Rickles' Book: A Memoir

I bought this because I know Don. He is a bit under appreciated with the kids these days. Check out why he was so influential and why to be insulted by Don is an honor. He is a living piece of America history, entertainment and otherwise. He is also a very kind and very funny guy.

This book was very funny. Just could not put it down. When reading you could hear his voice.

Don't bother, a waste of time. You will feel conned. I never really liked his bigoted, racist and hurtful denegrading of all cultures, especially Spanish/African Americans. He denegraded all cultures, but not his own jewish culture. Posterity will judge rickles unkindly, as it should any bigot. Some/many comedians use comedy to hide their hate, but deliver their bogoted diatribes, like rickles, to get 'his,'hate messages out their - with a smile. His guilded, candy-coated comedy is loaded and cleverly calculated, with hurtful, demeaning, intent underneath. Ad Nauseum. Not a nice person or a person to admire.

I have been a HUGE fan of Don Rickles for decades and was so excited to get this book since having seen him, watched him and known about him I knew his life would be amazing and the book just let's you know what an amazing life he has indeed led. Unfortunately, this book reads like seeing an apartment through the windows of a passing el train - nothing solid, no flow whatsoever and nothing to bring you in. The average chapter is like 3 pages and if you are thinking to yourself, that's not enough to really get into depth about anything, you are absolutely right - a perfect example is a time on stage he talks about where Sinatra doesn't even recognize him and he knew something was wrong - he doesn't get into it anymore, doesn't talk about anything more about it - just leaves you lacking and the whole book lacks with it - thoroughly disappointed in what could have been and should have been an AMAZING book - true and big fans will find some laughs but there is nothing here that frankly, the really big fans will not already have heard him talk about before many times over (ie. the Carson broken cigarette box/CPO Sharkey story) - save your money and wait for someone to write a biography, the auto biography seems to have been written by someone who wasn't interested in telling his life story and that is a true shame for anyone as interested as I was to read it.

I didn't scream with laughter the way I do when he's talking, but I could hear his voice in the book. Too short I think, but it's not some detailed biography--it's a quick presentation, like his typical stories. I reckon if you hadn't heard him talk, it wouldn't read as funny as it does for me. But Mr. Rickles has class and heart and that comes through loud and clear; and that counts for a lot.