Love and Marriage

by Bill Cosby

“A scrapbook of the happier side of romance.” — The New York Times
 
“The reader will revel in Cosby's tender, ruefully funny recollections of amatory hits and misses.” — Publishers Weekly

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Comedy, Relationships, Memoir, Marriage, Biography

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

William Henry Cosby Jr. is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy star, with his longest-running live-action role being that of Cliff Huxtable in the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). He also released several stand-up comedy albums and was a popular spokesperson in advertising for decades. Cosby was well known in the United States for his fatherly image and gained a reputation as "America's Dad". Since 2014, dozens of allegations of sexual assault have been made against him.
Cosby began his career as a stand-up comic at the Hungry I nightclub in San Francisco in 1961, and primarily performed observational comedy in a conversational style. He released numerous standup specials starting with Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right! (1963) and starred in the comedy film Bill Cosby: Himself (1983). Cosby still holds the record for winning the most Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, with seven wins. His acting career began with a starring role in the NBC secret-agent show I Spy (1965–1968), which broke new ground for African Americans when he made history by winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first black actor to do so.
Cosby made his film debut starring in Man and Boy (1971) followed by Hickey & Boggs (1972), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Let's Do It Again (1975), A Piece of the Action (1977), Leonard Part 6 (1987), and Ghost Dad (1990). He produced and starred in a series of television sitcoms such as The Bill Cosby Show (1969–1971), Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–1985) and The Cosby Show (1984–1992) as well as its the spin-off A Different World (1987–1993), The Cosby Mysteries (1994–1995), and Cosby (1996–2000). He hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things (1998–2000). During his prolific career he advertised numerous products including the Jell-O ice pop treats Pudding Pop.
Over 60 women have accused Cosby of rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse and sexual harassment. Those allegations gained traction 2014 after a set which made mention of them by fellow comedian Hannibal Buress went viral. Numerous allegations followed with Cosby maintaining his innocence and repeatedly denying the allegations made against him. Despite receiving numerous awards and honorary degrees, several of them were revoked following the allegations. Reruns of The Cosby Show and other programs featuring Cosby were pulled from syndication. In 2018, Cosby was convicted of aggravated sexual assault against Andrea Constand. He was imprisoned until the conviction was vacated in June 2021 by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on the basis of Cosby's 5th Amendment and 14th Amendment due process rights having been violated. In 2022, Cosby was found civilly liable for having sexually assaulted Judy Huth when she was 16.

Reviews

[Anna Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay this 1 star rating is not simply because of the person Bill Cosby turned out to be, it´s got way more to do with the fact that I usually find these types of books boring, and because I read a translation that seemed extremely silly (the names were changed into icelandic etc). I wanted to read this book because Bill Cosby is a sexual predator, and I just found out that some churches and groups have supposedly been asking him to give lectures on sexual harassment, marriage etc. I found it so far-out and incredible, so when I saw this book I just had to read it. Well I actually just skimmed over most of it because it´s quite boring (to me, who is unmarried and stuff), but the first few chapters were extremely weird. Bill Cosby doesn´t try to hide the fact that he was a psychopath in his youth. He proudly beat girls down at every opportunity, kicked them, hated them, saw them as soul-less things, and he saw nothing worthwhile about any female except for his mom. He didn´t believe girls could do anything, but he wanted to kill all the men who showed interest in his mom. He delights in giving us details about these thoughts and actions. He says this attitude to women suddenly changed overnight when he had his first wet dream, ugh, but I don´t buy it. He never changed.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erasing Bill Cosby’s legacy from the past fifty years or so is not something I’m overly comfortable participating in. I never listened religiously to his comedy albums, was never particularly a fan of Fat Albert, ever watched I Spy, and The Cosby Show is now a relic of my childhood. In fact I best remember him for his pudding commercials. In his very long prime he meant a lot to a lot of people, and was one of the true black people unquestionably embraced by white people. Then the allegators came forward in courts of law, and Bill Cosby was erased. This is the third book of his I’ve read in this era, and it’s all about his ideas of love and marriage. For most of it he’s virtually indistinguishable from, say, Dave Barry in similar material. He writes at length about how he and his wife clash in their marriage. The troubling thing in all this, the irreconcilable thing, the thing observers merely point out because they can’t do anything else, is that his wife remains, in fact, married to Bill Cosby. For me, that’s really the only thing relevant in all this. I don’t care a wit for the court of public opinion. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

So for the record, on its own merits, this is a good fast read. In written form Bill’s experiences are self-deprecating. Spoken, I’m sure it would sound differently. Most people who read it now will no doubt judge it by the man who appeared in all those headlines. They’re not my kind of readers. I wish readers of no intellectual persuasion didn’t exist. But that’s really about most of them.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for a challenge of reading a book by a comedian. This is an old book I had and a second reading of it. The first time I liked it. This time, I read it knowing all about the Bill Cosby scandal and I am sure that it influenced how I felt this time. I grew up watching Bill Cosby and always thought he was one of the good guys. It kind of hurts to know I was wrong, even though of course I never really knew the personal side of him.

[Jaymz · Rating 1 out of 5]

found at a goodwill for a buck. i think the best thing about this is that there most likely wont ever be a reprinting of anything this man ever wrote, so when i use Love and Marriage to start a comfy backyard fire later, there will permanently be one less copy of it floating around in existence.

[Daphelba · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book on "Love" was very repetitive as I am sure is the case in real life. We think we're in love like we've never been, "this guys the one", when we are 14, then 15, then 16, and 17. In fact, when you're that young, you might fall in love with someone new every couple of weeks. Life and infatuations feel so looong when you're young. Anyway, after reading the first couple of chapters, I felt like I'd gotten the gist. I skipped to the last chapter of the section, the one where he meets Camille and then devoured the section on marriage.

I know couples bicker, we see it in family and friends, in movies and on television...but the way Cosby worded it all really hit home. He and his wife certainly had their fair share of disagreements that at times could get downright nasty, but they have a very strong love. Just because they don't understand each other, they stick it out, and they grow together, because underneath the frustration is a deep respect and admiration for one another.

It was very funny and very inspiring. Much better than his more recent book which I rated two stars: "I didn't ask to be born".

[Go · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very relatable. I was surprised to read that Bill's wife struggles with him leaving his shoes around the house like my husband does. It drives me crazy too, especially finding his socks in every room. I am tempted to hide his shoes and clothes that he carelessly leaves lying around the house. Some couples make marriage look easy but you never know what goes on behind their doors. It is hard work to stay together when you know each other so well and the kids take so much of your energy. I love his scenario of asking his wife how her day was and hearing "the four grimmest words of all: I had the children."

[Nick Galieti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book for what it is. Bill Cosby is one of my favorite comedians if not my favorite single comedian. I enjoyed the honesty and the candid way that Bill Cosby approaches subject matters in general and this is no exception. While admittedly this is not some super deep book or clinical treatment of love and marriage, it does have some helpful advice along side the approachable and humorous stories. I almost wish I didn't have it on paper back because the book is falling apart now. One of the few books I have re-read because I liked it so much.

[Giddy Girlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another thrift store find... I have read some other Cosby books and was exciting to read this one, but it has a very different feel. I think this book would benefit a LOT from an audio version -- I think hearing Bill Cosby tell these stories would be great, but written out there's not a great cadence.

Overall, it's a pretty "standard" look at relationships -- boys are like this, girls are like this. Then you get married and husbands are the poor schlubs and the wives are martyrs. Just not very interesting.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book a long time ago, when I was definitley too young for it. I don't know that I really understood a lot of what he was talking about (I think I was like, 10 or so when I read this) but I was really bored, had nothing else to read in the house and wasn't able to get to the library. I had recently discovered The Cosby Show and loved it, so I decided to read this book of my dad's. I was kind of bored, but I do remember liking it as much as a young kid can like a book like this...

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should really get 2 ratings. The first part of him growing up and his love section wasn't really funny at all. I am not sure if it wasn't supposed to be funny or not, but I just thought it was going to be. He really just talked about growing up and how and what girls meant to him and how he always thought the new one was always the "one."

The second part with him being married and the stories with his wife where funny and good. The banter between the two were great.

[Rachel Krallman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book at a garage sale and just couldn’t resist. The irony. In a word, this book was… problematic. What I can’t decide is if this is because it was written by a sexual predator or because it was written in 1989. Bill Cosby doesn’t seem to like his wife. The second half of the book is just him venting all of his frustrations with her, big and small. He does not paint her in a good light and frequently hints at how stupid he thinks she is. What a bizarre read.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this one as well as Fatherhood.  It was better near the beginning when Bill Cosby was quipping about his early forays into love.  Funny revelation: Cosby was almost a school teacher.  All our favorite famous people had fallback options.  Cosby as a teacher.  Harrison Ford as a carpenter.  Kanye West as God. 

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sloppy, disjointed account of Cosby's journey to find love and happiness with his wife Camilla.

While I am normally a huge Cosby fan, his tendency to focus on teenage dance parties and to mix those with hard-to-follow jokes about the differences between the sexes made the laughs few and far between.

[Julio Bonilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

We we’re driving to Philadelphia from Atlantic City, with my father at the wheel, my mother beside him, and me in the back.

Bill Cosby takes us from his serious relationships to his ever-lasting marriage with Camille.

ANOTHER ONE OFF MY SHELF.📚

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of his better collections.

[Joelle Gibson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't even bother finishing. I tried to enjoy it I really did, but I just couldn't get into it.

[Kaethe · Rating 1 out of 5]

I grew up on Cosby's Fat Albert, so he's kind of a feature in my mental landscape.

[Winter Sophia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun & Entertaining!

[Devery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Randomly picked this jem off the bookshelves of the library. Simply hilarious.

[Chris Renneker · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's obviously interesting to read the book post allegations. But it is a very quick read, very light and witty. I prefer the stories of his childhood and dating over the marriage portion but I did find the last 5 to 10 pages the best in the book.

[Madhumita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious.

[Stephen Chase · Rating 1 out of 5]

The worst of Bill Cosby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL & ROFL

[Dena Hays · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good
05/1990

[Anna]

Läst på svenska - ”Kärleksliv”

[Bitsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of people were disappointed in Love and Marriage because, unlike his book Fatherhood there was humor but no wit, no advice on what to do to survive the uncertain waters of love or marriage. Because Bill Cosby, like the rest of us, is just as clueless about what makes love and marriage work. He has a general idea, as do we all, but a lot of it remains a mystery as he himself admits. I didn’t read Fatherhood but I also didn’t feel like I could hold him not being in a position to dole out advice against him.

On the one hand it was comforting, here is a guy married for several decades with five kids and he doesn't have any advice to offer save to laugh about it and remember the good times when you can. On the other hand, here is a guy that was married for several decades with five kids and he doesn't have any advice to offer. A pretty discouraging thought for the rest of us!

As a woman the beginning of the book was a little uncomfortable as it was borderline misogynistic and very base. But, what are you to expect out of a young teenage boy? Ultimately I was able to work past it and saw at least some of the humor in the situations that arose.

All in all, this book was laugh out loud funny (especially if you mentally read it in the cadence and style of Cosby) and was a very enjoyable read. There were a lot of parts that I wanted to share with my husband, but unfortunately he had already read the book so it wasn't new for him. Definitely a strong recommendation for a married couple to read, even more so then reading it by one's self, though it's still good!

Favorite Quote:


Suddenly, this romantic agony was enriched by a less romantic one: I had to go to the bathroom. Needless to say, I couldn't let her know about this urge, for great lovers never did such things. The answer to "Romeo Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?" was not "In the men's room, Julie."

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice book that offered a little bit of an autobiography for Dr. Cosby, at least from the perspective of love. The early chapters, about growing up and discovering love and sexual feelings are funny and written from the heart. But I laughed out loud during the second half of the book when he talks about marriage and love in marriage. These were truly the insights I could appreciate, especially since he combined his thoughts with comments from his wife. Very funny!

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading passages from this book in light of the recent legal action against the author is just disturbing (the reason for the two star rating). When I first read this 20+ years ago, I didn't recognize how blunt he is in describing women as objects of desire.

Bill Cosby has some very funny material, including many of his records from the 1960s but I'd recommend skipping this one. It's too hypocritical.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad to have read this, and will keep it on hand for the little important nuggets throughout, but at the same time, it feels that reading it once was for now, enough. True to form, Mr. Cosby manages to weave his points with personal stories and anecdotes that had me laughing several times out loud.

This is a quick read, and I'd call it persevering enough that couples should peruse it at least once in their lives.

[Cinthya Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

El libro no es el más grandioso pero es bueno para pasar el rato. Bill Cosby nos cuenta sobre cómo a sido su vida a lo largo del tiempo, su narración nos habla de el interés de los hombres hacia las mujeres y como el vivió su niñez, adolescencia y madures abarcando este tema en particular. Tiene una gran narrativa a mi parecer, no es espectacular pero tiene lo suyo. Lo cuenta de una manera sencilla y dándole un toque de humor.

[HaleakalaBound · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious... although quite a bit racy. I didn't know that Bill had such the twisted sense of humor. He was a riot though. I can't recommend it to anyone, because he really did have no filters, but it is really cute. I thought it was going to be like a self-help book, with marital advice, but it wasn't really down that venue.