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seatonob's review against another edition
5.0
Rog Bennet’s latest is a love letter to America wrapped inside a coming of age tale.
It is written with wit and candor and was entertaining from start to finish.
It is written with wit and candor and was entertaining from start to finish.
adamrbrooks's review
5.0
Roger and I have been friends for several years. At least, that's how it feels after listening to him (and Davo) talk about soccer on "Men in Blazers" for hundreds and hundreds of hours.
So, I somewhat thought I knew what this memoir was about.
But just as, "Love you, Davo / Love you, Roger," is always the best part of every podcast, the book has so much more warmth and depth than I expected. It covers Ranch's time growing up in Liverpool -- in all its brutality, which he's only ever joked about on the show -- but not his adulthood in the US. It surprised me, but gave so much more insight into how bad England was in the 1980s, and why the trifles of US pop culture represented hope for him
(Also: Learned more about his penis -- and others penises -- than I might have expected.)
I expected the insights. I expected the laughs. I didn't expect as many gut-punch moments, including his vivid description of becoming a citizen. We're so lucky to have Rog as one of us.
Especially because he ALSO sees our flaws, and the places we can get better as a nation and as a people. His reaction to people thanking him for "taking the legal pathway" to becoming a citizen: "This assumption was made because I am white, funny and on television, and ignored a truth that I had first arrived here on a three-month tourist visa and simply never left."
SOME GOOD LINES
"I know some of this will sound trite. A love of a nation based on the largely fictional stories, images, and myths it peddles about itself." (So important as we re-examine what we tell ourselves about ourselves."
"At a time when the world cries out for the kind of global leadership that once enchanted me, America's soft power has imploded."
"I realized I was about 90% composed of inhibitions, that without them I would be nothing."
"English cars came in black, brown and dull. American wheels were fiery red, brazen blue, shimmery lime. This magical land I had coveted from afar was becoming more real with every passing mile."
"Britain was the darkness. I had found the light."
"Why fight when there were so many better things to do?"
"Liverpool had not tamed the Beasties. We had merely brought them down to our level of hopelessness." (This is especially interesting when you know how Mike D and AdRock feel about this stage of their career.)
"Two thousand people had paid for tickets to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience, only to realize they would gain more pleasure from destroying it."
So, I somewhat thought I knew what this memoir was about.
But just as, "Love you, Davo / Love you, Roger," is always the best part of every podcast, the book has so much more warmth and depth than I expected. It covers Ranch's time growing up in Liverpool -- in all its brutality, which he's only ever joked about on the show -- but not his adulthood in the US. It surprised me, but gave so much more insight into how bad England was in the 1980s, and why the trifles of US pop culture represented hope for him
(Also: Learned more about his penis -- and others penises -- than I might have expected.)
I expected the insights. I expected the laughs. I didn't expect as many gut-punch moments, including his vivid description of becoming a citizen. We're so lucky to have Rog as one of us.
Especially because he ALSO sees our flaws, and the places we can get better as a nation and as a people. His reaction to people thanking him for "taking the legal pathway" to becoming a citizen: "This assumption was made because I am white, funny and on television, and ignored a truth that I had first arrived here on a three-month tourist visa and simply never left."
SOME GOOD LINES
"I know some of this will sound trite. A love of a nation based on the largely fictional stories, images, and myths it peddles about itself." (So important as we re-examine what we tell ourselves about ourselves."
"At a time when the world cries out for the kind of global leadership that once enchanted me, America's soft power has imploded."
"I realized I was about 90% composed of inhibitions, that without them I would be nothing."
"English cars came in black, brown and dull. American wheels were fiery red, brazen blue, shimmery lime. This magical land I had coveted from afar was becoming more real with every passing mile."
"Britain was the darkness. I had found the light."
"Why fight when there were so many better things to do?"
"Liverpool had not tamed the Beasties. We had merely brought them down to our level of hopelessness." (This is especially interesting when you know how Mike D and AdRock feel about this stage of their career.)
"Two thousand people had paid for tickets to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience, only to realize they would gain more pleasure from destroying it."
gkillian's review
5.0
There few people I know in my life that have amazed me with their storytelling ability. Roger Bennet is chief among them. Thanks for giving me hope, and giving me courage.
tracithomas's review against another edition
2.0
Let me just say I love Rog. The audiobook is A+. He reads with so much conviction. It’s like hanging out with a pal.
I thought this book would be about Rog’s rebirth as an American in America and not the story of only his childhood in Liverpool (and one trip to Chicago). I also did not card for the obsession with hooking up with girls. It felt icky because there wasn’t much reflection on the topic. Same with his love of the USA it felt juvenile and there wasn’t ever an adults reflection on all that mattered to him as a kid. I wanted more nuance and explanation and less recounting childhood stories.
I thought this book would be about Rog’s rebirth as an American in America and not the story of only his childhood in Liverpool (and one trip to Chicago). I also did not card for the obsession with hooking up with girls. It felt icky because there wasn’t much reflection on the topic. Same with his love of the USA it felt juvenile and there wasn’t ever an adults reflection on all that mattered to him as a kid. I wanted more nuance and explanation and less recounting childhood stories.
toffeeredraider's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
katemc's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
I really like Rog, he’s a charming funny man. I enjoyed this book! I think his humor doesn’t come to life as much on the page as it does IRL, but there were still many very funny lines mixed in with tender and poignant reflections and analysis in very classic Rog style.
I think just falls a bit into the classic celeb memoir of why this story why now? The content was good! Just felt a bit slice of life and without a super evident conclusion, seeing as it ended just as he finally arrived in America. The epilogue helped round it out with the grappling with an idealized idea of America versus the complex and very messy reality but that seems more coincidental based on current events rather than intentional. I think it would have been a bit stronger if that was a main theme or was more fully fleshed out in a full section about his life in US.
Still enjoyed! Ultimately a common thread in celeb memoir lol.
I think just falls a bit into the classic celeb memoir of why this story why now? The content was good! Just felt a bit slice of life and without a super evident conclusion, seeing as it ended just as he finally arrived in America. The epilogue helped round it out with the grappling with an idealized idea of America versus the complex and very messy reality but that seems more coincidental based on current events rather than intentional. I think it would have been a bit stronger if that was a main theme or was more fully fleshed out in a full section about his life in US.
Still enjoyed! Ultimately a common thread in celeb memoir lol.
sydneydismukes's review
4.0
After realizing that most of the people I admire are hardcore supporters of English Premier League football, I recently started watching more of it myself. This led me to the Men in Blazers podcast, which provides amazing commentary -- not just on what happened during the matches, but also the culture of each team, the towns that support them, and the humanity behind this beautiful sport. I quickly became obsessed with co-host Rog's humor and personality. So when I heard he had a book out, I immediately went and rented it from the library.
Being raised in a small town in Alabama instills a certain affinity to escapism in each angsty, introverted teenager living there. I became obsessed with pretty much any country and culture that wasn't my own (which explains how I've come to have the career I have today), so I felt immediately linked to young Rog who wanted nothing more than to leave his home and live in the country of his dreams. I loved every second of reading his memoir, which had me crying one moment and then laughing the next.
The only things I wish Rog could've included more of in this memoir were his life right after immigrating to the U.S. and his journey to becoming such a successful football broadcaster today. Otherwise, really good read! So good that I finished in two sittings!
Being raised in a small town in Alabama instills a certain affinity to escapism in each angsty, introverted teenager living there. I became obsessed with pretty much any country and culture that wasn't my own (which explains how I've come to have the career I have today), so I felt immediately linked to young Rog who wanted nothing more than to leave his home and live in the country of his dreams. I loved every second of reading his memoir, which had me crying one moment and then laughing the next.
The only things I wish Rog could've included more of in this memoir were his life right after immigrating to the U.S. and his journey to becoming such a successful football broadcaster today. Otherwise, really good read! So good that I finished in two sittings!