Last Words: A Memoir

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 show more 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. show less

A must read for every fan of Carlin, and those who want a look inside the mind of the word-obsessed, meaning-searching stand-up comedian. What we find inside is not always pretty, but it's as honest and truthful as any memoir can be.

While the book is, at times, uproariously funny, the focus here is not on comedy, but on how comedy is made. Humor, it turns out, is no laughing matter. Carlin worked meticulously on notes on topics, slowly and carefully shaping his 'bits' over years, carefully nursing them until they were ready for public view.

This book, too, was decades in the making, and the effort paid off. Those who hate Carlin will find reason here to find him as the self-centered, uncaring, drug addled freak that they expect. And show more those who love Carlin will find the working class intellectual who rose above two-dimensional shtick to rip the lid off polite society and show it for the hateful, greedy, violent mess that it is, and did so with great humor.

They're each part of who George Carlin was, and what made his work unique. I miss him, I miss his work, and I am grateful that this book invited in one last time. show less

I read biographies to gain insight into another person's life, to experience their pains and pleasures, their beauty and bruises. Carlin does not disappoint. You get the full experience of growing up Irish in NYC, stealing bikes, going to mass and making trouble. He spills on everything and everyone, himself not excluded. He's a prick to the bitter end and that's what made him great. I winced at his drug use, laughed at handling his daughter's boyfriend with a baseball bat, and cheered when he took on authority. He was no saint and doesn't pretend to be; his rant on the concept of God will live forever. His wife passed away with only a few details mentioned. I wanted to hear him expand on that, to see less of the angry, bitter Carlin show more (there's plenty of that) but I understand that might have been too painful. show less

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 show more as he aged, more and more himself. Fans should read this -- newcomers should go watch a bunch of clips on YouTube, then read this. show less

George Carlin was the greatest, not only at using words, but at telling us what we miss when we look right at the elephant standing in plain sight. This 'sortabiography' was culled together from 15 years of tapes and notes of Tony Hendra's, so going into it, the writing is a little stilted. In a large part of the the book, there is fluidity and great history—George's parents, birth, growing up, education, street education!, going into comedy, family, drugs, people, TV, movies, touring, books, and words. George goes deep, speaking about how his brain works and how his career rose, fell, and then hit the summit. Nothing is left out, pouring over the details of a typical, dysfunctional family, his role as a husband and father, and the show more death of his first wife. His whole life is left splayed open in the book, with plenty of words.

Unfortunately, the book was not written all in one go. There are great details about his early life, up through the '70s, then the voice was lost. The storytelling becomes a little choppy, and the details drop off as the years go by, either by George's own volition, or loss of thought. And to better get through the book, George's speech style should really be adopted—this enhances the reading ten-fold! And visually, the arms and jaw are flailing!

The greatest comedian of our time left too soon, but he did leave some of his best thoughts and the meaning behind his words. show less

Fun, quick read. Some insights to his genius are revealed. He left out lots of his life and revealed his narcissism. He is one of the few humans to have earned it though. A true American icon in my view. He gives a nod to AA in the end but shows he never really got some of its core concepts, more evidence of the narcissism. It was a good book to expand views on all sorts of topics.

I've been a fan of G Carlin's earlier material for a long time so it was a pleasure to relive some of the material and learn some of the thought processes he went through while writing his routines. His self-proclaimed "sortabiography" is exactly that--part a history of growing up in America during the 50's and 60's, part his personal life and opinions and part an insider's look at the workings of the entertainment industry. As usual, George doesn't hold back when it comes to criticizing institutions like the Church, the Republican Party, the FBI, the US military, etc, but there's a lot of funny and thought-provoking material in this book. I'd recommend it to American adult readers (those with thick skins anyway), but I'm not sure show more members from other countries would find it as humorous or entertaining. show less