Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
Ratings56
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings56
Average rating3.9
The author shares the stories of his years in stand-up comedy in a humorous memoir that recalls a first job selling guidebooks at Disneyland, his early magic and comedy act, his years of honing his craft, and the sacrifice, discipline, and originality it took to take him to the top.
Reviews with the most likes.
Like many memoirs, the early years started a little slowly. It was nice to see where Steve Martin came from, but the real fun came in the second half, and the book became a real page turner.
Listened as an audiobook. Very interesting glimpse into Steve Martin's life.
I'm not a huge Steve Martin fan or anything, but I picked this up because it was on sale and I had heard good things about it. And it was fairly interesting. His humour comes through in the writing and he is open and honest about his personal relationships with his family and with women.
I was hoping it would cover a little more later into his life, but as the title suggests it mostly focuses on his stand up days (as well as his early life and breaking into the comedy business).
I have never seen any of Steve Martin's stand up routine nor have I ever listened to any of his albums, but I didn't feel lost or confused even though this book is about him honing his act. The lessons of persistence are universal, except Martin can be funny while talking about his experiences.
