Smart Aleck: The Wit, World, and Life of Alexander Woollcott

334 pp. To those who knew Alexander Woollcett, he was literally larger than life. Harpo Marx once described him as something that got loose from the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. And Irma Selz, who sketched him, said he gave the impression of a great stuffed owl. But it was not just his formidable appearance that made Aleck a distinctive figure. For Woollcoot was a true American original.