Last Words - Hardcover

Carlin, George

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1439172951 ISBN 13: 9781439172957

Publisher: Free Pr, 2009

Synopsis

As one of America's preeminent comedic voices, George Carlin saw it all throughout his extraordinary fifty-year career and made fun of most of it. Last Words is the story of the man behind some of the most seminal comedy of the last half century, blending his signature acer-bic humor with never-before-told stories from his own life.

In 1993 George Carlin asked his friend and bestselling author Tony Hendra to help him write his autobiography. For almost fifteen years, in scores of conversations, many of them recorded, the two discussed Carlin's life, times, and evolution as a major artist. When Carlin died at age seventy-one in June 2008 with the book still unpublished, Hendra set out to assemble it as his friend would have wanted. Last Words is the result, the rollicking, wrenching story of Carlin's life from birth -- literally -- to his final years, as well as a parting gift of laughter to the world of comedy he helped create.

George Carlin's journey to stardom began in the rough-and-tumble neighborhood of New York's Upper West Side in the 1940s, where class and culture wars planted the seeds for some of his best known material, including the notorious "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television." His early conflicts, his long struggle with substance abuse, his turbulent relationships with his family, and his triumphs over catastrophic setbacks all fueled the unique comedic worldview he brought to the stage. From the heights of stardom to the low points few knew about, Last Words is told with the same razor-sharp honesty that made Carlin one of the best loved comedians in American history.

About this title

Product Description

Rare book

Review

."..frank and insightful..." --"Time" magazine ."..what "Last Words" ultimately reveals is how Carlin became a political protester, slam poet, cynic, polemicist and performance artist whose messages were delivered under the veneer of humor." --"Washington Post" ""Last Words", a posthumous autobiography from George Carlin, is a jazzy, inward-looking piece of work...as a chronicler of the working of his own mind, Carlin is terrific." -- "The New York Times" "The book is at turns biting and touching, and often both, which is what you would expect from a man for whom the sacred was profane and the profane, sacred." --"Entertainment Weekly" "This is not a collection of setups and punch lines, but a candid, fearless accounting of his life and art..."Last Words" shows a comic master at the height of his storytelling powers and with no limit to what he had left to say." --"L.A. Times" "For comedy fans, this book is vital. It's easily worth its weight in gold for the biting observations on showbiz and its personalities." --"San Francisco Chronicle" "Seven particular words are associated with the late comedian George Carlin, and sentimental is not one of them. But that's the surprising portrait that emerges from "Last Words"." --"Houston Chronicle" "["Last Words"] sounds as if he is still with us, rested and ready to ridicule the latest cultural hypocrisies." --"The Washington Times"

About this edition

• Publisher: Free Pr
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1439172951
• ISBN 13: 9781439172957
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 297