nice supplementary material for fans of the show or if fans want to reminisce about the best parts of the show but not a must-read。 。。。more
Renata Shura
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Very interesting and well written account of the history of one my all time favorite tv shows。 Reading it was a great walk down memory lane with lots of backstory information to keep it engaging！
anonymousreader
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to-read
Tommy Segi
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I am only a casual Seinfeld fan but found the book entertaining。 Good stories about how specific episodes and characters came to be。
Kim Woodbury
，
This was a very interesting look at the history and behind-the-scenes story of Seinfeld。 However， I thought it was too long and there was definitely too much profanity。 :（
Kelley D
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Despite the frothy subject matter， for me this book was a little bit of a slog。 I think it was a bestseller format editorial commentary book， wanting to bring a textbook level of detail， and that made it a bit of a tedious read at times。 I really like the point she arrives at at the end about the cultural and artistic significance of the show， which is amazing， but also only needed about a third of a chapter to make that point。 I think she has quite literally written the book on Seinfield the sh Despite the frothy subject matter， for me this book was a little bit of a slog。 I think it was a bestseller format editorial commentary book， wanting to bring a textbook level of detail， and that made it a bit of a tedious read at times。 I really like the point she arrives at at the end about the cultural and artistic significance of the show， which is amazing， but also only needed about a third of a chapter to make that point。 I think she has quite literally written the book on Seinfield the show and seinfield the cultural phenomenon， but the format wasn’t to my taste as a reader。 I would have loved to see a two part series or maybe a more broadly marketed abridged version for lay readers。 。。。more
Eric
，
It’s maybe not a coincidence， but my interest in the history of the series flagged about the same point as my love for the series itself faded。 Armstrong’s book， though， helps to explain why that is。
Simon Vacca
，
Pretty good！
Devina Heriyanto
，
I am reading this as one of many， many people outside the United States who have heard of Seinfeld but have yet to watch all the episodes。 I am familiar with Jerry， George， Elaine and Kramer and the dynamics between the four of them， and I am also aware that Seinfeld is a cultural phenomenon when the showed air in the 90s。 However， it was not until I read this book that I truly understood how influential the show was。Seinfeldia by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is a chronicle of the making of Seinfe I am reading this as one of many， many people outside the United States who have heard of Seinfeld but have yet to watch all the episodes。 I am familiar with Jerry， George， Elaine and Kramer and the dynamics between the four of them， and I am also aware that Seinfeld is a cultural phenomenon when the showed air in the 90s。 However， it was not until I read this book that I truly understood how influential the show was。Seinfeldia by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is a chronicle of the making of Seinfeld and the emergence of Seinfeldia -- a place where reality meets fiction and becomes a new space altogether。 Not only that the book describes what happened behind the scenes （sometimes quite literally）， the book also introduces us to the people beyond the main cast that we have come to know and love。As Seinfeld mined the stories from its writers' personal lives， it becomes clear that this show about nothing is even more profound than it seems。 In its mission to bring as many absurdities from our lives to the screen as possible， Seinfeld has become a sort of looking glass。 If some stories in Seinfeld are unbelievable and bizarre， or if the characters are too selfish or unlikeable， or if some of the conflicts are too mundane or petty， it's because what usually happens in our lives is that way too。When Jerry Seinfeld decided to end the show， it was because he no longer felt connected to the daily lives of normal people due to his busy schedule while running the series。 As shallow as Seinfeld can be as a character in the show， the comedian had a high level of awareness of what was needed to keep the high quality and relevancy。 This sentence sums it best， "He’d sensed for years that he was running out of material because he spent so much of his time making the show instead of living a normal life。"I particularly like how one minor part of the book addresses the so-called rivalry between Seinfeld and Friends， with fans often engaging in online debates on which show is better。 The conclusion？ Well， it depends on what you consider as "better"。 Do you want a show in which you can be emotionally invested and root for the characters？ If yes， Friends might be the show that you want。If， otherwise， you just want to see people talking and going about their lives as usual， only with better dialogue， and you are free to laugh or even hate these people or the story because they resemble you or the people you meet at some point in your life， then welcome to Seinfeldia。 There is no hugging， no learning， and somehow， this show about nothing still means something， decades after its premiere。 。。。more
Julie
，
All about Seinfeld--the writers， the stories， the process， the lasting effects on culture and television。If you are a fan of Seinfeld， you will enjoy this。
Carolyn Roesbery
，
My new obsession is Jerry Seinfeld because of his COOFFEE WITH COMEDIANS show on Netflix。 He is absolutely essential to the understanding of comedy and this book tracks his road to fame and iconic adventures。 It connects a lot of dots for me and and is a cream filled delight。 There is a reason he is masterful！
Jeremy Moore
，
I'm not a Seinfeld superfan （the show is older than I am）， but I've watched the entire series。 A lot of the show is already too old to relate to given the dated pop culture references and technology。 Other episodes I just didn't find funny。 But some episodes I loved， and I've always heard that Seinfeld was revolutionary for its time and an inspiration for a lot of the modern comedies that I love。 So I read this book as a student of Seinfeld。First off - if this book was a sandwich， it'd be better I'm not a Seinfeld superfan （the show is older than I am）， but I've watched the entire series。 A lot of the show is already too old to relate to given the dated pop culture references and technology。 Other episodes I just didn't find funny。 But some episodes I loved， and I've always heard that Seinfeld was revolutionary for its time and an inspiration for a lot of the modern comedies that I love。 So I read this book as a student of Seinfeld。First off - if this book was a sandwich， it'd be better as a lettuce wrap。 The first chapter is awful。 Maybe it's just because I don't think Jerry Seinfeld's standup is funny， and I'm not really a Larry David fan （outside of this creation）， but I found no need for their backstories， and had no tolerance for lines like "Seinfeld grew up in a home where comedy was a priority; his dad often made jokes。" Barf。The end of the book， everything after the finale of the show， was also boring。 Obviously I see the need to write about legacy of the show， from syndication to its influence on pop culture for years to come。 But the specific stories weren't interesting。 And while the fact that this book was relevant enough to publish in 2016， almost 20 years after the finale， is impressive， I think even in the last 5 years the show's stories and characters have become even more obsolete。 The book should have focused on the overall impact， less on where the Soup Nazi and Rochelle Rochelle ended up。I know the book suffers from a lack of direct reporting/interviews with the show's major players， and apparently a lot of the material came from previously accessible sources。 But I'm not a superfan， so I haven't listened to the DVD commentary。 I found the middle of the book to be very enjoyable reading， full of the history， logistical details， and anecdotes that I was hoping to find。 。。。more
Daniel Suhajda
，
I loved learning about the show and getting deep into some episodes。 I never liked the Chinese restaurant episode so it was interesting to learn more about it to appreciate it more。 It made me want to watch them all in order plus the spin offs。
Amy Hauer
，
Pretty much the ultimate read for any Seinfeld superfan。 I have way too many fun facts stored up now than I probably should。
Vsanek
，