Synopsis
In this fiercely intelligent and strangely detached memoir--a portrait of the comic as a young man--Steve Martin describes the formation of his unconventional comic style, and reveals that for all his apparent zaniness, he approached his craft with the thoughtful precision of a mathematician. Martin's sharp analysis of his own psychology is particularly interesting, especially in his revelations about his father, a cold, brutal, silent man who wrote a disparaging review of his son's first SNL appearance. As a boy, Martin found solace and relief from his icy family life by devoting himself to comedy, meticulously honing the art of laughter, though he remained emotionally withdrawn. Even in the midst of his madcap Dadaist performance, his brain, he tells us, viewed everything from a distance, taking notes in a nearly clinical fashion on his actions and the audience's reactions. His look back at his early days provides unusual insights about Steve Martin as a human being and a comic, and about the nature of comedy itself.

Details
Publication Date:	2007-11-20
Narrated by:	Steve Martin
Edition Description:	Unabridged

Size
Height:	5.8 in
Width:	5.5 in
Thickness:	1 in
Weight:	5.6 oz

Publisher's Note
The Emmy Award-winning comedian shares the stories of his years in stand-up comedy in a humorous memoir that recalls a first job selling guidebooks at Disneyland, his early magic and comedy act, his years of honing his craft, and the sacrifice, discipline, and originality it took to take him to the top, set against the backdrop of the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s. Simultaneous.

Industry Reviews
"Steve Martin's BORN STANDING UP is a spare, unexpectedly resonant remembrance of things past...a smart, gentlemanly, modest book."
(11/16/2007)

"[Steve] Martin conducts his chaos from a cool remove; what you admire is the ordering intelligence behind the mess."
(11/18/2007)