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George Carlin is the ultimate American standup comedian -- nobody else came up with so much good material over such a long span. No comedian challenged the audience like he did, no one influenced the culture the way he did. And here we have Carlin's life in his own words, as told to fellow funny man Tony Hendra (who wisely introduces George and gets out of the way). Anyone familiar with GC's records will know the outlines of his story -- childhood in NYC, rise as a clean-cut comic, maturity as an edgier performer, misadventures with drugs, ripe old age after coming clean. The candor of this book is expected, as is Carlin's lack of interest in letting himself off the hook for bad behavior. He managed the rare feat of growing more radical as he aged, more and more himself. Fans should read this -- newcomers should go watch a bunch of clips on YouTube, then read this.

This is a somewhat different autobiography; in fact, Carlin referred to it as a “sortabiography”. This difference comes about because the material is gathered from hours of taped conversations between Carlin and Tony Hendra. The intent of the tapes was, indeed, to put together the “sortabiography”, but you have to wonder how different this would have been had Carlin not died - how it would have differed if he had been more involved in the final product. Not that I think he would disapprove of the work Hendra has done; it tells a very full tale of the life of George Carlin.

The best successes for a comic’s autobiography (I’m sticking with that term) result from one of two things. The first is to just be funny. Paula Poundstone’s biography works on that level. It is not what she reveals about herself that makes her book a rousing success (though that is of interest); it is that she did it while be really funny. Steve Martin’s book is successful because he does an excellent job of providing insight into how his comedy developed. His book does not provide many laugh-out-loud moments, but the insight into the comic as artist is engrossing.

George Carlin’s book succeeds on this second level. Sure there is some funny stuff (sometimes, it feels like someone is trying too hard to be funny), but the book’s real success comes from the insight into how Carlin became funny and continued to reinvent himself toward being funny in new ways. Carlin tells of his constant battle between maintaining the status quo when he found success (read that as “selling out”) and reaching for something new and different. No, it didn’t always work, and it may have kept him from some other successes, but it allowed him to be something greater than anyone might have expected.

At first blush, it feels like the gloves are removed in some instances – that some of the topics could have been hit harder. But, looking closer, it is obvious Carlin does not shy away from the tough stuff. The drug use is there, the way it harmed his family is there, the IRS is there, and fellow comics are there (some being lauded, others having shots taken at them.) And these are all handled at the right level. They are discussed as much as they need to be and no more. In the final analysis, this book does an excellent job of portraying a man who was a genius at comedy, but was a man. And it shows how that man used that genius to take comedy places it had never been before. ( )