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My Daddy Was a Pistol and I'm a Son of a Gun
The Southern humorist traces his past and analyzes his bittersweet, complex relationship with his father, a World War II hero who became a roaming alcoholic during the author's childhood
245 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
11 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
Lewis Grizzard
67 books89 followersAmerican writer and humorist, known for his Southern demeanor and commentary on the American South. Although he spent his early career as a newspaper sports writer and editor, becoming the sports editor of the Atlanta Journal at age 23, he is much better known for his humorous newspaper columns in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a popular stand-up comedian & lecturer.
Grizzard also published a total of twenty-five books, including collections of his columns (e.g. Chili Dawgs Always Bark at Night), expanded versions of his stand-up comedy routines (I Haven't Understood Anything Since 1962), and the autobiographical If I Ever Get Back to Georgia, I'm Gonna Nail My Feet to the Ground. Although much of his comedy discussed the South and Grizzard’s personal and professional lives, it was also a commentary on issues prevalent throughout America, including relationships between men and women (e.g. If Love Were Oil, I'd Be About a Quart Low), politics, and health, especially heart health.
He made us laugh and think at the same time. Indeed, during his lifetime, Lewis Grizzard heard himself described as "this generation's Mark Twain," "one of the foremost humorists in the country" and "a Faulkner for plain folks" by the national press. What he was, without a doubt, was a masterful storyteller, stand-up comedian, syndicated columnist and best selling author.
Lewis Grizzard Museum: http://newnan.com/lg/
New Georgia Encyclopedia entry:
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/ng...
Grizzard also published a total of twenty-five books, including collections of his columns (e.g. Chili Dawgs Always Bark at Night), expanded versions of his stand-up comedy routines (I Haven't Understood Anything Since 1962), and the autobiographical If I Ever Get Back to Georgia, I'm Gonna Nail My Feet to the Ground. Although much of his comedy discussed the South and Grizzard’s personal and professional lives, it was also a commentary on issues prevalent throughout America, including relationships between men and women (e.g. If Love Were Oil, I'd Be About a Quart Low), politics, and health, especially heart health.
He made us laugh and think at the same time. Indeed, during his lifetime, Lewis Grizzard heard himself described as "this generation's Mark Twain," "one of the foremost humorists in the country" and "a Faulkner for plain folks" by the national press. What he was, without a doubt, was a masterful storyteller, stand-up comedian, syndicated columnist and best selling author.
Lewis Grizzard Museum: http://newnan.com/lg/
New Georgia Encyclopedia entry:
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/ng...
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
November 28, 2016
I wept.You'll weep. Lewis wept writing it.You will learn about Lewis' father, an American hero with a still unsolved mystery- but in the end?
He loved and honored his daddy.
The most personal book Lewis ever wrote, juxtaposed with humor and heartbreak: he finds out the man he is in the past of his father's story.
No spoilers: you will learn more about Lewis Grizzard in a specific time and place of his writing life in My Daddy Was a Pistol and I'm a Son of a Gun. Every Georgian should be required to read Lewis Grizzard. He is our proudest Bulldog and our greatest Southern humorist of the twentieth century.
He loved and honored his daddy.
The most personal book Lewis ever wrote, juxtaposed with humor and heartbreak: he finds out the man he is in the past of his father's story.
No spoilers: you will learn more about Lewis Grizzard in a specific time and place of his writing life in My Daddy Was a Pistol and I'm a Son of a Gun. Every Georgian should be required to read Lewis Grizzard. He is our proudest Bulldog and our greatest Southern humorist of the twentieth century.
August 6, 2019
When I reviewed Grizzard’s later “Shoot Low Boys – They’re Ridin’ Shetland Ponies” I found that book was a collection of what appeared to be newspaper columns Grizzard had written earlier, then pasted together with some introductory material and a bit of loose thematic organization. I was expecting much the same from this effort, focused on his father and their relationship. This was different. Instead of a collection of columns, this appeared more an entire book written to the subject. This was good, and author Grizzard injected his humor along the way, playing up the strange character that was his father. Another thing I noticed about Grizzard’s writing is that he knows how to pull the heartstrings when he wants to. He does that here, judiciously. It had to be done judiciously, as Grizzard’s father was a flawed individual, with a past as a war hero and an ability to ingratiate himself with others, but with a knack for borrowing money and disappearing, and a weakness for drink. Grizzard’s father answered to his demons, making him not fully a character for pity. Everything we are told is through the author’s eyes. You feel more for poor young Louis than his father. Yet Grizzard is portrayed as a Southern character, with musical abilities that allowed him to wheedle free food from churches after singing some hymns, while calling himself “Major” even though he was discharged not honorably at a lower rank. In the end, you realize this was son Grizzard’s story of trying to understand his father. It shouldn’t surprise you that he’s not much closer by the end of the book. Major Grizzard was too overwhelming a character to understand. I liked the writing, I liked the descriptions of how Grizzard’s father lived (what a character), but I hoped to find growth beyond expected forgiveness and it wasn’t in the story.
January 25, 2018
Lewis has a god-given talent for writing. This was a heartfelt amazing book!
January 10, 2026
My Daddy Was a Pistol and I’m a Son of a Gun
," Lewis Grizzard departs from his usual "good-ol’-boy" humor to deliver a deeply personal and bittersweet portrait of his father. The book explores the complex relationship between a son and a man who was both a decorated war hero and a flawed alcoholic.
Book Review
Grizzard’s memoir is a masterclass in balancing hilarity with heartbreak. He traces the life of "The Major," a charismatic con artist and soldier who suffered from what we now recognize as PTSD. While Grizzard doesn't shy away from the pain his father’s "benders" caused, he refuses to let those flaws define the man.
The narrative successfully captures the "country of the heart inhabited by fathers and sons," illustrating how love can persist even when a parent is absent or broken. It is a story of forgiveness, showing that one can acknowledge a father’s "hard times" while still holding onto the "rare warmth" he provided.
Quotes Reflecting Unconditional Love
Grizzard uses poignant language to describe a love that requires no perfection:
On the nature of deep affection: "To love someone unconditionally—as I loved Daddy—is to remember nuances that made such an object of love unique and impossible to replace".
On enduring grief: "This affecting memoir... is about his life and his hard times, about how much I loved him... and how, even at 40, I'm still crying for him".
On carrying the legacy: "My wife was just doing me a favor being with me. Daddy and his memory were mine... Of all the people he had touched, he had touched me the deepest. He had become my burden in life. He would be my burden in death".
On a single perfect memory: "Maybe the three of us had only one real Christmas together... but it was a Christmas a man can carry around for a lifetime".
On the book as a tribute: "I am saying, know this man and what he was. Know what he gave and know that he got too little in return... This book is my gift to his memory
," Lewis Grizzard departs from his usual "good-ol’-boy" humor to deliver a deeply personal and bittersweet portrait of his father. The book explores the complex relationship between a son and a man who was both a decorated war hero and a flawed alcoholic.
Book Review
Grizzard’s memoir is a masterclass in balancing hilarity with heartbreak. He traces the life of "The Major," a charismatic con artist and soldier who suffered from what we now recognize as PTSD. While Grizzard doesn't shy away from the pain his father’s "benders" caused, he refuses to let those flaws define the man.
The narrative successfully captures the "country of the heart inhabited by fathers and sons," illustrating how love can persist even when a parent is absent or broken. It is a story of forgiveness, showing that one can acknowledge a father’s "hard times" while still holding onto the "rare warmth" he provided.
Quotes Reflecting Unconditional Love
Grizzard uses poignant language to describe a love that requires no perfection:
On the nature of deep affection: "To love someone unconditionally—as I loved Daddy—is to remember nuances that made such an object of love unique and impossible to replace".
On enduring grief: "This affecting memoir... is about his life and his hard times, about how much I loved him... and how, even at 40, I'm still crying for him".
On carrying the legacy: "My wife was just doing me a favor being with me. Daddy and his memory were mine... Of all the people he had touched, he had touched me the deepest. He had become my burden in life. He would be my burden in death".
On a single perfect memory: "Maybe the three of us had only one real Christmas together... but it was a Christmas a man can carry around for a lifetime".
On the book as a tribute: "I am saying, know this man and what he was. Know what he gave and know that he got too little in return... This book is my gift to his memory
August 4, 2025
Folksy is almost always a derogatory term, but how else could I encapsulate this warm and sincere portrait of a midcentury southern man through the eyes of his son. Grizzard's father is a complicated figure: a war hero, a musician, a man who is almost comically in his instant likability, but he's also a effectively a low-level con artist, and a hopeless drunk. The book makes it clear that Grizzard has put years of thought into understanding his father and loving him despite his many flaws.
Another reader may find this book quaint, and there's a certain element of that to it, especially as we reach the book's present day of 1985 and are introduced to the newsroom life of a paper industry that was suffocated by Gawker and Twitter and Buzzfeed over a decade ago. I found myself enjoying the quaint aspects, though. There's a dignity to Grizzard's mid-eighties world that reflects the dignity he describes in his father's mid-century world.
And as someone who spends time in Tennessee and Georgia, it was interesting to get little 40-plus-year-old snapshots of places like Snellville GA and Tullahoma TN.
Another reader may find this book quaint, and there's a certain element of that to it, especially as we reach the book's present day of 1985 and are introduced to the newsroom life of a paper industry that was suffocated by Gawker and Twitter and Buzzfeed over a decade ago. I found myself enjoying the quaint aspects, though. There's a dignity to Grizzard's mid-eighties world that reflects the dignity he describes in his father's mid-century world.
And as someone who spends time in Tennessee and Georgia, it was interesting to get little 40-plus-year-old snapshots of places like Snellville GA and Tullahoma TN.
May 17, 2019
"To love someone unconditionally--as I loved Daddy--is to remember each detail of their personal-age, to remember isolated and long-past moments together, to remember nuances that made such an object of love unique and impossible to replace."
I've never know someone that speaks like that about their father. I've not ever understood what and how a father-son bond is, seeing how he--as a little boy-- saw everything and how he couldn't understand why someone as mahvelous as his father could end like he did.
My favorite book of the year so far.
I've never know someone that speaks like that about their father. I've not ever understood what and how a father-son bond is, seeing how he--as a little boy-- saw everything and how he couldn't understand why someone as mahvelous as his father could end like he did.
My favorite book of the year so far.
September 6, 2017
Lewis Grizzard writes an honest but heart-warming memoir of his father - his heroics in WWII and Korea, his return home with demons, alcoholism, the abandonment of his family, and the continued ups and downs he experienced as a son in search of a father figure. This is an interesting story for anyone to read - a quick read of one son's tale.
August 11, 2023
Not so much humor as in his other books, but a loving tribute to his father.
October 4, 2025
Good, touching. Not as hokey as other Grizzard books. Themes of unconditional love, patriotism, loyalty were touching.
August 7, 2017
Every bit as good as the first time I read it 31 years ago. My mother introduced me to Lewis Grizzard as a kid and from age 10 to 20 I read him almost exclusively. Have read everything he ever put in print. This book is his best. Funny one moment and heartbreaking the next. A boy's Dad has more influence on his life, for good or bad, than any other person in his life. This book is a reminder of that truth and Grizzard tells the story well. I may have to re-read "Kathy Sue Loudermilk I Love You" next!
March 13, 2014
Recently read this one. I liked it much more than I thought I would. It's definitely a regional book about Southern culture, but it's mostly a book about a boy's love for his father, despite the ups and downs of life--abandonment, alcoholism. A neighbor lent it to me and it took awhile for me to get into it, but once I did, I enjoyed it a lot and feel like I'm a better person for reading it. Even made me cry.
September 8, 2025
With affection, longing and hilarity, bestselling author Lewis Grizzard looks back on life with his hard-drinking, wandering father. This is a compelling, often hilarious portrait of a loving man who faced failure but always remained an inspiration to his son. "A sad book, a funny book, a very human book".--The Courier-Times.
May 10, 2020
My Daddy Was A Pistol and I'm a Son of a Gun by Lewis Grizzard (Dell 1988)(Biography). This is part of Lewis' autobiography / biography of his wandering hard-drinking father. My rating: 7/10, finished 1989.
August 31, 2014
This book speaks of a man filled with faults yet still a hero to the author. A heart felt description from Lewis reveals the fact of how he loved his father, even though he was not perfect. A very human book.
February 22, 2008
As funny as the rest of Grizzard's books and the most touching of them all - his account of the life of his alcoholic war hero con man father and their relationship.
February 1, 2008
In the bookcase waiting a second read. Loved his writing. His early death was a great loss to those of us who look to humor in writing at times.
July 26, 2009
I've read all of Grizzard's books - several times. He brings me back to my roots of Georgia.
September 9, 2009
Great book, sad story by a very funny man. We miss you Lewis.
March 23, 2013
Touching and hilarious memoir of a larger-than-life man. Lewis Grizzard, Sr., could have been a character in a Tennessee Williams play.
Read
February 21, 2012My Daddy Was a Pistol and I'm a Son of A by Lewis Grizzard (1988)
June 13, 2012
When we lost Grizzard, we lost a great southern spokesman. I love to read his stories.. I love to read about his life..
February 21, 2013
Great book. I liked the part where he was talking about his dad's hot dog stand.
January 13, 2014
Very touching story of a son's love for his Daddy. I love Lewis Grizzard's work and this one was very moving indeed.
May 14, 2015
my first humor book, forced upon me in high school newspaper class. Fell in love with the whole genre. Southern wit, wry, easy.
May 18, 2016
read some time in 1989
April 11, 2009
More fun from the Cracker who can write. OMG, I know that character!
June 16, 2016
Read my review here: http://iron-diva.blogspot.com/2016/06...
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews