My Daddy Was a Pistol and I'm a Son of A Gun [Paperback]

Lewis Grizzard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1988

With affection, longing and hilarity, bestselling author Lewis Grizzard looks back on life with his hard-drinking, wandering father. This is a compelling, often hilarious portrait of a loving man who faced failure but always remained an inspiration to his son. "A sad book, a funny book, a very human book."--The Courier-Times. HC: Villard.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Grizzard's father died 16 years ago, and every day since then his son has thought about him. This affecting memoir by the noted Southern journalist is "about his life and his hard times, about how much I loved him," and how, even at 40, "I'm still crying for him." Every man is special to his son, but Grizzard Senior certainly qualifies as a "character." He was a decorated war hero who was later forced out of the Army, a teacher and coach who was an impressive influence on his students and players, a con man who could smooth-talk money from strangers, and a drunk. As a portrait of a complicated man this book is recommended, and also for the sometimes astute things it has to say about father-son relationships and male rites of passage in contemporary America. Charles Michaud, Turner Free Lib., Randolph, Mass.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

This is a very special memoir, an unabashed confession of first a boy's, then a man's love for his father. As Lewis says. "To love someone unconditionally-as I loved Daddy-is to remember nuances that made such an object of love unique and impossible to replace." He was a man of contradictions, of lusty appetites, of rare warmth. He was a charmer of men and women and a consummate con artist. A certified war hero and a shameless passer of bad checks.

Fans will love this funny and poignant memoir told as only Lewis Grizzard can. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 285 pages
• Publisher: Dell (May 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440200067
• ISBN-13: 978-0440200062
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #779,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to handle the grief of losing your father., October 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: My Daddy Was a Pistol and I'm a Son of A Gun (Paperback)

With this work Grizzard departs from his usual mileu of homespun humor and examines the special relationship between fathers and sons. In doing so, the author takes the reader on a bittersweet trip through his father's life to include his military experiences during the Korean War, return to the United States as a combat hero, declining success in the business world, divorce, and finally his early death brought about by alcoholism. The story operates on two levels first by examining Grizzard's relationship with his father and, of greater importance to the reader, in unraveling the intricate interaction between all fathers and sons. On this second level, the work reveals that sons see their fathers as heros regardless of their circumstances. The author makes his best point in the early pages of the work in a discussion of, of all things, the various degrees of intoxication. First there are belligerent drunks, followed by rowdy drunks, followed by the "crank up the Enola Gay" drunks. In describing the most inebrieated level, Grizzard coins the phrase "crying about your daddy drunk", a point at which pent up emotions surge from that special place in the male psyche where men hide their most painful wounds. Any man who has lost a father can relate to this final level. I would recommend this work to two groups of readers--men who have suffered through the death of a father as well as those who wish to understand the depression and post traumatic shock of combat. Grizzard provides more insight to these readers than the best researched psychology book on the shelf. A powerful work with an eternal message, it is a shame that this work is no longer in print.

5.0 out of 5 stars A+++++++++, March 10, 2008

By 

Betty Kassars - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

One of lewis's most personal books.Great story of unconditional love for a person who wasnt even near perfect.Anyone with a absent father or loved one will really appreciate the honesty and grit it took to write this book.
One of my all time favorites!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Grizzard remembers his father., April 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: My Daddy Was a Pistol and I'm a Son of a Gun (Audio Cassette)

Lewis Grizzard writes about his memories of his daddy in this sometimes sad, sometimes hilarious book. This is what got me started reading Grizzard's books, and made me a loyal fan. You can't help but like it.