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And Nothing But the Truthiness: The Rise (and Further Rise) of Stephen Colbert
by
Lisa Rogak
A funny and personal portrait of the comedianwho becamethe headline-making, ground-breaking star of The Colbert Report.
“My name is Stephen Colbert, but I actually play someone on television named Stephen Colbert, who looks like me and talks like me, but who says things with a straight face [that] he doesn’t mean.”
—Stephen Colbert
—Stephen Colbert
No othercomedian can generate headlines to
Hardcover, 294 pages
Published
October 11th 2011
by Thomas Dunne Books
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And Nothing But the Truthiness: The Rise (And Further Rise) of Stephen Colbert is book only for fans of Stephen Colbert. It's not that the author says lots of wonderful things about him, it's just that I can't imagine anyone not a fan of him and his specific brand of humor wanting to read a whole book about him. That said, this is not a great book. I often felt as if I were reading a paper researched and written by a high school student with a C+ grade average. It's only because of my interest i...more
5 stars to the author's son for a great title and cover, but only 2.5 stars to the content. This unauthorized biography is a compilation of previous interviews and magazine articles about Colbert that were used to cobble together a somewhat chronological telling of Colbert's life from birth to present (actually it goes back to the births of his parents). The book was full of typos; some were simple errors, but others made for confusing reading, like misstated dates and pronouns. Although it tell...more
“This biography could have easily been titled The Tale of Two Colberts; however, Colbert’s signature ‘truthiness’ seems to befit the style and enjoyment Ms. Rogak obviously had writing And Nothing But the Truthiness.”
For me, a really good biography is one about a great leader who died at least 100 years ago. To include the very much living television personality and comedian Stephen Colbert to my reading list is either putting Colbert in high praise, or lowering my standards. I claim the former....more
For me, a really good biography is one about a great leader who died at least 100 years ago. To include the very much living television personality and comedian Stephen Colbert to my reading list is either putting Colbert in high praise, or lowering my standards. I claim the former....more
This was kind of light on real information at times, but I still found it to be an interesting read. I enjoy Stephen Colbert and The Colbert Report and it was nice to learn a little about the man behind the scenes. It seems a difficult task to gather real information about him, as noted by the author early on. As a Law & Order fan, I was also disappointed that it was not mentioned that he had a role on (I think it was)Criminal Intent. It was difficult watching it, having come from seeing him...more
Lisa Rogak's biography of Stephen Colbert would have been a huge disappointment, except that I wasn't really expecting much from it to begin with. All I was hoping for was maybe a few laughs--based on the cover whihc led me to believe that it is going to be a humorous read. Instead what I got was a typical formulaic celebrity biography that couldn't have been more stale and lifeless if it tried.
That would have been okay except that the book had the most annoying narative devise possible. On eve...more
That would have been okay except that the book had the most annoying narative devise possible. On eve...more
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First off, Stephen Colbert is awesome. We don't have many good comedians today other than Cobert, Jim Gaffigan, Jon Stewart, and Jimmy Kimmel (and Fallon). This book is a very good informational text on Stephen's life before and after The Colbert Report and The Daily Show, but that's kinda bad thing. The book starts off talking too much about his parents and family, which I really don't care about. His dad and two brothers died in a plane crash, which is tragic, yes, but this is about Stephen, n...more
When you see someone as talented and entertaining as Stephen Colbert, you wonder how he got that way. This book does a pretty good job of addressing that, detailing his childhood, education, and the apprenticeship he served in learning his comedic craft. But there remains some quality that just can't be captured in print, that would explain the source of the drive that keeps him going. I was disappointed at the brevity of Rogak's treatment of his appearance at the white house press correspondent...more
If there's an interview she missed or a magazine article she overlooked, I can't imagine where author Lisa Rogak managed it. Her biography And Nothing But the Truthiness compiles every bit and snippet of public information about Cultural 900-lb. Gorilla Stephen Colbert, and presents it all in a readable, objective style.
She did manage to snag an interview or two with some (very!) peripheral characters to add a tiny bit of behind-the-scenes info, but for the most part it's unauthorized all the w...more
She did manage to snag an interview or two with some (very!) peripheral characters to add a tiny bit of behind-the-scenes info, but for the most part it's unauthorized all the w...more
It's an unofficial biography, so what can you expect? I adore Stephen Colbert, so I had fun reading little anecdotes about him and stuff, and I particularly enjoyed the old photographs. In fact, I think what I learned the most from this book was that Stephen used to really enjoy wearing plaid pants. But most of this is second- or third-hand stuff, and most of it I took with a grain of salt.
I had a few issues - for one, I know that the author had a few quotes that were kind of wrong. Like on pag...more
I had a few issues - for one, I know that the author had a few quotes that were kind of wrong. Like on pag...more
The author never met or spoke with Colbert and all the quotes and information are from other articles, so it's a lot like the bio of dead people. The great accomplishment is how it draws from the many sources and clearly explains Stephen Colbert the person and how he came to create Stephen Colbert the character.
It's a good bio and fun to read because of the amazing humor of Colbert. The only downside is that the author/publisher would often pad out the book by putting a quote in large fonts afte...more
It's a good bio and fun to read because of the amazing humor of Colbert. The only downside is that the author/publisher would often pad out the book by putting a quote in large fonts afte...more
For fans of Colbert that haven't read any press or interviews about him or the show. Because the source material appears to be entirely prior press and interviews, with the exception of some quotes from very minor acquaintances (someone who once did a summer internship with the Daily Show, etc).
Still, the life is pretty interesting and the whole thing can be inhaled in just a few hours. Writing is not great, but nothing worse than what would appear in Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography, actually l...more
Still, the life is pretty interesting and the whole thing can be inhaled in just a few hours. Writing is not great, but nothing worse than what would appear in Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography, actually l...more
Rogak (Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King) separates Stephen Colbert, the writer, actor, and family man from the right-wing pundit he portrays on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report. Through extensive research, she assembles a chronological account of Colbert’s life and career through mid-2010. While some of it reads like filler (Stephen, youngest of 11, isn’t born until page 27), the result is a conversational, multiperspective account of his life. Special attention is paid to la...more
This was a quick (one-day) read. Basically an assembly of quotations from previously published interviews and profiles, which leads to some bizarre situations, where it *looks* like jokes are being passed along as "facts." But maybe that's just truthiness in action. I did learn a lot about Colbert's early life, though, and reading about the deaths of his father and brothers was devastating. Still, overall an amusing light read.
While I love Stephen Colbert's brilliant comedy, I don't know much about his personal life or his earlier work as a comedian (other than knowing he was in Second City and his hilariousness on Strangers With Candy and The Daily Show).
I'm only a couple chapters in, but already I love this fascinating read on his parents, siblings, and his childhood.
Update: After finishing this book, I've decided that it's a must read for anyone who loves Colbert. I thoroughly enjoyed every page. Well researched a...more
I'm only a couple chapters in, but already I love this fascinating read on his parents, siblings, and his childhood.
Update: After finishing this book, I've decided that it's a must read for anyone who loves Colbert. I thoroughly enjoyed every page. Well researched a...more
I might have found it particularly enlightening because -and I read this at least a year ago- Rogak provided nuggets of truth about the man behind the "mask" that I did not previously know. So, while it could read dull for a big fan of Colbert who already knows most about his background, I enjoyed it, as these glimpses of his childhood, family life, and work background were news to me.
Nov 03, 2012
Linda Nichols
added it
Pretty good book, probably all you ever want to know about Stephen Colbert, how he thinks, what makes him tick. He is a philanthropist, writer, comedian, family man, who misses his father and two brothers who were killed in a plane crash when he was 10. This tragedy has had quite an influence on his life. If you like him or like biographies, you would enjoy this book.
Good book, fast read. This is a biography of Colbert, with a focus on the Daily Show and the Colbert report. Lots of interesting background stuff. I thought there would be lots of stuff about how the two shows are made, and there was some, but not much. Still, this was well written and held my attention. Read it in three days.
Apr 15, 2012
Gwen
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommended to Gwen by:
Browsing at the library
Shelves:
biography-memoir
First, this book had factual errors--Washington University =! Saint Louis University; Washington University =! Washington State University. Second, the book did not appear to have much in the way of original research, but rather a cobbled together history/biography of Colbert through interviews he'd done in the past. Good to have all the info in one place, but not necessarily the strongest of books or providing readers with much new information.
Learning details of Colbert's background and his p...more
Learning details of Colbert's background and his p...more
The best part of this book was probably the small tidbits of information like that Colbert played Dungeons and Dragons. Unfortunately, the book had these large scattered repeated phrases similar to how newspapers use quotes to try to draw you to the story. Why they felt the need to do this in a book you're already committed to reading, I'm not quite sure. There's a certain point in the book where they mention something about Colbert writing parts of books in 32 point font for the old grannies so...more
Five stars for the man, two for the book. There’s no doubt Lisa Rogak researched her subject, but the resulting product came off like a not so thrilling episode of VH1’s ‘Where Are They Now?’
Try as I might, I never got past the feeling that 90% of her 247 pages were simply regurgitations of US Weekly and People Magazine. I’d hoped for more.
Try as I might, I never got past the feeling that 90% of her 247 pages were simply regurgitations of US Weekly and People Magazine. I’d hoped for more.
Another winner from Lisa Rogak (The Dogs of War). While I am not a fan of Stephen Colbert (I actually prefer Jon Stewart), I thought his background was fascinating. The book didn't do anything to change my opinion of Colbert though. I don't know if that was the author's intent. It was a lighter read than Dogs of War, but not better.
Mediocre and particularly thin at the beginning (the pull quotes scream "failed to make word count in a meaningful way"), but it picks up as Colbert's career progresses. Nice trip down memory lane.
This was a fun, light biography for Colbert fans. The author is definitely a fan of the subject and that shows through, but I didn't expect a scholarly work. I finished it in 24 hours.
While I greatly enjoy his show, this book was a bit boring. It did provide good detail on his previous life before the advent of Colbert Nation.
Borrowed this from the library because I like Steven Colbert but it's very much an outsiders view and not that well written. Would not reccommend.
couldn't get past the first 100 pages. so poorly written. slow and boring. not at all what i would expect from a book on such a fascinating guy.
This book was easy to read and I did learn a lot about Colbert and his family life. It wasn't great but easy and informative.
It was a lot of fun to read. I got to know so much more about what goes on behind the scenes at one of my favorite TV shows: "The Colbert Report." Also, I found his actual back-story fascinating.
If you like The Colbert Report AND good writing - this is a must read. Chuckles galore. . .
Written like a 3rd grade biography. Still love Colbert.
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| Daily Show / Colb...: Colbert biography? | 1 | 19 | Jan 16, 2012 05:52pm |
Lisa Rogak is the New York Times bestselling author of over 40 books on a wide variety of topics, from writers and their cats to sabbaticals to cemeteries in New England.
Through the years, in addition to writing books on an almost-schizophrenic range of topics, she has published newsletters and books, started a greeting card company for dogs and cats, bought and sold vintage funeral equipment, and...more
More about Lisa Rogak...
Through the years, in addition to writing books on an almost-schizophrenic range of topics, she has published newsletters and books, started a greeting card company for dogs and cats, bought and sold vintage funeral equipment, and...more
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