Adam Books

There are books galore about spirituality, covering many aspects from simple How To's, to the mystical insights of past and current masters. Most of these have one thing in common: they are all written by a teacher targeting a student willing and eager to dive into the deep ocean on questions about life and the divine.

Far fewer are the books which cover the deep longing, the seemingly never-ending search for answers from the perspective of the student, and the many strange paths this sometimes can take during a lifetime. The Quest Seeking The new Adam is such a book. Written as a series of often strange encounters and the ensueing conversations with a native American medicine man, this story follows the tribulations of a man called Adam - a seeker.

This short novel so very well illustrates the agony, frustrations, and doubts of the beginning seeker, and it follows through all the way to the slow acceptance and understanding of who and what we are truly are, ending in the climax of the great inner revelation, the first glimpse of the divinity we are.

And the teacher, the "Old Man" as he is known in the story? Though naturally comming from the Native Americam Indian traditions, his teachings are universal, as all divine truth must be. This universality is exemplified in one of the names by which he is known: Phanes. A greek name - and true to the name he frequently uses the greek myth of Prometheus to help bring understanding to the student.

The latter alone is a good reason to read this short story, but certainly not its sole quality. As a seeker my self (and who is not, at one time or another?) I was able to easily empathize with the character of Adam. It could just as easily been me in this story, and not some distant personae. When I started reading this book, I was unable to put it down until I had finished it from cover to back. Though many of the concepts in the book were not new to me ("Thou art God", being perhaps the most important, and sometimes shocking one to some), the path itself taken by Adam is certainly different than my own and others, and so can give many an insight to the reader.

This book is not for casual reading, but for all seekers in the world, both beginners, and for those who may have already journeyed some distance. And as such, I would recommend it to any one, any time. A book I most certainly will read more than once.

With "The Quest Seeking the New Adam" Norman Wilson has created a modern vedantic epic in which a 21st century noble prince or son questions and receives instruction from a contemporary sagacious brahmin or an aspect of the deity. In a smoothly flowing narrative he introduces the reader to many of the great questions and ideas of philosophy and modern science and makes them accessible to almost everyone. I am eagerly awaiting his next effort.

If you have read and enjoyed Pirsig's, best seller, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," you will love Dr. Wilson's "The Quest Seeking the New Adam." Being at the stage of my own life where I am questioning what's really important, I found Wilson's book to be enlightening. It renewed my interests in self-discovery, mythology, and cosmic spirituality. Well done, and well received.

The Quest Seeking The New Adam by Norman Wilson is a well-written, easy to read, and thought provoking book about looking for the "I" of the "who am I". In this book, Adam asks his spiritual quide, Phanes, some of the universal questions that he hopes will lead him to the answer of who he is, why he is, and what his purpose is for being. As Adam journeys to transcendence and the search for his soul-self, so too, did I follow with some of the same questions. Norman Wilson weaved adventure and humor through Adam's quest. In my profession as a psychologist/therapist, the personal journey of the spiritual or soul-self is very important to knowing who you are. This is a must read for those seeking their own quest of the self.

The Quest is an adventure and success story that comes from a man's search for his inner most place in the miracle of life. A stimulating search begins with him as a child and developes in an amazing way thru exciting experiences with "characters" he meets along the way. It stimulates your interest in mythology and how one's life is related to it. An ultimate struggle that grows from bizarre adventures! And has a fulfilling triumph. It is a story that makes you feel happy to be part of this life in which we all seek to be complete. Be sure to read it and you will appreciate the result. My thanks to the author, Norman W. Wilson.

...this author did to the spy thriller--don't be put off by the number of pages, each is fast-paced and the writing style is both accessible as well as being completely original--with all the hoopla over Brosnan quitting the Bond series, Broccoli and co. could do no wrong using this character and series as a template--HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Quiller is a spy who uses his wits. His body and mind are his weapons. The stories are seen through Quiller's eyes. If you like tense spy dramas, the Quiller books are the best and Adam Hall is a master. We want more!

I have never read such an action packed book. Nor has my heart raced this much. This is an excellent spy book. I love that Adam hall chose first persson for this book. It gives you a better understanding of the character. And Quiller is an unforgetable character who uses his wits to get out of tight situations. Without that you know this character could not have survived in the depths of Russia. A good read, definetly reccommed it. And yes it is hard to find in the bookstores. Can't understand why this work of art isn't being ordered.

There is not a better writer of espionage anywhere. Read these books

Absolutely right, Quiller is one of the best literary characters & the only espionage character who didn't end up totally ridiculous or pathetic or just plain unreal. Quiller though, with his meticulous task solving a cerebral activity together with his ability in close combat ooze reality. This one has a special twist to it: from the very beginning we sense (through Quiller's thoughts) that there's something wrong with this mission & not because of the usual danger attached to such things. Just sit back & follow him in the maze of dnager while he unravels step by step the mystery & realizes how those who he should be able to trust betrayed him. (And then check out Quiller's Run for the immediate follow-up: Hall hardly does this, but he must have thought that this issue needed to be resolved.)

I don't know about making it a movie though. It's the reading & Quiller's inner thoughts that make it such a perfect read. Trabslated to action it may lose part of it's appeal - &who's going to get all that karate right without turning it into Crouching Tiger or something?

Of the three Straight Dope books I've read so far--this is the third in the series--I would say that this is the best one yet.
Cecil Adams is hilarious, even if Wikipedia claims he is a committee and not an actual individual...which I hesitate to believe. Slug Signorino's drawings are just perfect for the material and often laugh-out-loud funny. And in conversations lately, thanks to reading this, I feel as if I've had a lot more to say than I ever have before.
Five stars for "Return of the Straight Dope."
Another great read in a series of great reads.

The second book of Cecil Adams' Straight Dope is here...
A good follow up for the fabulous first part and full of astounding data...
Get ready for hilarious laughter and information absorbtion...

You have to love this guy - he gives you quality information and manages to do it in an entertaining way. He has found the perfect middle ground with the "Teaming Millions" who maintain endless dialogue over the weighty issues of life- He asserts his knowledged when challenged, ( even on the rare occasions when he gets it wrong)and injects a healthy dose of humour into the process to entertain us .

I have all these books - they are great - I just wish they were bigger

If you don't know who Cecil Adams is, its unlikely that you will find yourself purchasing this book. As the lucky initiated know, Adams has been writing his weekly column, "The Straight Dope" for alternative newpapers for nearly thirty years now. Adams is a good-natured arrogant know-it-all who uses reader questions both to show off his knowledge and flex his keen sense of humor. He is at the same time both hilareous and informative. He also tackles plenty of subjects that mainstream journalists will not touch. For example, in this book he discusses the little known practice of eating the human placenta. There is no one quite like Cecil. And for that we must be thankful.

Cecil Adams is a hoot. It's that simple. I'm the first to admit that his style may not be for everyone. If you don't enjoy the smart-alec humor of David Letterman, the irreverence of Saturday Night Live, and the take-no-prisoners approach of James Randi, than maybe the "Straight Dope" isn't for you.

For the uninitiated, The Straight Dope is a weekly newspaper column (appearing mostly in local "freebie" papers such as Madison's Isthmus) wherein Cecil (the smartest human alive) answers all manner of questions put to him by the "teeming millions." Do fish breathe? Do birds pee? Are there really 57 varieties of Heinz Ketchup? No question is too trivial for Cecil, and he applies a surprising degree of scholarship to all queries, mixing it all with a sharp-tongued wit and repartee with his correspondents that will leave you laughing out loud, guaranteed.

The books, numbering 5, collect the best of his columns into loosely organized chapters and include occasional updated information since the questions and answers were originally printed.

A few examples from 3rd book (Return of the Straight Dope, 1994), which is the one I happen to have from the library right now:

p. 338: Why do stars twinkle? Cecil supplies the correct answer, embedded as always, firmly within his razor sharp wit: "Ben, you amateur, stars don't 'twinkle.' They exhibit 'stellar scintillation.' The Pentagon isn't going to fund a damn twinkle study."

p. 63-64: A straight-down-the-pipe debunking of Uri Geller, as only Cecil can do. James Randi (whom Cecil sites as a source) has nothing on Adams. This is also a good example of Cecil's "dialog" with his readers. A reader wrote in to tell of his first hand encounter with Geller years before, and why Geller couldn't possibly have faked the spoon bending (or whatever) because this reader never took his eyes off the spoon, yada yada. Adam's reply shows his appropriately skeptical approach to such situations, where he stresses how many supposed "experts" were completely bamboozled by Geller's slight of hand and misdirection.

p. 349: The inertia of air, as seen in the helium balloon in a car experiment; p. 146 if you toss a ball in the air while inside the cabin of a flying airplane, does the total weight of the craft decrease by the amount of the ball's weight? (no, and he does a great job handling the physics involved).

The "Straight Dope" collections are a skeptical reader's delight, and totally entertaining to boot. I highly recommend them for casual reading, but don't be surprised if you learn something along the way.

By the way, there's apparently some debate about whether Cecil's a real person or not. I don't have an answer ... but it doesn't matter to me. The books are well written and right on target scientifically.

One more tidbit (this one from the straightdope.com web site), to a reader who asked what the deal is with Nostradamus, Cecil replied: "There are two schools of thought on Nostradamus: either (1) he had supernatural powers which enabled him to prophesy the future with uncanny accuracy, or (2) he did for ... what Stonehenge did for rocks. I incline to the latter view."

Cecil goes on to give a more detailed (and very accurate) response re: the whole Nostradamus thing, showing again his serious attempt to combat the epidemic of silly pseudoscience that so many of the "teeming millions" seem inclined to accept at face value.

And that really seems to be the bottom line for Cecil, and the best reason to read the column and the books.

I am a private school elementary teacher, and was given this book as a gift by one of my students. It is a superb introduction to the state, and especially appropriate for children in the third grade and above. Many of the subjects that are included in the book are part of the Rhode Island curriculum, and many of the places included are field trips that our class has attended.

The writing is clear, crisp, and clean, and the drawings are age appropriate and very engaging. I highly recommend this book as an adjunct learning tool about Rhode Island, as well as a fun introduction to our state. I plan on recommending it as a text book for our school system...

Even though I have lived in New England for years, I learned a great deal about Rhode Island from RIAtoZ. The illustrations are charming, and the text makes this much more than a typical kids book. It's written from the perspective of someone who knows and truly loves Little Rhody. There should be a book like this for every state in the Union!!

We had Adam come to perform his Acme Miniature Circus at our Theatre in Brookline MA. He brought some books to sell, and I wanted to comment on how great the books are. Our patrons really loved them. We get a lot of kids and parents as patrons, and they all thought the book was fabulous. We are not even in Rhode Island! The book is entertaining, informative, and well worth getting.

From beginning to end, a wonderful book filled with interesting tidbits to get you started on an adventure in Rhode Island. For being the smallest state in the Union, we have a grand amount of history and Rhode Island A-Z is a perfect introduction to local landmarks. Just trying to drive around finding everything in the book is entertaining. Well written with clean artwork,
I highly recommend this book for young and old alike.

We got copies for all of our friends because kids really seem to like it--the coloring part is really, really well done, and they like having the history stuff read to them (unless they're old enough to read it, themselves).

Highly recommended.

The way Adam describes his life growing up around football could be any one of our stories. I related to many stories he told, and many others brought back fond memories. This is truly a great, well written book that everyone can enjoy. His allegiance to Texas is apparent (just like mine) and this is a must have for all University of Texas students/alumni/fans, but the beauty of the book lies in Adams ability to convey the message of how intertwined football, life, and faith can become to anyone.

Adam Jones can write, and he has had a life worth writing about. The promised intertwining of faith, family, and football works, as the book left me, in turn, contemplating, crying, and cheering. Rose Bowl Dreams is definitely worth skipping a Saturday afternoon of College Football to read.

Jones knows college football and writes it all so vividly you want to jump inside the book. It's like Jones plugs college football into life and it's in HD. My wife reads me Adam's "Top Ten" college football matchups and each week we'd cry with laughter. Rose Bowl Dreams is even better.

Adam Jones writes from his heart about a family, a hometown, a state and a football team that he has loved his entire life, and he does it with candor, compassion and a whip smart sense of timing and humor. His is a life well lived and he has no difficulty knowing Who to thank, and while I am on that subject, we can all thank God for this writer's unqualified talent. You do not have to be a Longhorn junkie to appreciate this book: anyone who has ever marked the Fall by Saturdays has a memorable read in store for him regardless of what conference he calls home. Adam Jones writes about family and football as well as Rick Bragg ever has, but without the requisite "writer's chip" on his shoulder, and in the doing he shows that a grateful man can definitely go home again.

Where else can you mix Shakespeare and football, Bloody Caesars and longnecks, playbooks and hymnals? Adam Jones weaves a lyrical tapestry out of what is essentially many large men fighting over a pigskin, and you don't even notice when the action moves from the kitchen to the stadium to the church and back again. That God is a pretty funny guy, too.

My family purchased many bonds through work for 10 years, and Mr. Adams' book was essential in helping us understand the details of bond ownership. The book covers a wide range of topics, including a comparison of I bonds and E bonds, important tax information, strategies for cashing bonds, and many other relevant topics. Additionally, if you buy the book, you can send Mr. Adams questions on his website. This book is a definite must for any owner of US Savings Bonds!

This is a very will written book that I learned a lot from! Mr. Adams is a very good writer that was able to provide knowledge not known to many in a easy to understand way. Up to date information is on his website, which is also very helpful.

I found this book to be outstanding and answers all questions on U.S. Savings Bonds. Before reading it I thought I understood Savings Bonds but I was wrong. You will be amazed at all you can learn by reading this book.I highly recommend it to everyone.
Richard A. Link

This is a recent book covering info on bonds on a current basis so that you can compare w/your own holdings. It covers the features of "I" bonds, which are much more complex than the "E" (which are also described). The author's thoughts are worthwhile to consider, from an investment focus. He includes features that are available on-line, The Savings Bond Wizard, and the Calculator -- The more recent conversion ability lets you get rid of the paper bonds and to inventory them easily.

This book tells you everything you need to know about savings bonds. Also, it's probably the most up to date savings bonds book out there.

Actually, this looks like a WONDERFUL course! As a homeschooling mom of 3 very bright girls, I give this a thumbs up. All the kids can use this course, despite their learning differences. My 8 year old and 9 year old READ way above their grade levels with wonderful comprehension - but ask them to spell "comprehension" and they're lost! This course with CD is a great tool to use for my sight readers AND my phonics reader. We're looking forward to completing it. Grade: A+

Whether you are learning or teaching, the techniques used in "Spelling Power" are very simple to use. Instead of the ole' Study, Test, Study method- you are encouraged to do the opposite. The first day is spent taking a placement test (about 10-15 minutes) to see where you start. The next day, you administer the test of ten words first, and only study those words that were incorrect. There are many study ideas, and games that help with the study process. The next day you give the next test of ten words, along with the words that were missed the day before. If more than 5 words were missed, then you only administer the test with the incorrect words, otherwise I could see how self confidence would be an issue if you had a 30 word test by the end of the week. We use this book with our 8 and 10 year olds. They no longer dread spelling, and have a great feeling of accomplishment by the end of the week when they can prove that they have "mastered" between 20-50 words. The reason that I gave this book a "4" instead of a "5" is because the teachers guide in the front (which is a necessity to read) is 100 pages of Blah, Blah, Blah, You need to plan on either a couple of hours of UNINTERUPTED reading (yeah right, not in this house) or, do as I did and use a highlighter and skim at 15 minute intervals. The book also comes with a CD rom, which I couldn't get to run on either of our two computers. The publisher is sending me a new one though. All in all we like this program, and even though it's $50, (for a Spelling Book!) It's not just a spelling book, it's 15 minutes a day towards being a sufficient speller which can be used all they way through High School. I recommend adults take the placement test and try it for yourselves, you will be surprised. I know I was.

Great book, very useful for diagnosing where your child stands in his/her knowledge of the rules of spelling. Once you've used the tests to see at what level your child spells, you have lots of creative ways to reinforce and upgrade their skills...this book is fantastic! I recommend it not only for those parents who homeschool, but for those parents and students who want a great teaching tool for improving spelling acumen in preparation for a spelling bee.

Although the program is designed for ages 8+, I bought it for my homeschooled 5 year old who has been reading since age three. The results were immediate and he is whipping through the lessons painlessly. Minimal time required per lesson, only 15 minutes for the student and 5 minutes for the teacher. I highly recommend it, though it is expensive.

My now fourth grader was using another spelling program in 1st grade and got really burned out. It was the traditional study the list all week, write the words, pre-test on Thursday and test on Friday. She and I both hated it! Since we switched to Spelling Power, she asks "Can I do my spelling first?" Everyday, you test them over a designated list of words. When they have spelled 3 wrong, you stop. They study the words they missed using a 10 point study program (all lined out in the record book they use). The next day, they first re-test on the words they missed, and then go on to the next set of words on the designated list. The placement tests show you exactly where to start and where your child is according to grade level. Although it is designed to use starting with 8 and up, I am using it with my 6 year old, too. She was jealous of her sister getting to do this spelling. She does great! We just move slower. The teaching of study skills is powerful! Get this program! Don't be overwhelmed with the text. Take the time to read it before you ever start. On a daily basis, no preparation is required. Annually, you give placement tests. That's it!

I just finished Topiary last night--and it's taken me a while to come down from it. My god--energy, sustainedness, inventiveness, ruthlessness, piercingness, tumult, order, drive, thoughtfulness, weariness, lightning bolts--you cover the map, shoot, you CREATE the map and THEN you cover it! Amazing book. God knows, I wish it well, and you, and wish the numbers of those lucky enough to read it to be ever greater.

Dozens and dozens of notes and comments, sticky tags, the like. Catch the poetic energy, just for one example, on p. 66, the internal rhyme, "Hour-a-day mental space to press pump cycle soar with sexy dancers grooving to The War." Amazing! Page 71 rates a huge exclamation mark from me. On page 77, a note saying "Would have out-Dintenfassed Dintenfass in 1970. Out-Bellows Bellow." As good as the best. Ever run across Mark Dintenfass? He and I overlapped in Iowa City 1970-71, he was under Richard Yates, came out right away with five or six novels--and has fallen into silence since. Had an energy in narrative to reckon with, though.

Page 82 gets "This is 1984 written for now, the way it's actually come about." My god, lines like ". . .for whatever we watched was watched simultaneously by millions. One could never be alone while watching."

The "Smoker's Ode" on p. 85 earns a huge exclamation mark. "The Missing Young" deserves prior publication in the New Yorker as poetry. The book just gets better and better, the chapter headings alone drawing crowds of neurons to them, and things like the dialogue among the furniture! Damn, it's good! "'It's about time someone told that guy off,' whispered the Rocking Chair to the Lamp.'" As delicate as Virginia Woolf and as crushing as William Burroughs. Whole chapters that way. Ditto with "The Solitary Novelist." Perfect down to every micron. And then--off goes the author again to the races, to the rest of the novel. There are writers whod've gotten stuck on the solitary novelist and pirandello'd and meta fictioned and forced whole novels out of it, but Adam Engel gives it a quick, unforgettable lick like it's never gotten before, or never gotten more expertly or knowledgably, and then he heads back to pasture, city, or mountain ranges to continue gathering up the rest of all, all, all there is to be gathered. I'm really in awe. The wife who died during cosmetic surgery (p. 164 and elsewhere), thus with the lop-sided face. In itself, a small tale of the time. Ditto as re. the solitary novelist. Perfect and never allowed to preach, but only to delight, albeit with the grim delight of Hamlet's graveyard scene. And the way the whole is tied and woven together throughout, a la page 216, "Soon, Plantman. Soon your story will be told." Yes! Will be, has been, and little does A.T. Rotious know what he's saying, or what the solitary novelist is "making" him say!!! As many levels of irony as in Don Quixote.

Thanks to the nth power for "Topiary." I bow in admiration and in gratitude.

Eric Larsen is the author of A Nation Gone Blind: America in an Age of Simplification and Deceit, I Am Zoe Handke, An American Memory, and the new novel (http://www.ericlarsen.info/end.19th.intro.html) The End of the 19th Century.

Topiary is Adam Engel's story. The myth of Adam Engel, aka Plantman, the Planetman, nurturing words.

It's the Bill Burroughs rendition of The Canterbury Tales. It's Dante sans Virgil wandering The City searching for D H Lawrence's Lost Girl. It's Yoda pacified, glad to be working the day shift, free of Spielberg. It's Cormack McCarthy's Kid on blue and pink pills, suffering from the Human Condition.

Do not ask what is It....

Topiary made me feel. And think. About language, mostly. How our lives are mostly Talk. Talk. Talkity-Talk.

Don't talk back!

I really feel, I really think, you should read this book, if you crave an inkling of what "It" is, the myth of Everyman.

Engel's inimitable capacity to penetrate the fog of false consciousness and shatter the holographic simulacrum most Americans perceive to be reality is on full display in Topiary.

Stylistically reminiscent of Kafka (imagine Plantman, Engel's protagonist, as K in The Trial), Topiary pierces the soft under-belly of the dystopic corporatism that manipulates and perverts nearly all that we think, feel, eat, say, and do via Plantman's meanderings through the myriad facets of the artificial and murderous construct we call 'civilization.'

As founding editor and publisher of Thomas Paine's Corner at http://www.bestcyrano.org/THOMASPAINE/, it was my privilege and pleasure to publish a number of chapters from Topiary before the actual release of this incredible book.

Topiary is the altering by manipulation and trimming of plant life to suit a particular purpose. In Adam Engel's tour du force of that name, those fashioning techniques have been successfully applied to an acquiescent citizenry.

Engel's 21st Century hero, Plantman, casts an observing eye on a Kafkaesque world in which humans have dutifully replaced robots in substance, interaction, and feeling - so much more cost-effective, easier to deal with, and no longer any need to kowtow to technogeeks.

Beneath the wry humor and subliminal pathos by which Plantman seemingly accepts the scheme of things, there arises an undercurrent of passive astonishment at what he knows is happening around him; fully sees what's happening around him; but still cannot quite accept that it is indeed happening around him - and therein lies his redemption.

The last century's Joyce and Orwell are brought up to date and beyond in Engel's dazzling writing reminiscent of the fast pace of Ginsberg and Kerouac (happily though in the latter, literate, and with punctuation). This is not bedtime reading. You may even have to think about it. Kudos to Engel.

Not all writers are artists, but with Topiary Adam Engel shows himself to be a true artist. He compellingly plays with form, meaning, the sounds and shapes of words, story, character, politics, morals, ethics, philosophy. This book is a large leap forward not only for philosophy but for the literary arts. Thank you Adam Engel.

My two-year-old son has hundreds of books and most of them are a chore to read. Tree Ring Circus is a genuine pleasure. It's not a very long book, so it's a good choice when it's already five minutes past bedtime. The illustrations are lively and the writing is clever. Most of the characters never speak, but they all have their own personalities and you can tell exactly what each one is thinking from the look on his face. The text has its own sense of comic timing. The author fills up the book with all kinds of little jokes. Just reading the copyright page is fun on its own. Buy this book and add it to your collection. You'll be glad you did.

A clever imaginative rhyme, however the most outstanding part of the book are the beautiful illustrations to be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

My 4 and [...] boys absolutely love this book. We read it repeatedly and it never gets old to them. At this point, they finish the lines, particularly the "Whopping Big Bee" part. A fantastic book that parents will be glad to read over and over again.

I bought this book for my son and he absolutely loves it. We read it every night and he points and names all the animals and counts them. I think it's a great toddler book.

We discovered Adam Rex after seeing his illustrations in "Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich," a book of amusing rhymes about familiar but disarming movie monsters (and their moster children) in compromising everyday situations. The illustrations of that book were half the fun, and so it is with "Tree-Ring Circus." The story is simple -- a few small animals assemble in a tree; a runaway clown joined by his animal cohorts from the circus, surreptitiously set free, climb up as well until an elephant climbs to the top bringing everything down. No deep meanings or lessons here, just silly fun, and the story moves quickly. Counting the animals in the tree as they're referenced in the story adds to the giggles.

Garry Marshall writes like he talks: FUNNY. His tales of happiness, hard work and inspiration are as entertaining as they are informative. This book has no lag, and actually should serve as a textbook to aspiring directors. I loved this book.

Garry Marshall is a true gem in Hollywood. He is a beloved and respected producer/director/writer/actor who never takes himself too seriously to appreciate life and his family and friends. In his own humorous way, Garry tells his story from his humble beginnings to his incredible career in TV and film. He has worked with some of the top actors in Hollywood and it is a total delight to read about the behind the scenes making of HAPPY DAYS, MORK AND MINDY and LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY along with his films BEACHES, FRANKIE AND JOHNNY, NOTHING IN COMMON and PRETTY WOMAN. Garry tells it like it is and doesn't hold back when talking about actors and studio executives. He also admits to his fondness for nepotism. Good timing and luck put Garry in the right place at the right time and he shared his good fortune with his sister Penny Marshall by helping launch her career. The book is filled with insight and revelations. Garry's anecdotes are too humorous to miss. How did they come up with the famous opening for LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY? How did he come to cast Robin Williams and Pam Dawber in MORK & MINDY? Despite budget restraints, Garry was able to create a very memorable opening for Bette Midler in the film BEACHES. It's fascinating to read how Garry created some of our most beloved TV shows and films. When a problem arose with a production, Garry found a solution. He never hestitates to admit to his failures and mistakes and never fails to give credit to others who have supported him. WAKE ME WHEN IT'S FUNNY is inspiring and a great motivator for anyone trying to aspire in any field...not just TV or film. Garry's honest and down to earth insight will leave the reader wanting more.

Pretty Woman has been my favorite movie since I saw in in the theater at the age of fifteen and since then Garry Marshall has been my favorite director. But Garry proved what a great person he is when I attended a book signing for this book back in 1995. I was only twenty, and pretty much the only young woman in line. Most of the people in line were young men giving him treatments, which really disgusted me. But when I finally got up there I just stared at him, the first thing he said to me was that I was very pretty, so I started crying like the girl that I am. He held my hands and just smiled at me, and I told him that Pretty Woman was my favorite movie and thanked him for making it and told him that I wanted to be an actress, so he signed my book "Andrea a very Pretty Woman here's hoping you Happy Days as an actress." that made me cry as well:) His daughter Lori was also very sweet which just proves what a great dad he is as well.

As for the book, of course it's fabulous! You get to learn behind the scenes info on, of course Pretty Woman, but all his other shows and movies as well. His sense of humor cracks me up, especially when he overheard someone talking about Exit To Eden saying "That movie was so bad he doesn't deserve to be Penny Marshalls father!" I laughed SOO hard at that. Not to mention that you can't help but love a director who thanks his wife at the end of every one of his films.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the ends and outs of the entertainment industry from a vetern who knows what he's talking about!:)

This book is a joy! Garry Marshall is a fine writer of jokes for stand-up comedians of yore, sitcoms &, apparently, of full-length show biz autobiographies. He discusses his life in an extremely entertaining way. His asides - about moviemaking, camerawork & tips on the directing/producing process - are enjoyable for everyone, not just aspiring filmmakers. There are (truly) laugh out loud sections as well (Two Words: Kathi Wathi)...this is a man who seems to live his life with passion & decency & drive, ALWAYS with the added bonus of humor. Yes, he dishes the "dirt" about his celeb peers, but in a completely non-malicious way. Best of all, here's a man who accomplishes much but doesn't take himself too seriously. Good-humored, good-hearted, crisply written & hilarious. Can't recommend this book highly enough!

A most amazing book about a most amazing man. Follow Mr. Marshall's assertive and generally hilarious approach to breaking into the world of comedy writing - and beyond. The book is a bit of a family affair (forward by sister Penny Marshall, and co-authored by daughter, Lori) chronicling his often hysterical trek from an allergy-laden childhood to the life of a very successful actor, writer, producer, and director. I've had the unique pleasure of meeting this man in person, and he truly is as determined, grounded and compassionate a man as this book reflects...all with that sparkling sense of humor!