Fatherhood [Hardcover]

William H. Cosby Jr. (Author), Alvin F. Poussaint (Introduction, Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 23, 1986

The perennial #1 nationwide bestseller-and now, a hit animated series on Nick at Nite.

From Bill Cosby, America's favorite TV dad, comes the ideal gift for Father's Day...

Fatherhood is...

- Pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope
- Helping your children learn English as a foreign language
- Knowing that "Everything's okay, Dad" means "I haven't killed anyone"
- ...and more priceless advice and hilarious wisdom.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The funny, touching and warm-hearted revelations by the star of the top-rated TV series look like a spectacular bestseller. Cosby regales parents and often comforts them with tales about his life as a father of five, a source of bewilderment to him from their infancy through the terrible teens. ("One day I told them to get in the car." All five grabbed the same handle and beat on each other for the same door. Not one, he observes, was smart enough to use any of the other doors.) All instances of the humorist's experiences are refreshing and marvelously ludicrous. Readers would surely rather have more of them than the pages brimming with Poussaint's verbose homiletics, perhaps meant as a doctor's imprimatur, but not needed. Although Cosby mostly restates material that appears in many other books about family life, past and present, his is a winner. 750,000 first printing; $300,000 ad/promo; first serial to Good Housekeeping; Literary Guild selection.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Here are two books by popular contemporary figures that deal with similar subject matter but take vastly different approaches. From a father's perspective and with his unique sense of humor, Cosby discusses the decision to have a child, the changes the child brings about, and the issues of discipline and independence. By making parents laugh at the pitfalls of parenthood, he shows them in his fresh and funny way that even at their moments of greatest frustration they are not alone. Harvard psychiatrist Poussaint's introduction and lengthy afterword, in which he discusses the changing role of the modern father, add greatly to the book's value as a parenting guide. By using actual letters children have written to her and weaving them together with personal anecdotes, Blume allows children to express their innermost feelings. She is thereby able to reveal children's fears about growing up, popularity, sexuality, and death and their experiences with such serious problems as drug abuse, incest, and life in foster care. While her book will give guidance to parents trying to understand their children (there is a list of agencies, as well), it will also appeal to young adults trying to understand themselves. Although neither book gives in-depth treatment to any topic, both are sure to have wide readership. Recommended for public libraries. Florence Scarinci, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, N.Y.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 178 pages
• Publisher: Dolphin / Doubleday & Company, Inc.; True First Edition edition (April 23, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385234104
• ISBN-13: 978-0385234108
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #520,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The legendary comedian, author, and activist Bill Cosby continues to be as prolific and relevant as ever, reaching every generation and every audience since he began his career in stand-up four decades ago. He is one of the most influential performers of the second half of the 20th century. He has had an unparalleled career in television; has sold more record albums than any other comedian; his blockbuster books have sold millions of copies; and his generous support of numerous charities, particularly in the field of education, have endowed many Americans with the gift of hope and learning. Through his groundbreaking appearances on television, particularly in two landmark series each of which defined an American decade, Bill Cosby has touched the lives of millions of Americans. In the 1960s, "I Spy" broke the racial barrier in television by featuring Cosby as the first-ever black lead of a weekly dramatic series. In the 1980s, Cosby returned to television with a show that Coretta Scott King described as "the most positive portrayal of black family life that has ever been broadcast." "The Cosby Show" enjoyed years of number-one ratings and nearly unanimous critical praise.

Cosby's success on television has been matched in other areas. In 1986 he broke Radio City Music Hall's 53-year-old attendance record for his concert appearance. Cosby's also a giant in the publishing world. Fatherhood (1986) became one of the fastest-selling hardcover book of all time, remaining for more than half of its fifty-four weeks on The New York Times Best Seller List as Number 1. It has sold 2.6 million hardcover copies and 1.5 million paperbacks. Time Flies had the largest single first printing in publishing history--1.75 million. Now, I Am What I Ate,and I'm Frightened. A crusader throughout his career for a better world, his great success in the world of entertainment is complemented by his involvement with a host of charity organizations, making substantial gifts in support of education, most notably to predominantly black colleges and to various social service and civil rights organizations. On the evolution of his own style of comedy, Bill Cosby states that he was drawn at an early age to the masters of jazz, learning to emulate in comedy their ability to take an idea and continually find new and innovative ways of expressing the same theme. The legacy of Bill Cosby's comedic genius is as sweet, meaningful and universal as any piece of music ever played.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, December 8, 2000

By 

Candice (Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fatherhood (Paperback)

When I went though our minature library at home, I never knew that I would end up reading the book "Fatherhood" by Bill Cosby. Since I needed a book for my class I decided to try it out and I am glad that I did because it was worthwhile. Most young people probably feel that they will get nothing out of this book and that it is only for fathers, mothers, or old people. This book taught me a lot of life lessons not just about being a parent but about everyday living. It made me realize all of the things parents have to go through and sacrifice because of their children from changing diapers to seeing your daughter off to the prom. Most of all though, Bill Cosby wasn't just telling the readers this stuff, he was showing. Everything he said was serious yet funny. he is a comedian so i guess he was expected to write something funny. Maybe if more young people read this book there wouldn't be so much abuse and poverty going on with their children. I give this book five stars and am glad that I had the experience of reading it.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Humor that strikes home, July 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Fatherhood (Paperback)

Cosby applies his unique way of looking at everday situations with there inherent, funny, shortcomings to Fatherhood. However, this is not just a work of humor. Cosby makes an honest attempt at providing real advice cloaked in humor. A significant part of the book is also dedicted to the Afterward (not written by Cosby) which contains real parenting advice. Cosby covers a variety of parent situations and never fails to be humorous. Nevertheless, I only rated the book 4 stars because the humor rated only a smirk from me (maybe it's just my taste)and some of the book is starting to seem dated, but mostly because I thought the primary focus of the book was blurred between a work of humor and a work on parenting to the point where it compromised both with a lack of depth. I would also like to mention that the quality of paper used by the publisher proved a annoyance. I bought my copy in a bookstore (prior to my discovery of amazon) and the pages where warped near the s! pine. This was true of all of the copies of this book I have seen anywhere.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plain common sense about parenting, May 3, 2004

By 

JLind555 - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Fatherhood (Paperback)

Bill Cosby, who is probably America's favorite father, wrote a gem of a book about his experiences with being a father to five children, four girls and a boy. Cosby's book reads much like his stand-up comedy, but there is so much down-home common sense in these pages that the reader can relate to much of what is written and is reminded of his or her own childhood. Reading this book, it was rather reassuring to find that I wasn't the only mother who threatened to introduce her child to the joys of time-travel (Mrs. Cosby to obnoxious child: "I'm gonna knock you into the middle of next week"), and Cosby reminded me of my own dad banging on the door to my room during my teens when I jacked up the rock 'n' roll station, bellowing through the wall to "TURN THAT CRAP DOWN!" Cosby also provides some back-up for parents who have reached the conclusion that sometimes the best reason you can give to your child who demands to know why he or she can't do this or that, is "because I said so." Cosby takes parents on a tour of parenting from pregnancy through the teen years, with sound observations on developmental quirks at each stage of childhood. He's not one of those parents who forget as soon as they become parents, what it was like to be a youngster. Listen to Cosby's alarm at his daughter wanting to spend the day hanging around the mall: "He (the father) knows exactly what those boys at the mall have in their depraved little minds because he once owned such a depraved little mind himself. In fact, if he thinks enough about the plans that he used to have for young girls, he might even run over to the mall and have a few of those boys arrested."

Cosby inherited his parenting skills from his mom and dad, who raised their own children back in the day when parents were presumed to know more about their own kids than a whole army of child psychiatrists and psychologists. His parents stood for no nonsense (after Cosby broke a glass table playing parlor basketball, his mother entered with a stick and threatened to "bust him in half"; Dad, his nose buried in a book, asks Mom, "Why would you want twice as many?") but they taught their kids good manners, pride and self-respect, values Cosby takes seriously. He's not averse to a good swat on the rear end if the situation calls for it but in general he emphasizes reasonable discipline leavened with good will and humor. Cosby strongly believes parents are parents first and friends second, but he's no tyrant. As he says toward the end of the book, he and his wife and children "have the kind of mutual trust that I wish the United Nations had. And, with breaks for a little hollering, we smile a lot." There is probably no better definition of good parenting.