He's no dummy....

TITLE: All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed, and Me

AUTHOR: Jeff Dunham

REVIEWED BY: Cleggy

BRIEF SUMMARY: "His YouTube videos have been viewed more than 400 million times by fans all over the world. He has played to sold-out venues across North America, Europe, South Africa and Australia. He has sold more than six million DVDs, Forbes has ranked him in their Celebrity 100 list of most powerful entertainers for two years running, and he has been the top touring comedian in the United States for the last two years. Whether he's breathing life into an old curmudgeon, an over- caffeinated purple maniac, or a screaming, skeletal, dead terrorist, Jeff Dunham is the straight man to some of the funniest partners in show business.

All by My Selves is the story of one pretty ordinary guy, one interesting hobby, one very understanding set of parents, and a long and winding rode to becoming America's favorite comedian. With wit, honesty, and lots of great show business detail, Jeff shares all the major moments in his journey. From the toy dummy he spotted at a toy store when he was 8 years old to playing to arenas filled with screaming fans, Jeff takes readers behind the curtain to explain how he turned an old fashioned art form into something truly modern and hip. Best of all, Jeff's story is accompanied by asides and interruptions from his characters-who share all the hilarious details Jeff himself is too embarrassed to include." (Summary from the published book)

WHY I PICKED IT UP: I have always enjoyed ventriloquists, and I remember Jeff's routine from years ago (pre-Achmed, when he mainly used Walter and Peanut).  I wanted to read his story and find out why he's one of the most popular standups today.

WHY I FINISHED IT: It was both fascinating and hilarious.  Jeff's personality really comes through.

WHO I’D GIVE IT TO: People who like biographies, comedy, or who are curious about ventriloquism or standup comedy.

OTHER NOTES AND CONTENT WARNINGS: Fascinating and funny, I would definitely recommend this to any of my interested adult friends.  There is quite a bit of bad language (mostly PG-13 level, although the F-bomb is dropped a time or two).

"Luck" has got nothing to do with it...

TITLE: I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59

AUTHOR: Douglas Edwards

REVIEWED BY: Cleggy

BRIEF SUMMARY: "Comparing Google to an ordinary business is like comparing a rocket to an Edsel. No academic analysis or bystander's account can capture it. Now Doug Edwards, Employee Number 59, offers the first inside view of Google, giving readers a chance to fully experience the bizarre mix of camaraderie and competition at this phenomenal company. Edwards, Google's first director of marketing and brand management, describes it as it happened. We see the first, pioneering steps of Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the company's young, idiosyncratic partners; the evolution of the company's famously nonhierarchical structure (where every employee finds a problem to tackle or a feature to create and works independently); the development of brand identity; the races to develop and implement each new feature; and the many ideas that never came to pass. Above all, Edwards—a former journalist who knows how to write—captures the "Google Experience," the rollercoaster ride of being part of a company creating itself in a whole new universe.

I'm Feeling Lucky captures for the first time the unique, self-invented, yet profoundly important culture of the world's most transformative corporation.." (Summary from the published book)

WHY I PICKED IT UP: I was curious as to how Google got to be one of the top businesses in the world, and couldn't pass up the opportunity for an insider's view.

WHY I FINISHED IT: Filled with fascinating people, the book is hard to put down.

WHO I’D GIVE IT TO: People who like nonfiction, books about business and/or computers, or just stories about interesting people.

OTHER NOTES AND CONTENT WARNINGS: Overall, this is a fascinating behind-the-scenes view of Google and how it started. From its origins as a college project to global domination of every aspect of your daily online life, Doug Edwards traces the day-to-day operations of the company and the men and women who made it what it is.

Be warned that there is some bad language.

A corpse is a corpse, of course, of course...

TITLE: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

AUTHOR: Mary Roach

REVIEWED BY: Cleggy

BRIEF SUMMARY: Stiff is a fascinating book -- often sidesplitting in its humor -- that explores what might happen to someone's body after they die.

While death is a serious subject, and the act of death is not something to be laughed at, the attitudes of people over the centuries regarding the human body makes for a fascinating book. And the subjects themselves -- the people who were in the bodies prior to death -- are always, always treated with respect. (Well, in modern times, at least. We can't speak for those in past centuries, who did some pretty horrible things in the name of "science" and natural curiosity.)

From testing the first guillotines, riding in the NASA space shuttle, and helping to solve the mysteries of airplane crashes and other unsolved deaths, human cadavers have helped scientists make great strides in making our world what it is today -- for better or for worse. And they are still on the front lines when it comes to developing new medical procedures, safety mechanisms, and other medical and scientific breakthroughs.

And even when the going gets decidedly grisly and macabre, Roach is always there with a quip, and observation, or just another way of looking at things that keeps it all in perspective.

WHY I PICKED IT UP: I have a rather macabre sense of humor, and have always been fascinated by the rites and rituals surrounding death and dying.

WHY I FINISHED IT: Two words: Mary Roach. Her writing style is conversational, funny, and fascinating. She puts things in plain-English terms, and makes even the most disturbing aspects of death easier to read about through her humor.

WHO I'D GIVE IT TO: Given the topic, I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone, but to anyone with an appreciation for the macabre or an interest in funeral practices, I would not hesitate to suggest it.

ADDITIONAL NOTES/WARNINGS: Infrequent language, plenty of gruesome details about cadavers and the human anatomy. People who are easily upset by such things should stay away.