Daniel Martin Klein

Daniel Martin Klein (born 1939 in Wilmington, Delaware) is an American writer of fiction, non-fiction, and humor. His most notable works are Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar co-written with Thomas Cathcart. and Travels With Epicurus.

Life

Klein went to school at Harvard College where he received a B.A. in philosophy. After a brief career in television comedy, he began writing books, ranging from thrillers and mysteries to humorous books about philosophy, including the New York Times bestseller, Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes (with Thomas Cathcart) and the London Times bestseller Travels With Epicurus. He lives in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and was married to Freke Quirine Vuijst (1952-2020) until her death from cancer. She was the American correspondent for the Dutch newsweekly, Vrij Nederland. Their daughter, Samara Quirine Klein, is Head librarian for the towns of Great Barrington and Housatonic MA.

Awards

‘ForeWord Magazine' Book of the Year – Silver Award in Literary Fiction (2009) for novel, 'The History of Now'.

List of books

Non-fiction

The Half-Jewish Book: A Celebration (with Freke Vuijst), Villard, 2000. ISBN 0375503854

Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, (with Thomas Cathcart), Abrams Books, 2007. ISBN 081091493X

Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington: Understanding Political Doublespeak through Philosophy and Jokes, (with Thomas Cathcart), Abrams Books, 2008. ISBN 0810995417

Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between, (with Thomas Cathcart), Viking, 2009. ISBN 0670020834

Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life, Penguin, 2012. ISBN 0143121936

Every Time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change It: Wisdom of the Great Philosophers on How to Live, Penguin, 2015. ISBN 0143126792

I Think, Therefore I Draw: Understanding Philosophy Through Cartoons (with Thomas Cathcart), Penguin, 2018. ISBN 978-0143133025

Thrillers and Mysteries

Embryo, Doubleday, 1980. ISBN 0445046880

Wavelengths, Doubleday, 1982. ISBN 0385174454

Beauty Sleep, St. Martin's, 1990. ISBN 0312042647

Kill Me Tender, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2002. ISBN 0312981953

Blue Suede Clues, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2003. ISBN 0312986696

Viva Las Vengeance, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2003. ISBN 0312288069

Such Vicious Minds, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2004 ISBN 0312319401

Novels

Nothing Serious, Permanent Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1579623142

The History of Now, Permanent Press, 2009. ISBN 1579621813

Magic Time, Doubleday, 1984. ISBN 0385174527

Plays

The Jewish Jester, New Stage Performing Arts, Berkshire Theater Festival, Stockbridge, MA, 2013

Mengelberg and Mahler, Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, MA, 2010

Book reviews

Nothing Serious

Kirkus described the book as follows: "A hip editor takes the helm of Cogito, a stodgy philosophical journal, with mixed—and occasionally hilarious—results."

New York Journal of Books reviewer Karl Wolff wrote, “. . . a rollicking farce . . . a tightly plotted comedic tale with a genuine emotional center and a sharp satirical wit.”