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J.P.'s review

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
by Steve Martin

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/773858.Born_Standing_Up_A_Comic_s_Life?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41U9%2Bvy3OTL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/773858.Born_Standing_Up_A_Comic_s_Life?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7103.Steve_Martin">Steve Martin</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11455307?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 5 of 5 stars I usually avoid these types of books like the Plague. Celebrity autobiographies---ego unchained, coupled with a "Then I went here, then I did this, then I went there and did that. . ." boring-ass format. Nine times out of ten, books like these put me to sleep.
 
 Not so, Steve Martin's BORN STANDING UP. First of all, it's more focused than most celeb tell-alls. It centers around Martin's life leading up to and including his career as a standup comedian, not as an actor/filmmaker. So "Three Amigos" fans, you'll have to wait for Martin's next volume for those fascinating Chevy Chase anecdotes.
 
 This is not a laugh-out-loud book, but there are funny bits in it. Once , while working as an up-and-coming comedian in the late 1960s, Martin recalls how he stepped on to the stage of a Playboy Club on a Monday night. Monday nights in nightclubs, he tells us, were usually as dead as graveyards. On this particular night, however, the club was packed. Martin describes how his performer's ego soared---until he realized that he was standing in front of an audience consisting entirely of Japanese tourists who spoke almost no English. 
 
 Most interesting to me was Martin's chronicle of how he slowly, painstakingly evolved from a self-conscious, teenaged magician working at Disneyland to the banjo-plucking, arrow-through-the-head wildman who sold out arenas and defined 1970s comedy. Martin is generous in providing insights into how he developed the "punchline-free", surreal humor that he's known for today.
 
 Along the way, the comic spins numerous anecdotes concerning his encounters with those who shaped his life, both personally and professionally; old-time vaudeville comedians, writer Dalton Trumbo (and his daughter, Mitzi), Johnny Carson and the Smothers Brothers are just a few of the notables who are vividly recounted. Even Elvis makes a cameo appearance.
 
 Even more intriguing, Martin finally answers the question of why, in the early 1980s, he walked away from standup comedy, never to return. 
 
 Martin is as skilled a writer as he was a standup comedian; he keeps the pace brisk as he tells his multi-faceted tale. If you're looking for an insightful, intelligent page-turner, look here. If you don't know much about this entertainer, you'll walk away from BORN STANDING UP with a new appreciation for his singular talents. If you're a Steve Martin fan, roll up your sleeves and dig in!
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/424062?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

J.P.'s review
rating:
recommended for: comedy fans, biography fans

I usually avoid these types of books like the Plague. Celebrity autobiographies---ego unchained, coupled with a "Then I went here, then I did this, then I went there and did that. . ." boring-ass format. Nine times out of ten, books like these put me to sleep.

Not so, Steve Martin's BORN STANDING UP. First of all, it's more focused than most celeb tell-alls. It centers around Martin's life leading up to and including his career as a standup comedian, not as an actor/filmmaker. So "Three Amigos" fans, you'll have to wait for Martin's next volume for those fascinating Chevy Chase anecdotes.

This is not a laugh-out-loud book, but there are funny bits in it. Once , while working as an up-and-coming comedian in the late 1960s, Martin recalls how he stepped on to the stage of a Playboy Club on a Monday night. Monday nights in nightclubs, he tells us, were usually as dead as graveyards. On this particular night, however, the club was packed. Martin describes...more I usually avoid these types of books like the Plague. Celebrity autobiographies---ego unchained, coupled with a "Then I went here, then I did this, then I went there and did that. . ." boring-ass format. Nine times out of ten, books like these put me to sleep.

Not so, Steve Martin's BORN STANDING UP. First of all, it's more focused than most celeb tell-alls. It centers around Martin's life leading up to and including his career as a standup comedian, not as an actor/filmmaker. So "Three Amigos" fans, you'll have to wait for Martin's next volume for those fascinating Chevy Chase anecdotes.

This is not a laugh-out-loud book, but there are funny bits in it. Once , while working as an up-and-coming comedian in the late 1960s, Martin recalls how he stepped on to the stage of a Playboy Club on a Monday night. Monday nights in nightclubs, he tells us, were usually as dead as graveyards. On this particular night, however, the club was packed. Martin describes how his performer's ego soared---until he realized that he was standing in front of an audience consisting entirely of Japanese tourists who spoke almost no English.

Most interesting to me was Martin's chronicle of how he slowly, painstakingly evolved from a self-conscious, teenaged magician working at Disneyland to the banjo-plucking, arrow-through-the-head wildman who sold out arenas and defined 1970s comedy. Martin is generous in providing insights into how he developed the "punchline-free", surreal humor that he's known for today.

Along the way, the comic spins numerous anecdotes concerning his encounters with those who shaped his life, both personally and professionally; old-time vaudeville comedians, writer Dalton Trumbo (and his daughter, Mitzi), Johnny Carson and the Smothers Brothers are just a few of the notables who are vividly recounted. Even Elvis makes a cameo appearance.

Even more intriguing, Martin finally answers the question of why, in the early 1980s, he walked away from standup comedy, never to return.

Martin is as skilled a writer as he was a standup comedian; he keeps the pace brisk as he tells his multi-faceted tale. If you're looking for an insightful, intelligent page-turner, look here. If you don't know much about this entertainer, you'll walk away from BORN STANDING UP with a new appreciation for his singular talents. If you're a Steve Martin fan, roll up your sleeves and dig in!...less

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message 1: by Laura

01/03/2008 06:50AM

Great review! I'm a big fan of Martin as a novelist. Have you read his two novels? I didn't care much for his first one, "Shopgirl" (tooooo depressing, but very literary). I liked the movie much better.

However his second novel ("The Pleasure of My Company") is excellent. One of my favorite literary novels for sure (grin)!

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message 2: by J.P.

01/04/2008 09:29AM

I haven't read either novel, but I'll happily look into "...My Company". Sounds good. Shortly after reading Martin's autobiography, I did order two of his books from Amazon---"Pure Drivel" (a steal at one penny!) and "Cruel Shoes". I'll let you know how they turn out.

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message 3: by Laura

01/04/2008 09:43AM

I haven't read it, but my book forum friends tell me "Cruel Shoes" is excellent. Very offbeat, but very good. You'll really like "The Pleasure of My Company." Let me know what you think about these books when you finish them (grin)!

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message 4: by Mark

01/04/2008 01:09PM

I frankly thought your review was better than the excerpt of the autobiography I read in the New Yorker. It almost makes me think they chose one of the more boring parts of it, which is a pity (It dealt mainly with his Knots Berry Farm days).

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message 5: by J.P.

01/11/2008 09:59AM

Mark, a belated thanks for the generous comment.

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