Lucky Loser Adventures in Tennis and Comedy

From a host of The Daily Show and stand-up comic, Michael Kosta, comes a wildly funny and insightful comedian memoir about his unlikely journey from professional tennis player (#864 in the world) to professional comedian (there's no ranking system in comedy but he's probably . . . top 50?).

Before Michael Kosta was performing stand-up comedy specials and hosting The Daily Show, he was a professional tennis "star," reaching the lofty heights of the #864 ranked men's singles player in the world. Stop laughing. That's better than your world ranking. As a tennis pro, Kosta traveled across the globe, competing in such exotic locales as the Netherlands, Tokyo, and even rural Illinois before making a complete career change and deciding to put down his racket to pursue a more stable and predictable career: comedy.

In a completely unexpected and wild journey through the backwaters of professional tennis, Kosta shows the unlikely ways life on the court prepared him for life in front of a microphone. Like comedy, tennis is brutally competitive, and most people lose at it. Unlike comedy, no one in tennis puts a gun on the table as they count out your earnings in twenty-dollar bills at the end of the night.

And then there are the hilarious coming-of-age stories that have more to do with what happens to you-and what you end up learning-as part of growing up. Topics include: how to properly discard an unwanted European hard-boiled egg, giving CPR to your dead grandpa, cringe-worthy "sex" in the Red Light District, crying so hard in a car that strangers call the cops, and also happy things like what it feels like when your dreams come true.

From misadventures in tennis to the humbling setbacks of comedy, this funny sports memoir Lucky Loser is a heart-filled story of making your own luck, the universal experience of failure, and the many ways in which we all inevitably lose on the way to success.

Lucky Loser includes a 16-page photo insert.

What does it take to fail your way from #864 in the world to the host's desk at The Daily Show?

• Behind the Scenes of Pro Tennis: Travel the globe with Kosta to the backwater tournaments where the prize money is sometimes counted out on a table next to a gun.
• From the Court to the Comedy Club: Discover the unlikely lessons a life of losing in tennis can teach you about winning on stage.
• Humorous Essays on Life: From giving CPR to his (probably) dead grandpa to awkward encounters in the Red Light District, these are the stories that shaped the comedian.
• A Memoir About Failure: A surprisingly heartfelt and hilarious look at how embracing failure, making your own luck, and losing spectacularly are the real keys to success.