Mention Appertaining To Books American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
| Title | : | American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot |
| Author | : | Craig Ferguson |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 288 pages |
| Published | : | September 22nd 2009 by Harpercollins (first published January 1st 2009) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Biography. Humor. Autobiography. Memoir |
Craig Ferguson
Hardcover | Pages: 288 pages Rating: 3.97 | 20495 Users | 1440 Reviews
Interpretation Concering Books American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
Reprinted from my website Secure Immaturity:I’m trying to love Craig Ferguson while I can because let’s face it world. . .Craig Ferguson is coming! I’m not one of those intellectual yuppies who hates anything mainstream but there is, admittedly, something really fun about liking something cult or limited in appeal because, well, you are kind of the hip (or hipster) guy or gal who caught on to something early. Craig Ferguson, and his late night talk show The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, is something cult. . .for now. Soon, the man will be in every one’s living room and that, while not any less entertaining, does damage the small world he once inhabited.
I’ve felt that Craig Ferguson has been the best talk show host for awhile now. I never deliberately watched him but whenever he was on or I caught an interview with him by accident or because I wasn’t watching a hundred other things, Ferguson always lit up my living/bedroom. He was/is spontaneous, witty, bizarre and odd but never, ever boring. Even David Letterman, who I always held as a late night champion over the Lenos and O’Briens of the world, can get dull from time to time. Ferguson, now a regular fixture at 12:15 on my bedroom television, never disappoints or loses his edge. And the United States is starting to pick up on it.
While his ratings appear to be steady and/or rising, Ferguson has been making the rounds and starting to get clout outside the nocturnal crowd. One aspect of this occurrence is his release of American on Purpose, his memoir. Unless your Joan Collins, memoirs aren’t released unless there is some actual interest in the subject at hand and since Ferguson’s star is rising, a book seems like the next logical step in making that star shine brighter and higher in the sky.
The book is immensely straightforward. It is bookended by the present day but, like most biographies, starts at childhood and goes right up into the current goings-on. I usually find this approach unbearable in biographies but Ferguson manages to focus more on the people in his life then the events which makes the sometimes standard everyday events seem emotional and interesting. Ferguson has to talk to people every night and engage them and he doesn’;t fail here. Instead of preaching about how a childhood event led him to where he is today he just describes what happened in a simple way and let’s you live in the moment.
This approach helps you get through the by the numbers outline of the book. That said, even if the chronology is by the numbers, Ferguson’s life was/is anything but. Having a career in Hollywood can be downright odd because you, as an actor/director/what have you, are judge by the material you are in/present/etc. By ‘celebrity’ standards, Ferguson’s life is fairly dull: a few movies, a few sitcoms, limited mainstream success or appeal and one guaranteed hit in the bag (his current show). By industry standards he is moderately successful and moderately interesting.
But Hollywood experience and life experience are two different things. Ferguson’s life, from the economically strapped slums of Scotland, to the busy, fast paced and drug fueled streets of New York to said Hollywood is full of larger then life characters, goings-on, cliques, celebrities of the eras, cultural importance and impact and even near death experiences. Oh and evil, attacking ducks too. Ferguson may have a run of the mill acting career but his life has stories that many would envy and others couldn’t dream of.
And most of it isn’t pleasant. Ferguson, while self deprecating throughout, is also brutally honest. Ferguson was an alcoholic, a cocaine addict and a marriage-ender by definition. While always having the ‘heart of gold’, Ferguson was irresponsible, rambunctious and destructive. In many areas of his history he faced death both by starring at the wrong end of a gun (thanks to an angry pimp) or by wishing to jump off a bridge. Graphic (but funny) hallucinations led to weeks of agony and frustration. Ferguson is always willing to make light of his troubles but never endorses them. He makes it clear his life was humorous but wrong. . .and is loving every minute of what he has now.
I think people will buy the book thinking it to be a slightly dark, completely hilarious book. Those people will be immensely disappointed. Ferguson manages to be very funny but the humor comes from his experiences and hardly from his meta-observations of theme during their telling. There is no observational humor here. . .just very direct confirmations of previous facts. This is also not a collection of humorous essays. This is a well told but simple biography that might rub people the wrong way. I was definitely expecting something else but wasn’t disappointed by what I did get in the end.
American on Purpose is a simple read and highly enjoyable if not, dare I say, life affirming. Sometimes when I think I have things bad I turn the page to the moment Ferguson was chased by psychotic hallucination-formed ducks or when he punches a cop in a drunken stupor. If that doesn’t ’sober’ you up then maybe something else in the book will. Either way: read it.
List Books As American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
| Original Title: | American on Purpose |
| ISBN: | 0061719544 (ISBN13: 9780061719547) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Grammy Award Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album (2011) |
Rating Appertaining To Books American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
Ratings: 3.97 From 20495 Users | 1440 ReviewsCriticism Appertaining To Books American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
One more review eaten before digested. Let's try again. I liked this book very much. I wrote about it once, but what I'm really remembering is the two shows he did as wakes: one when Johnny Carson died shortly after he had gotten the job, and later, the night his father died. He talks about them here. I was so glad.I'll never forget how he touched my heart. The genuine article. What a man. His book is wonderful, his reading is humorous, the the timing is perfect. What's not to love?This is a re read for me. I first read Craig Ferguson's autobiography back in 2009 when it was released. I really enjoyed reading it back then. My second go around was just as fantastic, and I am still amazed how crazy and missed up his life was back in the 70's and 80's. I really love the way Craig words his story, even though there are some very dark and sad moments, Craig gives great visions of places and people, that were a part of his life back then. Peter Capaldi was a name I didn't no
I really liked this! I don't read many celebrity books, but I've always loved Ferguson's Late Late Show, and I quite enjoyed his novel, Between the Bridge and the River. I guess you could call me a Ferguson fan. This book is witty and wise and fun, and I'm glad I got to hear about his pre-America days, about which I knew almost nothing. "Between safety and adventure, I choose adventure." Good words to live by.(P.S. It's totally worth it to listen to CraigyFerg read his own audio book.)
Contrary to the title (and that rather dashing tri-color kilt), very little of Craig Ferguson's memoir revolves around America. The country operates more as a mystical symbol for him; the alluringly earnest concept of a better life. The idea of "America" hooked him at an early age, when he was being beaten by his Scottish teachers and bullied by his classmates; when he was legitimately afraid to compete or excel and suffer the punishment such attention would accrue. In the grip of that
Background: I first heard of Craig Ferguson when a friend of mine came back from visiting her family in the USA and heartily recommended that I watch his show. Being from a country where hardly anyone even pays attention to American late night shows, where, if you're lucky, you can catch Conan O'Brien or Jon Stewart on cable with about a month's delay, I searched Youtube for Craig Ferguson. It didn't take long for me to get addicted. His fresh, honest, witty style, his unscripted monologues and
If you watch "Late Night with Craig Ferguson", you'll probably have some set expectations of this book. I expected an irreverent sense of humor; I got it. I expected profanity; I got it. I expected a thoroughly enjoyable read; I got it! I did however, with some trepidation, expect some graphic details of his life as an alcoholic; I didn't get that. Not that he glosses over that period of his life (it obviously had a major effect on who he is today), he just doesn't go into elaborate details of
Rating: 4* of fiveI like Craig Ferguson because he's got that knowing edge to his humor, he's letting us in on the joke, he's not just cracking wise. So that's why my review gives his memoir 4 stars: http://tinyurl.com/n4zn9uh
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