Winging It

THE NEWEST BOOK BY RANDY FERTEL

“A tour de force exploration of improvisation and its many uses…”
— Kirkus Reviews

Through the lens of neuroscience, bioevolution, and cultural texts, Winging It explores the links among the many disciplines improv informs—ranging from Louis Armstrong’s jazz to the hip-hop masterpiece Hamilton, Kerouac’s On the Road to Fred Astaire’s tap dancing, rock and roll, improv comedy, detective fiction, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, psychedelics, hookup culture, AI, and even politics—in particular, the alarming reign of the former Improviser-in-Chief. 

What People Are Saying About Winging It

  • “Winging It explores how improvisation shapes and enlivens our wider world. Yield to your impulses, act spontaneously, and get this book—it’s a revelation.”

    — Alice Waters, Founder of Chez Panisse and the Edible Schoolyard

  • “A masterwork—voracious in scope…and about as hopeful as can be in these troubling times.”

    — Bruce Boyd Raeburn, Curator Emeritus, Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz, Tulane University

  • “A thoughtful and accessible look at how and why improvisation goes far beyond the stage, and why its power should not be underestimated.”

    — Kirkus Reviews

  • “Winging It soars. Randy Fertel is a whipsmart, plate-spinning savant, an audacious flying circus wingman. Every performer faces unknown risks, but Fertel takes it to a whole new level, and it’s a very exciting ride.”

    — Michelle Shocked, singer/songwriter

  • “Written in the spirit and style of improvisation, this book charms the reader into a fresh perspective on our discombobulated world ... It’s smart, fun, insightful, and relevant to life today and the incomprehensibles we live within.”

    — Eric Booth, author of Making Change and The Everyday Work of Art

  • “Fertel will scare you and free you, as he peers deeply into the light and the dark spaces where improvisation exerts its powerful sway over our lives and culture.”

    — Davia Nelson, The Kitchen Sisters, Radio/Podcast Producer

  • “Winging It's true fascination lies in its adept analysis of the political implications of the quicksilver art form. It is a work to be savored slowly and thoughtfully, especially in anticipation of the upcoming elections.”

    — Jessica B. Harris, High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America

  • “Randy Fertel gives us an impressive and artful view of cultural patterns that are roiling our world ... His knowledge is encyclopedic and his feeling for the complexities and double binds we face is deep and humane.”

    — Stephen Nachmanovitch, author of Free Play and The Art of Is

  • “Randy Fertel is a master at unveiling theatrical illusion. In this brilliant book, he shines a piercing light into the shadows of the so-called improv style in politics. Winging It reveals the concealed instincts and the fierce emotional currents that keep a rapacious predator aloft.”

    — Murray Stein, author of Jung’s Map of the Soul

  • “Winging It is a remarkable feat of scholarship, analysis and imagination, an eclectic blend of insights from many realms of thought and study ... Fertel’s healing faith in intuition rings from every page.”

    — Tom Mueller, author of How to Make a Killing: Blood, Death and Dollars in American Medicine

  • “Winging It goes everywhere to make clear the universal nature of Fertel’s premise, always with authority to back it, that our physical nature shares with our minds what makes us human.”

    — Gerry Dryansky, Senior European Correspondent for Condé Nast Traveler

LEARN MORE

“A tour de force exploration of improvisation and its many uses… and why its power should not be underestimated…”

— Kirkus Reviews

Other Books by Randy Fertel

  • A Taste for Chaos

    In A Taste For Chaos, Fertel explores the undercurrent of spontaneity in literature and identifies a new metagenre called improvisations texts that claim to have been written without effort or craft, like an idea that hits you in the shower.

    Learn More

  • The Gorilla and the Empress of Steak

    The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak is the story of two larger-than-life characters and the son whom their lives helped to shape.

    Learn More

Randy Fertel is a writer and philanthropist dedicated to the arts, education, New Orleans, and the environment. Fertel holds a Ph.D. in English and American literature from Harvard University, and has taught at Harvard University, Tulane University, LeMoyne College, and the New School for Social Research. He lives in New Orleans and New York.

About the Author