Where the Hell Am I? Trips I Have Survived

by Ken Levine

Join Emmy winning writer Ken Levine on a tour of the world – well, mostly America but a few other places too. It’s a world of craziness, lost reservations, the “Master Bait & Tackle Shop”, Pet Jacuzzis, Pompeii pornography, the Electric Chair beauty salon, Cowboy poetry gatherings, strips searches, a Cannabis festival, the “Miss Swamp Buggy” beauty contest, cancelled flights, tattooed Santa, the “Shrub Guy”, an Iranian comic, free dwarf mice, and Hitler’s town car on display in a Las Vegas casino. After reading Ken Levine’s hilarious and instructive excursions, you’ll be on the phone to your travel agent, either booking or canceling your next trip.

Genres: Humor, Travel, Nonfiction, Baseball

140 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 4, 2011

About the author

Ken Levine is an Emmy winning writer/director/producer/major league baseball announcer. Books include: It’s Gone…No, Wait a Minute! (Villard 1993) and Where The Hell Am I?: Trips I Have Survived (2011).

In a career that has spanned over 30 years Ken has worked on MASH, Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons, Wings, Everybody Loves Raymond, Becker, Dharma & Greg, and has co-created his own series including Almost Perfect starring Nancy Travis. He and his partner wrote the feature Volunteers starring Tom Hanks. He’s the author of the produced play Upfronts & Personal and co-writer of the produced musical The 60s Project.

He writes a popular blog, ByKenLevine.com, and is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post.

Ken has also been the radio/TV play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres

source: Amazon

Reviews

[angelika traylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny!

I very much enjoyed the sarcastic travelogue and the darts shot at celebrities. A lot of places I recognized, just as described, from my own travels.

[Jeff Garrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where the Hell Am I? could be described as a travelogue-sitcom, filled with one-liners. As a former TV script writer and producer, Levine is good at one-liners. Levine is also a sportswriter and a part-time professional baseball announcer. His travels take him all over the United States, mostly to cities that have professional baseball teams or colleges where Levine’s children attend (and then there is Hawaii). Along the way, we get a taste of Levine’s wit and humor and ability to see the oddity of American life. In Dallas, Levine notes that there seems to be a steakhouse or a church on every corner. When he spots the “Holy Cow,” he assumes it could be either one or both. Also in Texas, he didn’t find it odd that the George Bush Highway was a toll road. At Big Sur there was a clothing optional pool, which seemed just wrong to Levine, who suggests that instead they place a “pig crossing” sign (this isn’t necessarily a politically correct book). At the Dodger’s spring training camp, Christian chapel services were being held in the Sandy Koufax room (To understand the humor here, Koufax like Levine is Jewish. Levine, however, doesn’t share with the reader that Koufax is Jewish, which means that those who do not know may wonder what’s so funny about a Koufax chapel). Outside of Disneyworld, Levine spots a billboard advertising vasectomies and assumes most fathers after spending a day or three in the park might think it is a good idea. And then there is Cincinnati, a city that a magazine touted it was an “inland San Francisco.” Some in the city took exception, thinking that the article was saying that Cincinnati was gay. Levine didn’t think it was wise for him to point out that they are known as the “Queen City.”


This ebook was a joy to read. It’s also cheap! I read mine on a Nook, reading a couple of chapters a night before bed as a way to ensure that I went to sleep with a smile on my face if not a chuckle in my snore. I look forward to reading his upcoming book, The Me Generation… By Me (Growing up in the ‘60s).

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with turning blogs into books is that more often than not it FEELS like a blog turned into a book. In blog form with the occasional update, I can see how this worked. In book form reading passage after passage, it felt redundant.  

Humorous at times. A quick read. 

I'd like to invite the author to Detroit for a quick trip. Judging from the half-dozen shots he took at the city it's clear he's never visited. And if he has? Well, you did it wrong, buddy. Come see my Detroit. 

[Roger Eschbacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by television comedy legend and baseball announcer, Ken Levine, "Where the Hell Am I?" is a collection of humorous "essays from the road" that Levine would send out to family and friends.

My only minor quibble with this otherwise well-written and funny book is that it's too long and should have been split into two volumes. The travelogue format gets a little repetitive about halfway through the book and "Where the Hell Am I?" would've benefited greatly from leaving the reader wanting more rather than wishing for less. All in all, a fun (albeit lengthy) read.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing book. It collects about 10 years of travelogs that Ken (a former writer/ producer/ director of such shows as MASH, CHEERS, FRAISER, ALMOST PERFECT, and others) sent as emails to friends as he traveled around mostly the USA (there is a trip or two overseas) lots of funny observations written in more of a free form, bullet point format then a long narrative. Amusing at most times, laugh out funny on occasion , there are worse books you can spend you three bucks on.

[Carianne Carleo-Evangelist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Levine is a Hollywood writer and MLB broadcaster. This is a travelogue of a sort, but I actually see this more as a glimpse at US cities at a particular moment in time. I especially enjoyed this with cities I'm familiar with. The changing face of Broadway in NYC over the last 14 years, as an example. While some of his were typical family with teen/college-age kids, including college trips, I enjoyed the pieces that were tied in with his MLB Broadcast career.
A good, quick read.

[Books and Brews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was quite funny when it was a travelogue but totally alienating for non-US readers when it blabbed on about baseball. As revenge, I would like Ken to sit through a cricket testmatch. Hopefully one that ends in adraw.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly short quips, most are amusing.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read most of this book traveling through airports on way home from vacation. I was laughing so hard at parts of it, I think I woke up the guy next to me who was snoring!

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the funniest book I have ever read. Laughed out loud while sitting on a plane reading the book!

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for the book, but bumped up to 4 stars just for the baseball talk.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amusing but repetitive.

[Bfeyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

humorous, diary type book, enjoyed