The Tao of Bada Bing: Words of Wisdom from The Sopranos (Hardcover)

~ David Chase (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Best drama on television. It's why you get HBO, it's why you get cable, it's why you get a television." -- Chicago Sun Times

"Kick-ass magnificent." -- Los Angeles Times

"The Sopranos just might be the greatest work of American popular culture of the last quarter century." -- New York Times

Product Description

Perhaps no show in the history of television has had such a revolutionary impact on American television and popular culture than HBO's The Sopranos. In just three 13-week seasons, the hard-hitting, controversial television series about a New Jersey Mafia boss and his family has won legions of fans and earned jaw-dropping praise from the critics.

Much of the show's success can be attributed to its brilliant writers. In every episode, the writers articulate a coherent philosophy of life as it is lived by the characters of the show. Loosely organized according to the principles found in the Tao Te Ching, the ancient text at the root of the Chinese philosophy called Taoism, The Tao of Bada Bing! Words of Wisdom from The Sopranos features memorable quotations from all four seasons of the Sopranos.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Carhil Ventures, LLC; First Edition edition (May 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566492785
• ISBN-13: 978-1566492782
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #906,290 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A MUST for Sopranos fans (others may be a bit confused), November 9, 2003

By	Joel L. Gandelman (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're a Sopranos fan and realize that the show deals with a bit more than people getting killed, betrayals, a marriage falling apart, relationships and families -- then this book is for YOU. In fact, it is a MUST for any Sopranos fans.

The Tano of Bada Bing! is a masterful idea, beautifully executed (no pun intended), and small but meaty enough so you can take it on a trip. No, I didn't feel ripped off by this book at ALL... in fact I have read it four times already on trips and I love it.

The book culls key dialogue from four seasons of the Sopranos and puts them in chapters headed by a piece of immortal wisdom of the Tao Te Ching, the ancient Chinese text underpinning Taoism. YES...there are larger issues in the show's various scenes. And if you're a fan then seeing these larger issues, plus recaping your favorite moments, makes you realize again how much good WRITING is required in television (and film) to bring off an enduring hit. You realize that it isn't actors schitck that sustains the Sopranos but gem-like scripts that have big themes in them.

The Taoism is merely a device that gets this point across. Plus, it also serves to wet readers' appetites to find out more about Toaism itself, which isn't a bad idea.

The only reason this book shouldn't get five stars is this: there is really no explanation in it about various characters quoted in the key scenes used to illustrate the short Tao material heading up each chapter. So Sopranos fans, or anyone who has an even modest knowledge fo the show, will understand who is saying what -- but a non-fan or non-viewer will have trouble figuring out who the character is who is in each scene. Bottom line: GREAT book for any Sopranos fan who wants to enjoy the show's best moments and consider larger issues than sex, betrayal and violence. A bit confusing for non-Sopranos fans.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bada Bing for Thinkers, April 28, 2003

By	Charles L. DeFanti Jr. "Professor Emeritus of... (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fans of the Sopranos will love this brilliant little book, which explains at least part of the 5-season show's extraordinary popularity -- its intellectual heft. Gathered here are more than two dozen aphorisms by the ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Tsu expanded by actual dialogue from the Sopranos series. What possible link could television's most popular mobsters have with a millennia-old Chinese philosopher? Plenty, it turns out. The self-identified "sad clown," Tony Soprano (a "capo" can never be a "stunade" -- stupid), wryly identifies his kinship with the Far East in one of his exchanges with his psychiatrist: "Tony: `Well, I am improving. I mean, you gotta participate joyfully in the suffering of the world....' Dr. Melfi: `Your thoughts have kind of an Eastern flavor to them.' Tony: Well... I've lived in Jersey my whole life.'"
It's a small leap from Lao Tsu to another Confucian protégé, Sun Tzu whose "The Art of War" resonates loudly with goombah philosophy, as in Tony's crack: "If your opponent is of choleric temper, irritate him." (episode 308). Like Sun Tzu, the mob is ever mindful of the need for logistics, strategy, and tactics to avoid "taking a hit" -- "the best battle is the battle won without being fought." To avoid Hell and other inconveniences, the invariably Catholic mobsters cynically cast themselves as soldiers locked in perpetual guerrilla warfare - a concept first defined by Sun Tzu. Like all warriors, though, Tony and his boys often ignore that Master's premiere injunction: that there are no winners in war.
This delightful gloss is an indispensable key to the continuing appeal of "The Sopranos." In addition, The book is beautifully designed; I've bought several copies as gifts.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To see the small is to have insight, May 11, 2003

By A Customer

For all lovers of the show, the Tao of Bada Bing is the most exciting thing since Ralphie was killed. The editors had the amazing insight to see that putting together the words and wisdom of the Tao with parts of the exhilarating scripts from the Sopranos. At a first glance it is hard to understand how the Sopranos could possibly follow the words of the Tao but as you get into the book you can't help looking at the Sopranos from a completely new perspective. When you read the book it is impossible not the be swept back into the emotions and action of the show, the scripts are just too well written! For all those who are counting down the days until the new season arrives, this book will be perfect to hold you over.