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A review by cheryl6of8
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned by Alan Alda
4.0
A friend gave me this as an audiobook, which made it a perfect choice for my drive home from visiting family in NJ this weekend. More than one person has told me not to get audiobooks read by the author (exception: Neil Gaiman), but I think Alan Alda is another exception. His voice is so distinctive and so familiar that it would have been odd to hear someone else talk about his life, especially his time on MASH and Scientific American Frontiers.
I enjoyed the way he found a recurring theme or two in his life and returned to them as touchstones throughout the story. The concept of having his dog stuffed and the contrast between appearance and reality is especially appropriate for a story about a life in show business and about being the son of a mentally ill mother. Alda turns out to be a more fascinating individual than I expected with a more complicated background than most people know. The combination of biography and philosophy worked well, in part because of who the public Alan Alda is and our relationship with him. An enjoyable ear-read that I look forward to sharing with other audiobook enthusiasts this weekend.
I enjoyed the way he found a recurring theme or two in his life and returned to them as touchstones throughout the story. The concept of having his dog stuffed and the contrast between appearance and reality is especially appropriate for a story about a life in show business and about being the son of a mentally ill mother. Alda turns out to be a more fascinating individual than I expected with a more complicated background than most people know. The combination of biography and philosophy worked well, in part because of who the public Alan Alda is and our relationship with him. An enjoyable ear-read that I look forward to sharing with other audiobook enthusiasts this weekend.