humor

This is the best way to get to know Lenny Bruce -- Lenny in his own words. Yes, Lenny Bruce broke down social barriers and is the father of modern comedy. You've probably already heard that his struggles with the law bankrupt him and eventually left him dead -- that story is here too. But the main thing you take away from this book is HOW Bruce earned his reputation as a ground-breaker -- he got there by being funny. Its Lenny's storytelling that keeps you captivated and laughing -- the controversy around him is just material for some of those stories. Lenny tells great stories, and while this book is a David vs Goliath story, it is also a rags to riches story, a legal thriller, a behind-the-scenes of showbiz story, a love story, and much more. This autobiography is a great place to get to know Lenny Bruce. Its easier to digest than his often hard-to-find recordings and its really funny. Funny. That's all you really need to know before you pick up this book.

Before i read this book i didnt know who Lenny Bruce was. A friend handed me this book; he had picked it from a second hand book seller. This book could have been written by any-one who went through adolescence with open eyes, alert senses, open disposition towards the anti-matter of our social fabric. Lenny in the book breaks taboos, creates new idols, whispers sad thoughts (when he writes that "no one can go home again"), shouts in hope that one day the world will be a better place to live for all those who suffer from man made, antiquated ideas about morality. I swear the book is not funny; it may make you laugh but sure as hell it will make you cry as well.

Lenny Bruce, though a profligate by some standards, comes across as a persevering and sincere man in his own way. His agenda is to break the convention and to push the envelope of the society through humor, to uncover the hypocrisy and to bring out the truth from beneath the sheets. Still, relative to the title, and contrary to Bruce's reputation, I found the book's humor less than satisfying.