Rate this book

How I Got To Be Whoever It Is I Am (2009)

by Charles Grodin(Favorite Author)

2.84 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0446519405 (ISBN13: 9780446519403)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Grand Central Publishing

review 1: This book made me admire Mr. Grodin's value system. He is a nice guy who tries to be a man of his word and kind to people which is unusual in the world, especially in the world he works in. The book, in telling his stories, often time did not name the people and that was disappointing. He just wasn't quite willing to share it all so it made the book a little shallow for me ... not that I wanted a "tell all" but if you are going to tell the story, tell who was involved. Being the private person he is maybe that is all he could give the reader and I can respect that... but would I read another of his books? - probably not.
review 2: First Line: “My first memory of something having a powerful, lasting effect on me came when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on D... moreecember 7, 1941.”I saw an interview once with Cameron Crowe in which he said that his movie “Almost Famous” was like blowing a kiss his early years as a roadie/music reporter and the people who’d been part of those experiences. I think, in a similar way, How I Got to Be is Charles Grodin’s kiss-blowing to his own past, both his boyhood and his journey from theatre to film to journalism. And it’s a sweet kiss.Grodin’s newest book includes behind-the-scenes tales that feature actors, directors, writers, producers, journalists and politicians with whom he’s worked. It’s best to think of this book as a collection of essays. Other than Grodin himself, there’s no cohesive thread throughout. There’s a chapter about Dustin Hoffman and the movie The Graduate, a chapter about Grodin’s perspective on doctors and modern medicine, a chapter about Grodin’s work in Washington, D.C.I had not known that Charles Grodin was such a political activist. In fact, he’s received the William Kuntsler Award for Racial Justice and has been honored by Habitat for Humanity for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of the homeless. One of my favorite anecdotes in How I Got to Be was the one in which Grodin describes his experience making a documentary with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. The three created a primetime special with actual footage from Vietnam, to explain how and why Simon & Garfunkel were writing anti-war music.Your Father’s Day shopping begins and ends here. As I was reading this book, I made a mental note just about every other page that this would be a great gift for my dad or either of my grandfathers. Despite the fact these three men wouldn’t agree with Grodin’s politics, I doubt they could resist the wry humor and honest appraisal of a life well-lived that Grodin offers in How I Got to Be Whoever It Is I Am. less

Download links for: How I Got to Be Whoever It Is I Am

Advertising