Don Rickles (1926–2017)

I'm throwing off the rating curve because I think people seriously misunderstood what they were getting into picking up a book about Rickles BY Rickles.

The man has a very unique style of storytelling, one that is hard to capture in written form. The fact that he and David Ritz managed to do that, and do it brilliantly, should make this book celebrated. Also, it's a book on Don Rickles, so enjoy the ride ya hockey pucks!

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Rickles has had a fascinating life, and show more reading his accounts will make you laugh until you cry, then when he gets personal and emotional, just cry. Just, read the book. It's worth it. show less

A fun little book that certainly had me smirking and laughing multiple times. It is written very much like Don Rickles would tell his stories, which made it quite engaging, however, it also became a restraint. It certainly feels more like a "memoir" than a "biography". What does that mean? It's a book where Mr. Rickles reminisces about past events and is sectioned like he would tell his stories on late night TV. So each story lasts a maximum of about three pages before it jumps to the next show more one - basically a lot of small chapters.

That leaves it being a bit superficial, it only scratches the surface. I would've liked it to go deeper into his life as I really love this man, he was so damn funny, and he left lessons for us which we could still learn from.
With that being said, it was still a good book, and if you like Don Rickles it is definitely worth a read! show less

The anecdote in the introduction almost added another star and a half to its rating. No one can say Don Rickles is uninteresting. Each chapter is a particular story, and sometimes they connect with each other. But it skips a lot, and is far less Rickles-intensive than I'd want in a Don Rickles memoir. But I enjoyed it.

Organized into chapter that are two to maybe six pages long, this is a book of highlights of Rickles' life, from a little about his childhood, a little about his stint in the Navy during WWII, his struggles to get his career in comedy started and the many people who helped him along the way. He became friends with various club owners and agents, but it's when Frank Sinatra and Johnny Carson took a liking to him that Rickles' career really took off.
When a book has such short chapters, your show more not going to get into any subject deeply, but there are some surprises. Like Rickles lived with his mother pretty much until he married at 36. And once Rickles was brought into the Rat Pack atmosphere by Sinatra, he seems to have been used as a weapon, with Frank telling Rickles who to go after and Rickles doing it. More than learning about Rickles, we unintentionally get an insider look at how much power Sinatra wielded even among his "friends". show less