false 61524452 151361 76625 0812974409 9780812974409 215 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256062722m/76625.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256062722s/76625.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76625.Never_Have_Your_Dog_Stuffed_And_Other_Things_I_ve_Learned 3.67 935 M*A*S*H? You have exactly 16 pages to do so, and guess what: It's one of the least entertaining parts of the book. But should fans of the award-winning actor-writer-director avoid this slim memoir? Not in the slightest. Slyly humorous and open-hearted, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed is a breezy, most enjoyable read. Alda's ability to recall his childhood (including backstage at raunchy vaudeville shows), school years, stage struggles and successes is as entertaining as one of his Emmy-winning teleplays. Alda is inordinately attune recalling life's crystallizing moments: when religion no longer worked for him, how something in his pocket made him forever a better actor, or his mother's painful descent into dementia. Alda's ever present humor is a great asset whether telling a charming love story on meeting his wife Arlene or a life-threatening illness in a remote part of Chile ("I am in and out of consciences, but I never take a break from the screaming. The show must go on."). Like Alda's persona, his book is more human and less flash. What would be filler in most books is often the mot entertaining and revealing here; especially Alda's dynamic relationship with his parents. Really, who else would name his memoir after an unfortunate trip to the taxidermist? The year the book was published during a revival for the 69-year-old; he was nominated for an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony in the same year. --Doug Thomas]]> 43587 3.66 1487 382 2005 0 0 false Mon Jun 29 11:52:19 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 29 11:52:19 -0700 2009