Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

Executive Summary: Interesting, but not as funny or intersting as I hoped. I have a new appreciation for Mr. Martin's rise to fame though. If you're interested in the business of stand-up comedy, you may find this one a better read than I did.

Audiobook: Mr. Martin does an excellent job narrating his own book.

Full Review
I was born in the early 80s so Steve Martin the comedy movie star and SNL Host was part of my childhood. Steve Martin the stand-up comedian was not. I was too young.

I was interested in his rise to fame, and he covers that well here. There was a good mix of childhood/family anecdotes mixed in with career stories that show how he went from being a nobody to being the top stand up comedian and why he walked away. OK that sounds like the book blurb, but really that's exactly what you get here.

For someone as funny as Steve Martin though, it wasn't that funny. He mentions a few jokes here and there, but his execution in the audio is that of a narrator, rather than a stand up.

The book is pretty good evaluation of his career and early life, but it's not a comedy book. If you're looking for that, you'll be disappointed. It's a short read but I'm glad I picked it up. It makes me glad I never wanted to be a stand up comedian, or in show business of any kind for that matter.