Synopsis
As one of America's most pre-eminent comedians, with 50 years worth of material and appearances on the international comedy circuit, George Carlin saw it all and made fun of most of it. Blending his signature acerbic humor with never before told stories from his own life, Last Words is part comedy routine, part reflection, and all original. Written with bestselling author Tony Hendra, Last Words is the story of the man behind some of the most seminal comedy and commentary of the last century.
Carlin's journey to stardom began in the rough and tumble neighborhoods of New York in the 1940s and '50s, where class and culture wars planted the seeds for some of his earliest material. Carlin describes his major influences as an up and coming comic, talking about the origins of some of his most famous stand up routines including the notorious Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television. Sparing no detail, Carlin describes his life and career, discussing his own...
The Washington Post - Jeff Nussbaum
George Carlin didn't want to write an autobiography in the classic sense. In his mind, only "pinheaded criminal business [leaders] and politicians" wrote autobiographies. The word he settled on to describe Last Words was "sortabiography." A comedian's sortabiography. But this description has it exactly backward. Last Words is indeed an autobiography—and quite a good one—by a man who, as he takes us through his life, reveals himself to be a sortacomedian. Yes, his albums were sold in record stores under the comedy heading, but what Last Words ultimately reveals is how Carlin became a political protester, slam poet, cynic, polemicist and performance artist whose messages were delivered under the veneer of humor.