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Seven Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin Audiobook
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(3.02) - 355 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In Seven Dirty Words, journalist and cultural critic James Sullivan tells the story of Alternative America from the 1950s to the present, from the singular vantage point of George Carlin, the Catholic boy for whom nothing was sacred. A critical biography, Seven Dirty Words is an insightful (and, of course, hilarious) examination of Carlin's body of work as it pertained to its cultural times and the man who created it, from his early days as a more-or-less conventional comedian to his stunning transformation into the subversive comedic voice of the emerging counterculture. Sullivan also chronicles Carlin's struggles with censorship and drugs, as well as the full-blown renaissance he experienced in the 1990s, both personally and professionally, when he became an elder statesman to a younger generation of comics who revered him. Seven Dirty Words is nothing less than the definitive biography of an American master who changed the world and also a work of cultural commentary that frames George Carlin's extraordinary legacy.
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"Finished "7 Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin" by James Sullivan. This covered his career from very early until his death in 2008, including his military experience, his idol (Lenny Bruce), his various routines and how some of them evolved, his influence on censorship and law, his relationships and even his hairstyles. Best enjoyed with an open mind. After I finished it, I went on Netflix and watched about 4 hours of his routines."
— Brett (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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Sullivan convincingly makes the case that for 50 years Carlin 'may well have produced more laughs than any other human being.'
— Dwight Garner, The New York Times -
“Sullivan convincingly makes the case that for fifty years Carlin ‘may well have produced more laughs than any other human being.’”
— New York Times -
“Sullivan has done an outstanding job…positioning the late comedian George Carlin as a counterculture icon whose loathing of hypocrisy and love of language changed comedy forever.”
— Boston Globe -
“Sullivan dissects the comedian’s classic iconoclastic routines, probes his working methods and successfully captures his rocketlike ascent to fame.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“An excellent account of the life and work of an important and greatly missed artist.”
— Booklist
Seven Dirty Words Listener Reviews
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" I thought from the title that this book might be similar to the dry but fascinating (at least for First Amendment nerds) The Trials of Lenny Bruce, focusing on Carlin's court battles, and in particular the 7 Dirty Words Supreme Court case. Turns out, it's pretty much a straight biography covering Carlin's entire career. A lot of of the material here will be familiar to anyone who's read Last Words (Carlin's autobiography), but Sullivan provides a lot of context that's missing in Carlin's memoir, along with accounts from the other people involved in various incidents. "
— Steve, 2/16/2014 -
" Audio version read by George's brother George, who sounds oddly very much like him. "
— Byron, 2/13/2014 -
" Carlin was a genius. This book details the myriad of reasons why. No one can come close to the wise old man. "
— Ann, 2/3/2014 -
" The part about George Carlin's early life is interesting. The later part of the book is just a listing of his performances. It does not deeply go into his work. It is not a funny book. "
— Celia, 1/18/2014 -
" Just listened to this on audiobooks. Interesting to contemplate how much things have changed since the 1950s! "
— Sandy, 1/14/2014 -
" I found James Sullivan's biography about the iconic comedian a must read for all George Carlin fans. "
— Tracy, 1/9/2014 -
" If you don't know why George Carlin is important, but want to, then this book will spell it out for you. Letter by letter, job by job, word by word. Sometimes that is done well, here, it seems a bit dogged and labored. "
— Jules, 1/4/2014 -
" love george carlin, did not know these details of his life "
— Kelly, 12/22/2013 -
" Not always as well written as I would have liked, and it often felt like the author had too much information that he wasn't quite allowed to fit in to the length of the book, but I was glad to get a chance to learn a bit more about a man I've admired for some time. "
— Rebester, 11/27/2013 -
" I've read hundreds of bios. James Sullivan is unique in his attention to backstory, making each making each entry about his subject that much more interesting "
— Matt, 11/23/2013 -
" The writing was surprisingly dry in some parts - but it was still a decent read. "
— Violet, 11/20/2013 -
" No insightful comment here..... It was ok. "
— Howard, 11/20/2013 -
" Great insight into the life and times of the great man. "
— Mark, 9/3/2013 -
" Could use some tighter editing, seemed like there were stories that didn't really connect to the rest. "
— Sarah, 5/17/2013 -
" Not quite in the same league as Carlin in his own words (Last Words), but it would be pretty tough to make someone as outspoken as George Carlin uninteresting. "
— Dan, 12/14/2011 -
" did not begin to do justice to the wild-eyed magic that was george carlin. the basic facts are there, and some interesting tidbits besides, but the writing read like a fifth grader's report on their favorite celebrity. bo-ring. how do people like this get published? eesh. "
— trina, 9/27/2011 -
" Very good book. Well written and clear. Sullivan managed to put George Carlin's life in an easy to understand perspective without losing everything that made Carlin a leader in comedy. "
— Angela, 9/14/2011 -
" An unbiased look at a comic genius. Painful at times. Always interesting. And honest. "
— Ward, 7/23/2011 -
" Along with Lenny Bruce and Bill Hicks, George Carlin was a comedian that transcended comedy to become a philosopher. If you think that that sounds a little too deep then just read this book to see that that is a fair summation. "
— Steve, 7/3/2011 -
" Did not enjoy this at all. Too bad "
— Jennifer, 1/28/2011 -
" I really wanted this to be funnier. Informative though. "
— Heather, 12/29/2010 -
" Well who've thought? A biography of George Carlin that manages to be dull, plodding, and heavy-handed. I kept listening thinking it had to get better... "
— Lisa, 11/6/2010 -
" No insightful comment here..... It was ok. "
— Howard, 10/29/2010
About James Sullivan
James Sullivan is an author and journalist who has written for the New York Times and National Geographic Traveler, the magazine. He was born and raised in Quincy, Massachusetts, and has an MFA degree from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He lives with his family outside Portland, Maine, 3.4 miles from the birthplace of film director John Ford, who steamed into Omaha Beach on the USS Plunkett.
About Alan Sklar
Alan Sklar, a graduate of Dartmouth, has excelled in his career as a freelance voice actor. Named a Best Voice of 2009 by AudioFile magazine, his work has earned him several Earphones Awards, a Booklist Editors’ Choice Award (twice), a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, and Audiobook of the Year by ForeWord magazine. He has also narrated thousands of corporate videos for clients such as NASA, Sikorsky Aircraft, IBM, Dannon, Pfizer, AT&T, and SONY.