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Overview
A hilarious new collection of razor-sharp observations from the New York Times bestselling author of Brain Droppings..Few comics make the transition from stage to page as smoothly or successfully as George Carlin. Brain Droppings spent a total of 40 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and this new one is certain to tickle even more ribs (and rattle a few more cages) with its characteristically ironic take on life's annoying universal truths.
In Napalm & Silly Putty, Carlin doesn't steer clear of the tough issues, preferring instead to look life boldly in the eye to pose the questions few dare to ask:
--How can it be a spy satellite if they announce on TV that it's a spy satellite
--Why do they bother saying "raw sewage" Do some people cook that stuff
--In the expression "topsy-turvy," what exactly is meant by "turvy"
And he makes some startling observations, including:
--Most people with low self-esteem have earned it.
--Guys don't seem to be called "Lefty" anymore.
--Most people don't know what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.
Carlin also waxes wickedly philosophical on all sorts of subjects, including:
--KIDS -- They're not all cute. In fact, if you look at them closely, some of them are rather unpleasant looking. And a lot of them don't smell too good either.
--DEATH ROW -- If you're condemned to die they have to give you one last meal of your own request. What is that all about A group of people plan to kill you, so they want you to eat something you like
Add to the mix "The Ten Most Embarrassing Songs of All Time," "The 20th Century Hostility Scoreboard," and "People I Can Do Without," and you have an irresistibly insouciant assortment of musings, questions, assertions, and assumptions guaranteed to please the millions of fans waiting for the next Carlin collection -- and the millions more waiting to discover this comic genius.
Add to the mix "The Ten Most Embarrassing Songs of All Time," "The 20th Century Hostility Scoreboard," and "People I Can Do Without," and you have an irresistibly insouciant assortment of musings, questions, assertions, and assumptions guaranteed to please the millions of fans waiting for the next Carlin collection-and the millions more waiting to discover this comic genius.
Synopsis
Few comics make the transition from stage to page as smoothly or successfully as George Carlin. Brain Droppings spent a total of 40 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and this new one is certain to tickle even more ribs (and rattle a few more cages) with its characteristically ironic take on life's annoying universal truths.
In Napalm & Silly Putty, Carlin doesn't steer clear of the tough issues, preferring instead to look life boldly in the eye to pose the questions few dare to ask:
- How can it be a spy satellite if they announce on TV that it's a spy satellite?
- Why do they bother saying "raw sewage"? Do some people cook that stuff?
- In the expression "topsy-turvy," what exactly is meant by "turvy"?
- Most people with low self-esteem have earned it.
- Guys don't seem to be called "Lefty" anymore.
- Most people don't know what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.
USA Today
Carlin has refined the art of verbal deconstruction of issues great and small . . . The cranky comic's jackhammer attack is at full blast in his new book.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewWhether it involves musing on the inevitable and annoying ironies of everyday life, spouting off about anything and everything that gets his goat, or just plain figuring out new and improved ways to be difficult, George Carlin's comedy is incorrigible and unmistakable. Following the runaway success of Brain Droppings, Carlin now delivers all-new rants, what-ifs, observations, and out-and-out damnations in his cantankerous new collection, Napalm and Silly Putty.
Carlin is at his best taking on the whole world and telling it like it is -- or at least how he sees it. From the "Airline Announcements" section ("...here's a phrase that apparently the airlines simply made up: near miss. Bull****, my friend. It's a near hit! A collision is a near miss.") to "Cars and Driving" ("One of the first things they teach you in Driver's Ed is where to put your hands on the steering wheel. They tell you to put 'em at ten o'clock and two o'clock. Never mind that. I put mine at 9:45 and 2:17. Gives me an extra half hour to get where I'm goin.' "), Carlin takes you on a wild ride through a life you'll never look at the same way again. He identifies the experience of "vuja de" -- "the distinct sense that, somehow, something that just happened has never happened before" -- and posits existential questions including, "If there really are multiple universes, what do they call the thing they're all a part of?" and "If the reason for climbing Mt. Everest is that it's hard to do, why does everyone go up the easy side?" Of course, it wouldn't be George Carlin if he didn't say a whole lot more that we just can't print here!
Including more lists of things he's had just about enough of, and hilarious short takes that will put you in stitches, Napalm and Silly Putty is Carlin's comic opus on life at the dawn of the 21st century. In it, he asks, "Have you ever started a path? No one seems willing to do this. We don't mind using existing paths, but we rarely start new ones. Do it today. Start a path. Even if it doesn't lead anywhere." Carlin has certainly started his own path -- read Napalm and Silly Putty and decide for yourself where he's going. (Elise Vogel)
USA Today
Carlin has refined the art of verbal deconstruction of issues great and small . . . The cranky comic's jackhammer attack is at full blast in his new book.USA Today
The cranky comic's jackhammer attack is at full blast in his new book.From The Critics
Then there's George Carlin. He's back with a new collection of essays, opinions, jokes and rants: Napalm & Silly Putty. The legendary comedian, who narrates the audiobook, can be crude and scatological, but he can also be surprisingly insightful. His topics include consumerism, air traffic, death row and his version of the sporting life. Carlin has a rich, velvety voice and a practiced delivery that has been honed over the last forty years. Always the colorful entertainer, he does not disappoint those anticipating some dirty language.—Rochelle O'Gorman