Humor

Napalm and Silly Putty

Name: Napalm and Silly Putty
Author: George Carlin
ISBN: 9780786887583

by George Carlin

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Overview

The #1 New York Times bestseller with more than 450,000 copies in print offers up a hilarious and "entertaining" [Chicago Sun-Times] collection of razor-sharp observations -- now available in paperback!

Spending more than 15 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in hardcover, George Carlin, the thinking person's comic, has made it very clear how successful he is at the transition from stage to page. In Napalm & Silly Putty, Carlin's characteristically ironic and hilarious take on life shines through. He asks:

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"

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"?

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.

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.

About the Author, George Carlin

George Carlin's television breakthrough came in the 1960s with his Hippy Dippy Weatherman character. Since then he has released 18 hit comedy albums, won two Grammy and two Cable Ace awards, and starred in 10 solo HBO comedy specials. In addition, he has starred in 10 movies, including Dogma, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, and The Prince of Tides, as well as in his own sitcom. He lives in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but spends much of the year performing to sold-out audiences across the country.

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Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
Whether 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

The cranky comic's jackhammer attack is at full blast in his new book.

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.

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

Publishers Weekly

Politically incorrect comic and Grammy winner Carlin has shown no signs of burnout during a four-decade career arc as solo stand-up, TV writer and sitcom actor (That Girl; The George Carlin Show), with 18 hit recordings and 10 solo HBO specials, plus film roles (Dogma; The Prince of Tides). Living in L.A. and Vegas, he continues to take his act to stages across the country. Four years ago, Carlin's huge fan following kept his Brain Droppings on the New York Times bestseller list for 40 weeks, so it's no surprise he's back for another round of acrid and oblique observations on modern mores. He covers a wide range of issues from rape and religion to the homeless: "There's no war on homelessness... it's because there's no money in it." And any topic is fair game: abortion, airport security, cars, funerals, language, organ donors, sports, technology, TV and war. On the latter, he says, "Men, insecure about the size of their penises, choose to kill one another." Over 100 scintillating short pieces are interrupted by loony lists and hundreds of clever one-liners. The fragmented format and colloquial style of writing suggest that much of this laugh-out-loud book is drawn directly from Carlin's stage act. Several satires here ("A day in the life of Henry VIII," a nine-page interview with Jesus, an avant-garde play program) indicate a different direction Carlin might consider for future books. (May 1) Forecast: HighBridge's abridged audiocassette and CD might lead some to peruse the book, which splashes in the wake of a massive Carlin retrospective ("From Class Clown to Social Critic") two months ago at the Museum of Television & Radio (N.Y./L.A.). With a 10-city author tour and national publicity, sales could equal those of Brain Droppings (700,000 copies). Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

The venerable iconoclast Carlin scores again with this collection of anecdotes and barbs. Sometimes juvenile, often curmudgeonly, Carlin is best when he goes to the edge. When he takes on air travel, he's mildly humorous; when he compares cats and dogs, he's fairly funny. Those are just warmups, however, for his attacks on sacred cows. The war on drugs, he asserts, would better be called "the war on the Constitution." As for kids, he states, "Your children are overrated and overvalued." He decries the loss of hazardous toys: "Whatever happened to natural selection?" He even argues for taxing churches and calls cemeteries a waste of valuable land. As he says, "If honesty were introduced into American life, everything would collapse." While the book is a print best seller, Carlin's inimitable raspy delivery lifts the tape to another level. Note that there is regular, though hardly inappropriate, vulgarity. For all humor collections. Norman Oder, "Library Journal" Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.