Customer Reviews

My Anecdotal Life

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book isn't an autobiography and doesn't pretend to be one. Instead, this is a collection of stories you might hear if you were one of Carl Reiner's close personal friends. I laughed out loud at the craziness of the stories. While reading this book, I was struck by the humor and decency of Carl Reiner. He actually lives by the old saying "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". There is no dirt to be dished on friends. There are no descriptions of sexual exploits. What there is instead is a collection of very funny stories you might hear from a grandfather. I recommend this book highly.
And when you finish this book, find a copy of his play: Something Different. That is a truly bizarre, yet totally hilarious, play. You will thank me. You might have sore muscles from laughing, but you will thank me.

I loved this book. When you think of all the credits that list this man's name, it's no wonder it's so funny. I could not put this book down. I laughed from the minute I started reading it to the second I finished it.

If you like this book, you might also like John Orozco' Delano.

I had an advanced copy and went through it in two days. This book is very much worth it. My wife and I have been huge fans for years.

Mr. Reiner is undoubtedly a funny man but the full force of his humor is not to be seen in My Anecdotal Life. It is a likable, amusing and easy reading book but the stories are sometimes obscure and the punchlines sometimes don't justify the build-up. The professional period that he is perhaps best known for, the Dick Van Dyke show era, is lightly covered -- much to my disappointment. Another flaw is that there is no index. Books like this name-drop and half the fun is to see who and who isn't mentioned. Sadly, there are no old photos either. As Mr. Reiner intimates, much of the book flows from many years of dinner party repartee. You will like this book but only the most devoted fans will love it.

OK, so I didn't buy this book, I read it standing up at a bookstore (Barnes & Noble on State Street in Chicago), and one, just one, of the anecdotes was so funny that I was laughing so hard that my sides were actually hurting and I thought they were going to throw me out of the store. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone, but let's just call it the "Richard III" anecdote. And if you don't think it's the funniest thing you're ever read, -- well, then you have no sense of humor.

This book isn't an autobiography and doesn't pretend to be one. Instead, this is a collection of stories you might hear if you were one of Carl Reiner's close personal friends. I laughed out loud at the craziness of the stories. While reading this book, I was struck by the humor and decency of Carl Reiner. He actually lives by the old saying "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". There is no dirt to be dished on friends. There are no descriptions of sexual exploits. What there is instead is a collection of very funny stories you might hear from a grandfather. I recommend this book highly.
And when you finish this book, find a copy of his play: Something Different. That is a truly bizarre, yet totally hilarious, play. You will thank me. You might have sore muscles from laughing, but you will thank me.

Genius is easier to recognize than to define. Thankfully, Carl Reiner, one of our true comic geniuses, doesn't try to explain his gifts or the nature of humor in this pleasant memoir...he just tells a couple of dozen wonderful stories about his life, with his own unique brand of joy.

If you've loved Reiner's work on movies, TV, records, you should find this to be an enjoyable read. Imagine you've somehow been given the opportunity to spend an evening one-on-one with him, while he recalls some of his memorable adventures. This is not a comprehensive, chronological autobiography; the anecdotes skip back and forth in time and place, much like our own memories. I've always had the feeling that Carl Reiner was a genuinely kind man, full of gratitude for the blessings of family and success; this warmhearted book helps to confirm that belief.

"Genius" is a word too often bandied about, and when a moment finally comes to use it appropriately, the meaning of the word has been devalued.

Make no mistake: Carl Reiner is a genius, though perhaps he rarely is hailed as such. He has done as much as any single person to shape the modern American entertainment industry; actually, he's done more.

From the early days of television on YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS, on which his co-writers included (among others) star Sid Caesar, Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, brothers Neil and Danny Simon, Woody Allen, through single-handedly creating THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, the sitcom recognized as the most seminal in television, Carl Reiner has shaped the medium every bit as much as the medium has shaped modern life.

He's made other stops, too, too numerous to mention. Movies such as THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, OH, GOD, WHERE'S POPPA, IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD simply are the tip of that iceberg. And with partner Mel Brooks, he created the much-loved "2000 Year-Old Man."

I had loved his first novel, ENTER LAUGHING, which my parents had deemed suitable for a child to read. As an adult, I enjoyed AN ANECDOTAL LIFE even more. Reiner reveals himself to be a man of humanity and kindness, devoted to his wife, children, family and dear friends. Of course, he's also howlingly funny. He cannot avoid dropping famous names, because he lived his life among them and, in many cases, was the most important force in creating that fame in others. (Just think of Mary Tyler Moore.)

AN ANECDOTAL LIFE is an easy read, organized as a series of short vignettes. Nonetheless, with great style, in this format, Reiner manages to tell the story of his life, from his boyhood in the Bronx (New York) as the child of Eastern European immigrants, through his teen-age summers spent as part of the entertainment in New York's famed Catskill Mountains, right up to the work he's doing now.

To some degree, obviously, he's also been lucky, simply being in the right places at the right times. Still, he's made the most of his opportunites. Up to now, his has been a life well-lived, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy! I look forward to reading about his future successes.

Carl Reiner writes funny... very funny... and wonderful. He not only writes very funny... and wonderful... but he is very funny, and he is very wonderful. A genuine American national treasure.

Carl Reiner informs us about many interesting episodes in his life. He does this in a roughly chronlogical order. We learn a lot about Show Business people and interesting information about how the 'Dick van Dyke Show' and 'The Two-Thousand Year Old Man' came into being.Celebrities abound and stories of Reiner's encounters with them entertain.
Reiner is a decent person. The most moving story in the book is about his brother Charlie. Charlie is the one who sent him to the first learning experience which led to his having a show- business career. Charlie was a decorated D-Day U.S. veteran. The story of Charlie's last days shows again what a decent person Carl Reiner is.
Again there is loads of show - business information. The great drawback of the book is that one expects that coming from a legendary funny man, and comic writer it will be funny. It isn't however. And this is one makes what could have been an extraordinary memoir a quite ordinary one about an extraordinary person.