I’d read good things about this book for a little while but I assumed it was just another comedian celebrity writing a book to make some money. Since I usually spend money on those exact books, I bought this with one of my first Audible credits. I’ve always thought that comedians who read their own books are the very best of narrators so it seemed like a safe pick. I’d watched the Daily Show with Trevor a few times. A little less often than I did the Jon Stewart version but not much less. In fact, I’d say I watched more DS with JS once he announced he was leaving than I ever did before. Now, I have young children so I just don’t have the energy.
I was in between books this summer and so I finally listened to Born a Crime and it is outstanding. It feels like someone who tells the best stories is sitting in the car with you and just ripping off story after story while you laugh and cry. The book feels SO genuine and honest. Trevor is a great storyteller and I cannot get the part about Hitler breakdancing out of my head. I could explain that more but I can’t imagine a better tease than that and I’m not doing it justice.
After reading this book I still don’t watch the Daily Show more but I do watch individual clips and his between scenes videos several times a week, a HUGE frequency increase for me. I especially like his between the scenes stuff as it feels a lot like this book. I will preorder his next book, another uncommon move for me, as soon as it is available. I won’t just recommend this book, I recommend you listen to this book. You will not regret it.
I loved this book, too. If you feel like wading into the morass, there are some very adamant reviews of this book on Goodreads that insist the Hitler chapter shows that Noah is anti-Semitic. I lost a good couple of hours to them, because they were so baffling.
Thank you for the head’s up! I will avoid the pit.
Edit: I did not avoid the pit.
I must say that I try really hard to see things from the perspectives of others and I do not understand this one at all. The criticism over the Hitler dancing seems woefully misunderstood by its detractors. It’s like they know Hitler is bad so anything that mentions him must also be bad.
I thought that Noah did a great job relaying the situation in a funny manner which was compounded by his own ignorance (at the time). I thought his explanation of the way he and his friends felt about THE Hitler made complete sense to me and I found it an interesting take that I have not experienced myself, not could I experience it myself. Even without that honest and enlightening background, the story was funny.
TL;DR – Myopic white knights try to save us from the wrong Hitler.
There was one review that persisted even after many, many commenters explained the context. I had to stop reading after a while!
I also fell a bit in love when I listened to this book earlier this year. With less than three months left in the year it is in definite running for top five.
I’m inclined to agree!
Great review, loved this one, too. I keep recommending it to my dad but he’s never done audiobooks so I am not sure he’ll ever try it.
I also watch more of him from Between the Scenes than the actual show!