Robert Fulghum Books

The book is a collection of mental exercises that readily link to your experiences. Fulghum has a super idea of humor and how to present it with many daily life situations.

Robert Fulghum's "What on Earth Have I Done?" collects dozens of his essays about ordinary life. He tells us about street crossing guards, corner beggars, little kids swinging, bug races, watching the moon, the obsessions of his cleaning lady and asking for directions in Crete. Taken individually, the essays are little bits of nothing. But together, they portray the soul of man profoundly at peace with himself and with the world. Fulghum is a big kid at heart, and his playfulness is endearing and refreshing. He takes very little seriously -- certainly not the pomposities of human nature, including his own. To Fulghum, the most spiritual experience is not solemn liturgy, but a belly laugh shared with friends over wine and good food. After reading the book, it's hard not to wish for the serenity that he seems to enjoy.

Fulghum bases his book on the three classic "Mother" questions often asked of misbehaving kids -- "What in the world have you done?" "Who do you think you are?" and "What will you do next?" As is typical, Fulghum turns these questions on their heads to probe the deeper meaning of what we do, who we are and how we plan to live our lives.

I highly recommend listening to Fulghum in the audio book. His voice is like Garrison Keillor's -- gentle, warm, full of insight and wisdom -- but without the lingering sadness. He takes us from Seattle to Moab, Utah to his getaway on Crete. Everywhere he goes, magic happens. Fiery brooms flash through the New Year's sky; angry men learn to waltz; people eat, drink and are happy to be alive. A wonderful book that brings to life the essence of great spirituality -- not a heavy theological search for truth, but a search for love and companionship -- a theology probably far closer to the heart of the Creator.

Robert Fulghum continues to be a light in the dark. His comedic style of writing, while still making a point, is nothing short of uplifting. I would highly recommend this and all of his titles.

Fans of Robert Fulghum know him as storyteller with a keen eye for observing the fine details of the world around him. His stories often find deep spiritual or philosophical meaning in the most unusual sources, and his sense of humor and wonder make many of his stories very funny as well. This book returns to the form that made his early books so successful: a collection of short essays, some funny, others thoughtful, but all with Fulghum's unique take the world. For long-time readers of his work, this is a welcome return to the stories we love, and new readers should enjoy this introduction to Fulghum's world. The book starts with some powerfully thoughtful essays, which initially made me think that this was going to be a more serious work than some of his others, but there is plenty of light-hearted humor here as well. If Fulghum has any message, it is that life is too short not to be enjoyed, and it is certainly clear that this is how he tries to live his life.

This book had me laughing, crying, and thinking. All the ways I find a book enjoyable, memorable, and that I need on my shelf to share. The idea of optimism in a world of increasing pessimism lightened my day. Seeing the good in life instead of always looking for the bad, even if it takes using your imagination to find that good. We all have different views on the world around us. I happen to like Mr. Fulghum's. What fun he would be as a Dad, Grandpa, friend!

A nice light read. I didn't always agree with his thoughts, but I usually did. Books like this always make me want to write my own book. I read it and think, "Hey - maybe someone would want to read my opinions and observations too!" Clean, and family friendly.

This should be required reading for many adults. It seems in todays society, impatience and intolerance have become virtues. Basic manners and respect for others is a concept lost on too many of our youth. So, in counterpoint to the previous negative review, I strongly recommend "Everything...." to anyone wanting to raise a well balanced, tolerant (and tolerable) child.

Hello, I want to speak to the middle American audience of morons that the author of the Kindergarten book was obviously appealing to. Quite simply, this book is aimed at childish, uneducated saps. I don't know how else to put it. After reading about 6 or 7 of these "uncommon thoughts on common things," I couldn't take it any more. The writing reminds me of some reflective journal work I did in seventh grade. Even that gives too much credit to the book. Basically, the author took a multitude of ideas and wrote about 2 pages on them. If you think this is enough to provide any insightful information on the chosen topic, you are wrong. Also, the author thinks he has a sense of humor. Let's just say that he isn't. The writing is childish (I honestly wonder how many people had to help him out on this one) and the thoughts are DUMB. Let me wrap up the book for you: Communists are people too, and deaf mutes deserve our pity! NO JOKE. Jesus did you like the part where he describes the 500 uses of a dandelion!? DONT WASTE YOUR TIME.

After reading all Robert Fulghum books, I found the "Everything I needed to know...." book is his best. I think we sometimes forget in our hustle and bustle lives how much we really learn about ourselves and society when we are children. We also find out as children (usually) there's no such thing as a free lunch. How openly Mr. Fulghum reminds us of all this.