Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There [AUDIOBOOK] [CD] [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD)

~ Tom Davis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Writing for Saturday Night Live during the sketch show's legendary early seasons may be Davis's claim to fame, but this captivating memoir is about much more, including his suburban Minneapolis childhood, couch-surfing through his hometown, San Francisco, and New York City during the 1970s, and a life-long friendship with comedian-turned-political commentator-turned (probable) Senator Al Franken. Of course, that doesn't stop Davis from hooking readers at the outset with the true Coneheads origin story, involving Dan Aykroyd, LSD and a trip to Easter Island. Later, Davis recalls poignantly Aykroyd's eulogy at John Belushi's funeral, which began, "I so did not want to have to do this." Davis also speaks reverently of Lorne Michaels, despite their (often hilarious) professional differences. Davis's portrait of Franken, though, is most endearing. Fellow Minneapolisians, Franken and Davis were a comedy team throughout their young careers; Davis recreates their partnership in rich, funny details, bolstered by transcripts of their recent e-mail correspondence. Though it features some lurid and hysterical SNL stories, Davis's memoir is less a backstage expose than a winning coming-of-age story featuring a funny Midwestern kid following his unlikely dream to the top.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Funny, spiky, and twistedly entertaining . . . Davis' tales are engrossing and darkly humorous." --Entertainment Weekly

"Writing for Saturday Night Live during the sketch show's legendary early seasons may be Davis's claim to fame, but this captivating memoir is about much more. . . [featuring] some lurid and hysterical SNL stories, Davis's memoir is less a backstage expose than a winning coming-of-age story featuring a funny Midwestern kid following his unlikely dream to the top." --na

[Audio Review] This memoir by first-time author Davis, an Emmy Award-winning writer for Saturday Night Live (SNL), tells of the early days of the show and the nature of the comedy business in the 1970s drugs, alcohol, and all. Certainly not everyone famous at the time survived to tell about this moment in history, but listeners will be glad that Davis is one who made it. He reads his own work with wonderful expression, giving voice along the way to such luminaries as Timothy Leary, Jerry Garcia, John Belushi, and SNL producer Lorne Michaels. Davis's former comedy partner, Al Franken, writes the foreword. For the many millions of SNL fans. Barbara Valle, El Paso P.L., TX --Library Journal

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Tantor Media; Unabridged edition (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400111595
• ISBN-13: 978-1400111596
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #864,230 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Driving That Train, High On Cocaine....., April 5, 2009

By	Mark Demos (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: 39 Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There (Hardcover)

I'm a HUGE fan of SNL (especially that of the early years), so I snapped this title up almost as soon as it became available. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of believing that a book with the subtitle "The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There", might actually focus on, you know, THE EARLY DAYS OF SNL!!

But that's really not the case.......

Instead, what we get are a patchwork of recollections from Davis's drug-addled life and career; with emphasis on his friendship/partnership/break-up with Al Franken, some adventures and experiences shared with his pal Dan Aykroyd, and numerous exploits involving Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead (Davis's favorite band).

To be fair, over the course of his book Tom Davis does relate a number of stories from his time as a writer (and occasional performer) on SNL, however, nowhere near what I would have expected, or hoped for, based on the misleading title.

The other stories that are told are, for the most part, interesting; and help the reader better understand the truly atypical life that Tom Davis has led.

However, it's the way the author relates those stories that are this book's biggest problem. Simply put, they're ALL over the place.

The story line (what little there is) is disjointed, and rather difficult to follow. The narrative constantly jumps back and forth from the present to the past (and back again), without much explanation (or segue) in between, leaving the reader in a (semi) constant state of confusion.

And this from a man who makes his living as a writer!

(Though I realize that the writing of one's bio is very different from the scripting of comedy bits for tv, movies and stand-up, understanding that fact doesn't make the reading any easier.)

In the end, it's up to the reader to make some kind of sense out of the jumbled story line. I did, and am (mostly) glad that I did, since I learned a number of things about Saturday Night Live that I hadn't previously known.

Still, I can't recommend this book to anyone looking for a highly informative read on that particular subject. In fact, I guess I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but the most diehard of "SNL'ers", or possibly to those looking for a glimpse into some of the formative experiences of Tom Davis's onetime partner, Al Franken (and "Deadheads" too, might enjoy reading the various exploits of their heroes).

Having completed this work, my vote for the best SNL 'history' book is still "Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By Its Stars, Writers and Guests", by James A. Miller and Tom Shales. It provides a good overview of the show from a number of different perspectives, and is a very entertaining (and often surprising) read, to boot (It's even been updated!).

And hopefully we'll one day still get the 'definitive' book on the early days of SNL from 'someone who was there'; but, sad as it is to say, it's now beginning to look like that may never happen.......

Hmmmmmmmm......"Paging Mr. Michaels, Mr. Lorne Michaels........."

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An infinite waste of time....infinity squared..., March 21, 2009

By	Grigory's Girl "Grigory's Girl" (NYC) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: 39 Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There (Hardcover)

This is a real mess of a book, one that purports to tell about Tom Davis's experiences working at Saturday Night Live. But all the book consists of are the following...

Tom did a lot of drugs

He slept with women

He's one of the "original" hippies

He partied with Jerry Garcia and followed the Dead around

He did more drugs

He occasionally wrote a sketch and did some comedy with some guy named Al

More drugs

Started out bitter, and grew more bitter

Partied with famous people

Did drugs with famous people

Wrote another sketch

Did some bad film work

Then wrote this book.

The book is a mishmash of what seems like diary notes that no one bother to organise. It jumps around like a person riddled with ADD had written the bloody thing. Davis seemed to get into show business to be famous and party with other celebrities, not to be a great comic writer and an artist. He's not the only one who has ever done this, and he sure as hell won't be the last, but his life's story is not worth reading about. Sorry. The book is really sloppy and repetitive, and Davis hardly talks about the material he actually wrote. It's more like a frat guy's journal where he brags about how much booze he drank, who he screwed, who he did coke with, etc., etc.. Actually, it's a depressing book that should be avoided. I'm done ranting now.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nothing Here!, March 17, 2009

By	Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: 39 Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There (Hardcover)

I read this book because of my liking for Al Franken, both as a comic and politician. Unfortunately, it provided no coherent theme, summarized skits in a few lines (usually losing any humor in the process), and brought no overview of either SNL or Al Franken's life. Thus, it was quite disappointing!