Me of Little Faith [Hardcover]

Lewis Black (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 3, 2008

What do we believe? And in God's name why?

These are the thorny questions that Lewis Black, the bitingly funny comedian, social critic, and bestselling author, tackles in his new book, Me of Little Faith. And he's come up with some answers. Or at least his answers. In more than two dozen essays that investigate everything from the differences between how Christians and Jews celebrate their holidays, to the politics of faith, to people's individual search for transcendence, Black explores his unique odyssey through religion and belief.

Growing up as a nonpracticing Jewish kid near Washington, D.C., during the 1950s, Black survived Hebrew school and a bar mitzvah (barely), went to college in the South during the tumultuous 1960s, and witnessed firsthand the unsettling parallels between religious rapture and drug-induced visions (even if none of his friends did). He explored the self-actualization movements of the 1970s (and the self-indulgence that they produced), and since then has turned an increasingly skeptical eye toward the politicians and televangelists who don the cloak of religiouos rectitude to mask their own moral hypocrisy.

What he learned along the way about the inconsistencies and peculiarities of religion infuriated Black, and in Me of Little Faith he gives full vent to his comedic rage. Black explores how the rules and constraints of religion have affected his life and the lives of us all. Hilarious experiences with rabbis, Mormons, gurus, psychics, and even the joy of a perfect round of golf give Black the chance to expound upon what we believe and why—in the language of a shock jock and with the heart of an iconoclast.

"To put it as simply as I can," Black writes, "this is a book about my relationship with religion, where my—dare I say it?—spiritual journey has taken me...what it's meant and not meant to me, and why it makes me laugh." By the end of Me of Little Faith, you'll be a convert.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Readers already familiar with Black as a loud-mouthed regular on The Daily Show will be delighted to find he rants just as well on the page as he does in person. Here, he homes in on religion, which he thinks is taken too seriously and therefore is open to ridicule. Black may not care a whit about propriety, but he's serious about waxing comedic about every religion-related angle he can dig up. No one is safe from his dark humor—the Catholic Church, Mormons, people who commit suicide in the name of faith, Jews, and of course Jesus and God are popular topics. Black's essays consistently deliver zingers, like his speculation in The Rapture about how, If Jesus returns to earth... he better have one hell of a website, since he'd have to compete with all the drug-addled young starlets—not to mention online porn. For those not easily offended, who can stomach the F-word every other paragraph or so, Black's irreverence is laugh-out-loud funny. The chapters are short, some extremely so, and perfect for a good laugh—before bedtime prayers, of course. (June 3)
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Review

"The only person I know who can actually yell in print form."
—Jon Stewart

"The most engagingly pissed-off comedian ever."
—Stephen King

"Surprisingly thoughtful."
—The Washington Post

"You'll laugh while he's yelling."
—MSNBC.com

"Black throws humorous barbs at televangelism, the Mormon Church, and the Jewish faith in which he was raised."
—Entertainment Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (June 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594489947
• ISBN-13: 978-1594489945
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (101 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lewis Black is a New York Times-bestselling author, stand-up comedian, actor, and playwright. Besides appearing regularly on The Daily Show (in his own segment, "Back in Black"), he has written and starred in a string of successful HBO and Comedy Central specials and one-man Broadway shows. He has won a Grammy, an Emmy, the American Comedy Award for Funniest Male Stand-up Comedian, and is a favorite guest of everyone from Larry King to Craig Ferguson to Conan O'Brien to the women of The View. He lives in New York City.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm a Convert! June 8, 2008

By Judith A. Brodnicki

Format:Hardcover

This is an hilarious set of essays documenting one man's effort to understand his own spirituality as well as that which has been (and continues to be) thrust upon him by his semi-Jewish upbringing and many well-meaning friends. Honestly, I was in tears with laughter as he suggested those of us who gather annually to fight over Christmas dinner should keep our voices down lest we wake the baby Jesus. (I don't recall inviting Lewis Black to my family's Christmas dinner, but I could swear he'd given a fairly accurate account in this book!)

The zealots of religion (i.e., those who feel they need to step in and defend God) need to turn away from this book immediately. If you can't laugh at yourself and your human foibles -- especially with regard to how you practice your faith -- you won't find this book funny at all. The rest of us -- those of us who know we are human, frail, and utterly laughable at times in the eyes of God as well as those around us -- are ready converts to Black's satire of the human spiritual condition.

OK, I could have done without the reprint of the play toward the end of the book. Some comedy just doesn't come across when you read it on the page because you need the voices and the visual nonverbals to make it work. I expect it would be hilarious if I could actually see it (note to publishers: Next time just give us a DVD or a URL, OK?), but it doesn't do well when read.

But that's the only little sour note in this collection. It's funny, it's touching, and it's the best set of observations on faith in the US I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars LOL Funny, if you are so inclined June 6, 2008

By Don Edwards

Format:Hardcover

I got an autographed copy of the book from Lewis Black @ Bookends this week and purchase it with some trepidation, you know, the subject, Religion. I bought it based on Lewis himself being funny. Well if you're fed up with the religious Right or the Religious Left for that matter, you'll get it. (The people in Starbucks were looking at me because I could not stop chuckling page after page.) Subjects include: Religion & death, religion & 72 virgins ("Which would be impossible, I think, as I haven't met one on earth."), Jews & his Chanukah transformation, Mormons & religious Glasses, the call from Norman Lear, Oral Roberts & the tent, et al, and much more are up for Lewis's scrutiny. As long as you have seen him in concert and can hear his voice speaking as you read, well you can't stop laughing. You might need some understating of different religions, which enabled the joke to go over better. Warning: If you are deeply religious, you probably shouldn't buy this book. However, for the rest of us non-church going people Lewis has hit another home run. Happy Reading!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bless you Lewis Black June 8, 2008

By M. Woods

Format:Audio CD

While early parts of the book do incorporate some of his standup routines (Which he admits), the majority of the book is original content, part biographical. Some of the things he refers to could make it a little more difficult to get if you haven't read/listened to Nothing's Sacred.

The best part of this book is that the audiobook is still performed by him, as was Nothing's Sacred. If you're a fan of Lewis Black, or if you're skeptical about all forms of religion, or wondering why we believe why we do, this is a great read.

Bless you Lewis Black, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Joke.