Customer Reviews

Where the Hell is Matt?: Dancing Badly Around the World

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Matt Harding's spontaneous dance of youth, playfulness and joy became an Internet phenomenon and has touched the hearts of millions. In this book, Matt tells the story of his videos and shows lots of pictures of his travels, but it's much more than a travelogue. It's an account of Matt's journey of self-discovery. His voice shines through--companionable, engaging and self-effacing. A twenty-first century version of Innocents Abroad, Matt's book is funny and perceptive and a great read.

First, I should come clean, I'm a huge fan of the Matt videos. I've watched them all, I've sent them to friends, and I think I even have a version on my PS3 so I can watch it on my TV from time to time. So, in some ways, I was an easy sell on this book. In fact, I pre-ordered it.

Having read it, I can say it is just what I expected. Matt gives us little stories about the places we've seen in his videos and adds a bit of behind-the-scenes depth to the videos. The travel stories are broken up by intermissions about how it all came into being, and each phase that the viral story goes through.

So, let's be frank, Matt isn't a writer, at least not in the literary meaning of the word. He has a wit and dry humor that is very readable and entertaining, but these stories aren't going to make it into the New Yorker. That said, it's a nice coffee table book. The stories are short enough you can read one while waiting for someone to get you a drink and they are fairly entertaining, if not a bit repetitive. I found myself ready for a break after reading 2-3.

Who should read/buy this book? People who love the Matt videos. People who need a clever book on the table when others come to their house so they seem worldly and in the know on these things. Those looking to buy something for a recent college graduate who already has, or doesn't want, a picture frame, a candle stick holder, and/or an expensive pen.

It's a good book and worth the price.

The Matt videos make you think that it was a snap for this bumbling guy to pop around the planet dancing whenever he felt inclined. This book pulls back the curtain on that misconception with fantastic stories told by a great storyteller. I can't wait to see what he does next!

Matt Harding's pseudo-travelogue is a light, enjoyable read that stands nicely against his other body of work (the videos). Like the clips in his dancing videos, many of the stories and anecdotes left me with a smile, a few had me laughing outright, and a couple caused me to blink away a tear or two. I'm happy to report that by and large, the book is not a re-hash of Matt's web journal ("blog" in today's parlance), which is not to denigrate the latter which makes for some fun reading as well.

It was satisfying to get the background story behind many of the video clips, for example the beautiful Bollywood dance scene in India and the North Korean DMZ video. A few of the chapters left me wanting a bit more but maybe this was Matt's intent--not so much to bring the world to us, but rather to entice us to go out and see it for ourselves.

Briefly stated: well done, Matt, well done.

P.S.: Be sure not to miss the mini-flipbook animation action of Matt's dancing silhouette on the lower right corner of the page. I'm not sure if this was intended but it does seem to work.

Being well informed of Matt's story and videos I was not disappointed in the least. In fact this book exceeded my expectations. I laughed out loud at countless occasions. My only criticism is I wish it was longer, but thats just me, its just the right length for the masses I'm sure.

If you have a sarcastic dry sense of humor you'll enjoy this book, if you're not sure, try reading some of matt's journal at [...]. It has some of the same stories but it is still worth it to purchase the book to have and share with friends. The perfect coffee table book.

thanks matt, way to go!

Matt Harding became an Internet sensation almost overnight, but despite what you might think, he has kept both feet on the ground.

His new book gives an honest account of his travels around the world. The book is divided into 3 parts that follow the beginning of it all and his two videos. Each part features a number of chapters for some of the most interesting places he visited. The chapters are short, but humorous and interesting. Matt gives you his thoughts and ideas behind the shots and we also get insight into his emotions regarding "taking" a moment from someone without being able to return it.

Some say that he is just doing it for the money, but the truth is that his travels are funded and he plans everything himself.

If you liked the videos, you are going to love this!

Matt Harding is not a professional writer. However, his honest prose and stunning experiences makes for a reading adventure. I loved this book. It was exciting to read and it inspires you to go out and do things. Read it.

Like almost everyone in the world, I loved Matt Harding's videos, so I bought the Kindle version of his book. I was not disappointed. Matt's not a writer-- he pretty much writes like he's talking to you-- but after all, the book is not supposed to be WAR AND PEACE. Instead, Matt relates his feelings about life, work, travel, and people, and how he came to make the videos. You can tell from the videos that Matt is not afraid to look like an idiot. He's fully aware of the irony of being famous for dancing when he dances like a five-year-old hearing music for the first time. But he's also a neat guy, and quite honest about his motivations and opinions, which makes the book every bit as entertaining as the videos.

The pictures are not nearly as good on a Kindle as they would be in print-- no color and some of them are too muddy to be helpful-- but I still enjoyed the story. After I read the book, I went back and watched both videos again, aware now that no matter how spontaneous the shots look, there was a lot of thought, hard work, and even (sometimes) danger in creating them.

I wish him well, and I hope he keeps on dancing!

Like some other reviewers, I'll admit that I'm a huge fan of the "Matt videos". That said, I really enjoyed reading this book. It really gives a good genuine feel of what it is like to visit a wide variety of cities around the world. Matt's writing is filled with sarcastic humor which really adds to the already very interesting stories. The writing is very informal and easy to read. It is a great coffee table book. I highly recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the videos.

I love to travel and I loved this book. It's basically like an Appendix to Matt's videos. Fills in a bit of back story and continues to inspire me. Good stuff!!