Napalm and Silly Putty

Crusty George Carlin performs his own book of random musings on contemporary life. That the print version has hit the bestseller lists warms the flinty hearts of us pessimists and skeptics who have feared the goody-goodies had gained the upper hand. As always, he is perceptive, iconoclastic, and very, very funny. His humor derives from a wry common sense and an absurt way of expressing the absurdity of the human condition. Lacking a live audience, the stand-up comic's timing and energy seem forced. Otherwise, this is a more than satisfactory production of one of the most satisfying books of humor to come along in a decade. Y.R. 2002 Grammy Nominee for Best Spoken Comedy Album. 2002 Audie Award Finalist. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

Starred review from April 9, 2001
Politically incorrect comic and Grammy winner Carlin has shown no signs of burnout during a four-decade career arc—as solo stand-up, TV writer and sitcom actor (That Girl; The George Carlin Show), with 18 hit recordings and 10 solo HBO specials, plus film roles (Dogma; The Prince of Tides). Living in L.A. and Vegas, he continues to take his act to stages across the country. Four years ago, Carlin's huge fan following kept his Brain Droppings
on the New York Times
bestseller list for 40 weeks, so it's no surprise he's back for another round of acrid and oblique observations on modern mores. He covers a wide range of issues from rape and religion to the homeless: "There's no war on homelessness... it's because there's no money in it." And any topic is fair game: abortion, airport security, cars, funerals, language, organ donors, sports, technology, TV and war. On the latter, he says, "Men, insecure about the size of their penises, choose to kill one another." Over 100 scintillating short pieces are interrupted by loony lists and hundreds of clever one-liners. The fragmented format and colloquial style of writing suggest that much of this laugh-out-loud book is drawn directly from Carlin's stage act. Several satires here ("A day in the life of Henry VIII," a nine-page interview with Jesus, an avant-garde play program) indicate a different direction Carlin might consider for future books. (May 1)Forecast:HighBridge's abridged audiocassette and CD might lead some to peruse the book, which splashes in the wake of a massive Carlin retrospective ("From Class Clown to Social Critic") two months ago at the Museum of Television & Radio (N.Y./L.A.). With a 10-city author tour and national publicity, sales could equal those of , Brain Droppings (700,000 copies).