Born Standing Up by Steve Martin

Quite often, when stand-up comedians write books, they are rarely auto-biographies. Rather, they are reprints of their most famous routines, which are enjoyable to read at first, but as the book ends, you realize you really haven't learned much about the subject. And quite frankly, there are very few comedians I would think would have the kind of self-awareness and integrity to write a proper, warts-and-all, autobiography. I mean, really who would want a fucking memoir by Carlos Mencia?



Funny, well-crafted, minimalist and absurd. If I had to describe Steve Martin's auto-biography, Born Standing Up, in one sentence... well.. there you go. My wife and I are fans of his novels Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Own Company. We found that the best way to enjoy either of those books is via book-on-tape, read by the author.

It's strange that I am a Steve Martin fan, because I really don't enjoy his stand-up. I'm not from that era of comedy. I grew up in the Eddie Murphy Era. The Steve Martin Era of comedy is just slightly before my time.



On the other hand his movies, writing and TV show appearances are enjoyable. Generally, when I view, read or listen to a Steve Martin performance, I can trust it will be quality entertainment. It's obvious the man works hard at his craft, and takes is seriously. He is economical in his gestures. He can be surreal but still dances within the limits of comprehension. Also he's maintained a sense of integrity that his peers have somehow lost. For example, Billy Crytal started funny and charming, and ended up boorish and pompous. Monty Python started out unique and daring and now have sold out to a degree that cannot be justified even by their self-awareness. Steve Martin on the other hand just writes his books and makes his movies and I still remain a fan.

This is all to say that Born Standing Up is a great book and is a quite enjoyable read. As good as the book is, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the book-on-tape version, read by the author is probably the better purchase.