Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned
by Alan Alda
published
September 12th 2006
by Random House Trade Paperbacks
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binding
Paperback, 272 pages
isbn
0812974409
(isbn13: 9780812974409)
description
Alan Alda's autobiography travels a path less taken. Instead of a sensationalist, name-dropping page-turner, Alda writes about his life as a memory pl...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 758)
Read in June, 2008
Let me start this review off with a little disclosure. I am a complete and utter Alan Alda fangirl. My grandmother was a Robert Alda fan and I remember comparing notes with her during those few M*A*S*H episodes where the two acted together. So when I heard Alda on the radio back when Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned I've wanted the book. Mom got me a copy for last Christmas and my inner fangirl squeed with delight.
Was the book worth the wait? Yes! I tore through my...more
Was the book worth the wait? Yes! I tore through my...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of Alda and memoirs that are light but not without substance
I must have read this book two or three weeks ago, the bulk of it at the mechanics where I was so engrossed I hadn’t realized they were done changing my oil, whoops. This book is multi-generational. I say that because I know Alda from his great series with PBS Scientific American Frontiers and my parents know him from his rather famous tv series M*A*S*H.
Never have your dog stuffed is an interesting memoir, at least compared to the last one I read, but what wouldn’t be? Again, Alda is rathe...more
Never have your dog stuffed is an interesting memoir, at least compared to the last one I read, but what wouldn’t be? Again, Alda is rathe...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
M*A*S*H fans
I'm a die hard M*A*S*H fan, so I'll warn you that I'm already a bias source for a review, that said, I'll try to be as unemotional about the book as possible. The first several chapters really break the standard childhood star stereotype, but perhaps that's why he seems so much different than your typical actor. Alda talks about growing up on the road, with his parents, at burlesque shows, and vaudeville acts, which, if you've studied his humor in MASH, is easy to see its roots. Through out t...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to MJ by:
Ultimate reading guide
If all you know about Alan Alda is his days as Hawkeye Pierce on M.A.S.H. or his other movie rolls then you are missing out. In his biography he relives the moments in his life that changed him in one way or another. It is not just a retelling of his acting credits or look at all the amazing things I have done but a story of boy growing up and a man counting to grow and learn new things.
I am not always a fan of biography or autobiographies especially those about actors. I mostly find th...more
I am not always a fan of biography or autobiographies especially those about actors. I mostly find th...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
general readers
I wanted to give this one a higher mark, I really did, especially since I enjoyed his recent book Things I've Overheard While Talking To Myself - but just couldn't.
A huge fan of Alan Alda's work but this one seemed to lose me. He speaks of his childhood and goes through how grew as an actor. I was going to say "and goes through how he became an actor" but you learn very early in both of his books that this guy was BORN an actor - although he'd probably not agree.
The reader le...more
A huge fan of Alan Alda's work but this one seemed to lose me. He speaks of his childhood and goes through how grew as an actor. I was going to say "and goes through how he became an actor" but you learn very early in both of his books that this guy was BORN an actor - although he'd probably not agree.
The reader le...more
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Good stuff. He's had an interesting life. Growing up in the burlesque theater, then Hollywood, then in New York. He smoked a pipe when he was two (not really, but don't you wish?) He was terribly religious, and then he wasn't. He studied philosphy, spirituality and all kinds of science. He went AWOL to get married. Starring in MASH may be one of the more ordinary things Alan Alda has done with his life. He has a conversational style of writing which suits the breezy way he tells his stories, eve...more
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Read in April, 2008
I heard Alda talk in Stony Brook a couple years ago, so I basically already "read" the first and third parts of this book. But the second part was completely new to me, and quite interesting.
I think what I like most about this books was how I could identify with Alda's struggles with his parents when growing up (although my mother certainly wasn't throwing knives at anyone) as well as feeling a need to prove himself and be really good at what he loved. What sometimes drove me craz...more
I think what I like most about this books was how I could identify with Alda's struggles with his parents when growing up (although my mother certainly wasn't throwing knives at anyone) as well as feeling a need to prove himself and be really good at what he loved. What sometimes drove me craz...more
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Read in July, 2008
I like this book. Although the point is in the title, like many of the lines of Hawkeye Pierce, it sounds funny; might even make you laugh, but there's more to it than that.
Alan Alda's wit was scattered through the book. It was sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. But it also seemed strangely unemotional at some pretty significant points in Alan Alda's life.
I liked learning about Alan Alda's life, behind the scenes in M*A*S*H and some of the funny things he has to say about other people ...more
Alan Alda's wit was scattered through the book. It was sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. But it also seemed strangely unemotional at some pretty significant points in Alan Alda's life.
I liked learning about Alan Alda's life, behind the scenes in M*A*S*H and some of the funny things he has to say about other people ...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
general adult audience
This was one of those books that had me laughing out loud whether I was home alone or out in public... who cares! Alan Alda's poignant memoir made me want to go up and give this M*A*S*H star a bear hug. I always loved his wit as Hawkeye Pierce, and after reading this vulnerably honest little book, I can see how much of himself Alda put into Hawkeye and also how they were ultimately worlds apart. What is so extremely touching is Alda's love for his wife. His memories of their first meeting, o...more
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Like umpteen zillion TV viewers, I grew up expecting to find Mr. Alda in our living room on a weekly basis for some 11 years of M*A*S*H, then the re-runs were a delight and cable/satellite still brings M*A*S*H along with his movies and science shows to be loved by young and old. His presence on the tube has been as reassuring as a pleasant family friend, and this autobiography is an extension of that easy familiarity--the uncle or brother we all wish we had. His book is a gift of himself--a shar...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
biography
Ohhh I so enjoyed this book!!! In what you would expect from Mr. Alda . . . you receive the humorous . . the poignant . . . but then with all wonder; Alan Alda delivers a true and delightful insight in to his take on his life and life as we know it. With introspect into his mother's mental illness, his witness to a great backstage-childhood glimpse of burlesque, and to his merit . . . very little coverage of his M.A.S.H. years. This book is hands-down one of the best autobiographies that I...more
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Read in December, 2006
recommends it for:
Those interested in a good autobiography of an interesting person.
I enjoyed this book; I didn't get the feeling that this person did all the right things to get to be famous unlike some autobiographies of famous people, wherein the authors seem incredibly gifted in every way. Alan Alda came across to me as very human. He handles describing events that could be cast as pure misery or satire with a good balance of wit and sensitivity. I was very aware that this book could have been written purely for laughs or for pathos....Alan Alda evokes both sorrow and laugh...more
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This was the first book I read for enjoyment in a long time. The book was definitely well written, meaning I didn't spend half my time mentally editing it. However, it did make Alda seem like a bit of a pompous ass, an impression I had prior to reading the book. And since M*A*S*H has always been one of my favorite TV shows, I was a bit disappointed that he didn't discuss it more. I understand his life was not solely defined by his role as Hawkeye Pierce, but since it was his most notable, it wou...more
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Read in December, 2007
Funny, enjoyable and interesting. Alda is a good writer and actor. He is honest in his human-ness.
A quote I really liked: "The difference between listening and pretending to listen, I discovered, is enormous. One is fluid, the other is rigid. One is alive, the other is stuffed. Eventually, I found a radical way of thinking abut listening. Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you. When I'm willing to let them change me, something happens between us that's mo...more
A quote I really liked: "The difference between listening and pretending to listen, I discovered, is enormous. One is fluid, the other is rigid. One is alive, the other is stuffed. Eventually, I found a radical way of thinking abut listening. Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you. When I'm willing to let them change me, something happens between us that's mo...more
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Read in November, 2007
Alan Alda can write. This book covers his entire life, from his earliest memories. His father was a famous vaudevillian, and his mother was mentally disturbed. The first line of the book is "The first time my mother tried to kill my father..." Alda has seen and done a lot of different things, and they were all told with a sort of wonder, like he was saying to the reader "isn't it crazy and awesome that I was able to be a part of something like that?" I don't think there ...more
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Read in February, 2008
I'm a huge Alan Alda fan, and enjoyed this memoir, which was by turns poignant and laugh-out-loud funny. He's quite open about his struggles in his relationship with his parents, one of whom was schizophrenic, and his description of growing up on the road with parents who were in burlesque shows was vivid. For those fans of M*A*S*H, he doesn't spend a lot of time on it, but it's clear from what he does include how much the show helped him grow as an actor and a person. I learned from reading thi...more
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Read in October, 2006
recommends it for:
Biography readers, readers interested in acting
Since you're probably picking this book up because you like Alan Alda as an actor and are already familiar with his voice, you might as well hear him read his words. He is a very capable narrator for his own prose, lending inflection that makes many of his stories feel like they're being told just for you, across the coffee table. He tells you more about how his philosophy of acting and life developed than how he learned the craft, but it's still an informative read. The highlights are the expla...more
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The first of two books by Alan Alda. Most people ask me, why I've read both autobiographies by Alda? Well, when I was just a boy my Dad watched what were the re-runs of the show MASH and I would sit and watch it with him. I was under the impression at the time the show was a serious medical drama but then I learned what sarcasm was. So, I read this book in a way to reconnect with my Dad; it turns out in the process Alda is a really interesting guy. The book is not only hilarious it also has the...more
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Alan Alda has lived one interesting life. A child of vaudeville parents, even his childhood is teeming with great characters. From detailing his mother's mental illness to his own near-death experience, Alda always manages to keep the tone of the book light and entertaining, as well as moving and thought-provoking. His book is like his public persona- warm, endearing, smart, humorous and heartfelt. A quick and fun read. The year that this book was published was the same year that he was nom...more
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Read in October, 2007
I never was a big fan of MASH (my older brother and sister were) but saw an interview with Alan Alda on breakfast TV for his new book "Things I overheard whilst talking to myself." Having learnt he presented a popular science series in the US (a big interest of mine) I bought both books. In this book you learn how he managed to keep an open mind and be true to his own values. Maybe thats where we all find the key to our own success. If anyone can point me to available recordings of his...more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.96 (518 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.74 (487 ratings) number of reviews: 142
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quote
"The difference between listening and pretending to listen, I discovered, is enormous. One is fluid, the other is rigid. One is alive, the other is stuffed. Eventually, I found a radical way of thinking about listening. Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you. When I’m willing to let them change me, something happens between us that’s more interesting than a pair of dueling monologues."
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