Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid

I'm a huge fan of his and agreed with 98% of what he had to say in this book. It's really kind of a "rant" more than anything else. You can hear his voice as though he's speaking directly to you - and there are times when he just goes on and on because he's so excited and there are no punctuation indicators and no pauses and he keeps going and going and you have to almost catch your breath while reading . . . whew!! He's pretty much dead on, though, with his views on why/how the rest of the world views Americans the way they do. He does veer off in a few chapters on differences between men and women in general, but it's very funny stuff. I found that it was a book that I picked up and put down - had to do it in chapters, really; not a show more book you plow through in a day or two (at least not for me.) Look forward to chapters such as "Autism Shmautism", "Matt Dillon is a Giant Fag" and "We'd Hate You Even If You Weren't Black." show less

This was a great book. Leary blends memoir and rant quite well. Sure, it has a part or two where the pace slow downs a bit, but when he is hot, he is really cooking. No one is safe from his observations and direct approach. What I like about him, like other comedians I like (Lewis Black, George Carlin), is that he will make you laugh, but then you think and realize he is speaking the truth, a truth that few hear. I am not spoiling the end, but I will say he does leave us with some hope. Overall, a very entertaining read. I made some notes in my updates about passages I liked.

If you like Denis Leary's ranting comedic style, you'll enjoy this book. I could practically hear his voice in my head as I was reading. Most surprising, perhaps, was the underlying tenderness throughout, especially in the stories about his parents, his brother, his wife & kids. The book isn't exactly a memoir, but certain chapters read like one, and added depth to what otherwise might have been a superficial comedic romp.

Dr. Leary and I hold similar opinions about many things. For example:

"This country has the attention span of a gnat on Non-Drowsy Sudafed." (209).

"You know what kids learn when parents insist on making sure that everyone gets a trophy and everyone wins and nobody loses? They learn that losing doesn't suck. Which it show more does....You fall down you get up. That's how you learn how much falling down hurts and how much you never wanna fall down ever again." (98)

"Personally--seeing Janet Jackson's left nipple on TV wasn't anywhere near as offensive to me as the four million ads for Viagra and Cialis and all the other "how to get a hard-on" pills that rolled out every other minute during the same game..." (69)

In addition, I learned that Denis Leary is a published poet! (Check out the Fall 1977 issue of Ploughshares.)

Leary touches on the idiocy of pop culture, parenting, prescription drugs, Oprah and Dr. Phil, the Catholic Church, and the many differences between men & women. He's honest about all of it, but (oddly) not at all unkind. Our hypocritical, self-centered, and rather self-destructive society has many faults, but Leary points them out not because he hates this country, but because he loves it. He wants to see us pull our heads out of our collective American asses and be groovy again. show less

I would be lying if I said I didn't laugh out loud during this book. A lot. I would also be lying if I said my mouth didn't drop open a couple of times in astonishment. Denis Leary is not one for political correctness or skirting around issues. Whether he is talking about how Oprah can save the planet or that we should skip waterboarding and instead make terrorists listen to Clay Aiken, Hannah Montana and Celine Dion as torture, he has a lot of points to make. I would recommend this, but only if you don't take yourself too seriously. Remember, the subtitle of this book is A feel good guide to staying fat, loud, lazy and stupid.

The first thing to mention is that Denis Leary is not a medical Doctor - the Doctor in his name is due to the fact that he has been granted an Honorary Degree. I mention it because anyone familiar with Denis Leary might be shocked (as I was) to see him referred to as Doctor!

For anyone not familiar with Denis Leary, he is an outspoken, often controversial, Irish-American writer, comedian and actor. He polarises audiences; generally people think he is extremely offensive, or extremely funny. I fall into the latter category.

Leary is famous for his onstage rants, and this book is an extended such rant. He discusses what in his opinion is wrong with America today (blaming lazy parenting,over medication, bad role models and the blame culture show more amongst other things), and says what he would do to put things right. To be clear, this book is obviously meant to be comedy, although he does raise many serious points in it.

It's not an autobiography, although there is plenty here about Leary's childhood and his relationship with his parents, especially his mother, who is obviously close to. He also talks about his marriage and children, and it is obvious that his family is the most important thing in the world to him - and he is frustrated that so many people don't put their family first (or even second or third).

The book made me laugh out loud on many occasions. If you are easily offended by swearing, then I would advise you to approach with great caution (or just avoid altogether), but if you sometimes wonder at what on earth the world is coming to, and don't object to a fair amount of bluntness and curse words, and feel like you need a good belly laugh, then I would definitely recommend this book to you. show less

Ok so Denis Leary can be described by one or more of the following terms; egotistical, bitter, chauvinistic, jerk, A-hole, pungent, brash, harsh, narcissistic, big headed, self-centered, self-righteous, loud, rude, crude, annoying, sarcastic, well you get my point. But there is one thing Denis Leary is not, and that is funny. No wait a minute, scratch that he is funny, and there is more than a shred of truth in his long winded, vulgar mouthed, screaming with rage rants on everything from bratty kids to Oprah discussing orgasms. Whether you like him or not, one can’t deny the truth behind Leary’s satirical view of the world in which we live. If you can handle more than mild profanity and the occasional slang words for parts of the show more human anatomy (both male and female) then you will laugh at at least a few parts of this book. If you personally spew profanity and slang words for parts of the human anatomy on a semi-to-regular basis, then you will laugh on a semi-to-regular basis.

Warning: If you fall under one or more of the following categories: male, female, young, old, single, married, homo sapiens, homophobic, homosexual, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Indian (Native American or otherwise), African (American or otherwise), blonde brunette, tall, short, skinny, fat, big boned, small boned, jelly fish, coward, proud, shy, outgoing, introvert, extrovert, burnt out, burned up, mentally challenged, physically challenged, strong, weak, rich, poor, funny, stupid, smart, clever, resourceful, witty, colorful, happy, sad, angry, or mad, you might be mildly offended by this book.

P.S. If you enjoy Denis Leary, then I suggest listening to this title as an audio book which he reads personally, as it is much more funny to listen to than to read.

Enjoy! show less

I really wanted to like this book. I wanted something to make me laugh and I have a warped sense of humor and am not easily offended. This BOOK sucked. I think I chuckled two times in the entire book. He not only wasn't funny but showed mysoginy at its worst.