Amazon.com
American comedian Andy Kaufman (1949-1984) was a performer like no other--a rule-breaking iconoclast who blurred the line between performance art and comedy, at times between life and art itself. Misunderstood by the public at large during his lifetime, and embraced by a cult of fans that has consistently grown since his premature death from cancer, Kaufman is the perfect counter-cultural martyr, ripe for a Gap khakis ad. Like Lenny Bruce before him, Kaufman chafed at the reigns of comedy; he didn't always want to make people laugh, in fact he wished to make them uncomfortable. One might consider those notorious French bad-boy playwrights Alfred Jarry and Antonin Artaud (who pushed the envelope of good taste and thoroughly enjoyed confusing their audiences) to be Kaufman's spiritual predecessors, though this might be taking things too seriously. His most well-known routines--the inept stand-up comedian "foreign man," the basis for the character Latka Gravas on the hit sitcom "Taxi"; the grizzled, professional lounge lizard Tony Clifton; and the reigning world champion of inter-gender wrestling--all hinged on making the crowd squirm. Life was a show for Kaufman, who began staging elaborate shows for friends and family at the age of 7; everything was a put-on and yet totally, dead-on serious.

Judging by Bob Zmuda's book (released in anticipation of a biographical movie starring Jim Carrey), Kaufman wasn't the easiest guy to be a best friend to. But, as Zmuda tells things, he rose to the challenge--letting Kaufman confide that he had a daughter he'd never seen, keeping his mouth shut at the appropriate times, and otherwise fulfilling best-friend duties with aplomb. Andy Kaufman got the friend he deserved in his lifetime, but this is not the biography he deserves; it is written in a well-meaning though hackneyed and hard-to-digest style. Simple points are made again and again, as if the two(!) authors were attempting to fuse a poorly-written college essay with a USA Today article. And Mr. Zmuda makes the mistake of assuming that his own history will be of much interest to the reader, who is ostensibly reading a tell-all about Kaufman, not his best friend. There are tremendous anecdotes here; about half the book is filled with glorious tales of artful mischief, hijinks, pranks, and funny stuff that Zmuda and Kaufman pulled on friends, crowds, and strangers. Fans will undoubtedly want to pick this one up, while those with a more casual interest are cautioned to perhaps look elsewhere for a less clumsily written tome. --Mike McGonigalBook Description
Best known for his sweet-natured character Latka on Taxi, Andy Kaufman was the most influential comic of the generation that produced David Letterman, John Belushi, and Robin Williams. A regular on the early days of Saturday Night Live (where he regularly disrupted planned skits), Kaufman quickly became known for his idiosyncratic roles and for performances that crossed the boundaries of comedy, challenging expectations and shocking audiences. Kaufmans death from lung cancer at age 35 (hed never smoked) stunned his fans and the comic community that had come to look to him as its lightning rod and standard bearer. Bob Zmuda, Kaufmans closest friend, producer, writer, and straight man, breaks his twenty-year silence about Kaufman and unmasks the man he knew better than anyone. He chronicles Kaufmans meteoric rise, the development of his extraordinary personas, the private man behind the driven actor and comedian, and answers the question most often asked: Did Andy Kaufman fake his own death? A movie about Kaufman starring Jim Carrey, directed by Milos Forman, and co-executive produced by author Bob Zmuda and Danny DeVitos Jersey Films, is scheduled for national release in fall 1999.Download Description
Kaufman's closest friend breaks his 20-year silence about the star and unmasks the man whom he knew better than anyone, chronicling Kaufman's meteoric rise, the development of his extraordinary personas, and the private man behind the driven comedian. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (114)

I agree: Mr. X himself is worth your time
If "Man on the Moon," which depicted the trite TV reruns of Kaufman's wrestling shows bored you, you should read this book. Milos Foreman probably believed that Zmuda's insights were unappealing to mass movie audiences... which is why his film failed.

...and I must write that I have read biographies about Napoleon Bonaparte, Benjamin Franklin, Friedrich Nietzsche, etc... but no one fascinates me quite as much as "Mr. X." When I read Zmuda's descriptions about him, I laughed so hard that I almost literally could not breathe. Zmuda did not diagnose him, but allow me: a paranoid schizophrenic who has a seemingly bottomless war chest. He is "carpe diem" gone absolutely insane.... and a part of me hopes he is alive.

A Must-Read!
Andy Kaufman was a fascinating man who proved to be more complex than any of his maddening performances.Now, Andy's best friend and confidant ever, has given us a first-hand account of what Andy was really like and how he pulled off his greatest skits.Zmuda traces out Andy's career, from when he first started playing local comedy clubs, up to the appearance of Tony Clifton a year after Andy's death, and provides plenty of laughs as he describes how fearlessly Andy toyed with his audiences.
If you are searching for information on Andy's home and family life, you won't find it here (and if that is what you want, I suggest Bill Zehme's "Lost In The Funhouse").Zmuda focuses primarily on the experiences that the two shared.But the stories he shares are pure gold and you learn much about how they wound up in the entertainment world and how they turned it completely upside down.Andy didn't just put on a show, he yanked his viewers into his own reality where he was both puppet master and behavioral scientist.This book really captures that spirit.

Unsung Hero
I first learned of Andy Kaufman after seeing Man on the Moon, featuring Jim Carrey starring as the late "song and dance man."I use the term song and dance man, because Kaufman never thought of himself as a comedian, he was only a song and dance man - an entertainer.This book provides an in-depth look into the mind of Andy Kaufman through his best friend and producer, Bob Zmuda.I never thought I would be so inspired by this book.The way that Andy saw the world was so different that he influenced many comics that perform today.He thought of audience entertaining him, and himself being their audience.It is really hard to explain how amazing this book is without actually reading it.If you saw Man on the Moon and liked it, you will no doubt love this book, because it takes the movie to a whole new level.I only wish Andy were around today to keep influencing others and changing comedy as we know it.

Then again, maybe he is still alive.I guess we'll never know...

Revisionist History
While this book is certainly a must read for diehard Kaufman fans (myself included), as it offers a few tidbits on Andy not found elsewhere, it serves mostly as a vehicle for Zmuda to attempt to overcome his feeling slighted at not receiving enough credit for Kaufman's work. Apparently, Zmuda was the brainchild behind most of Kaufman's schemes. I don't doubt that Zmuda was an important person in Andy's life and collaborated with Andy, yet Zmuda makes it known that Andy wouldn't be anything without him--an idea I find ludicrous.

A better book is Bill Zehme's biography of Kaufman, Lost in the Funhouse, which seems more even handed in its treatment of Zmuda's and Kaufman's collaboration.

So, read Zmuda if you must, but know that Zmuda's book is of firstmost importance to Zmuda himself.

A rebuttal to the review by Mike McGonigal
I read this book twice so far, and it is one of the most inspiring and informative pieces of work on Andy Kaufman.He is an idol of mine for reasons beyond his "comedic" ways.But instead of me raving about Kaufman, I would like to comment on some things written by Mike McGonigal in his review.He states that Bob Zmuda made a bad decision to inform readers of his friendship with Kaufman; and also personal happenings and whatnot.Basically, he's saying Zmuda shouldn't have included stories of his own history.Mike McGonignal also states that the reader "is ostensibly reading a tell-all about Kaufman, not his best friend".Perhaps true for some, but I don't appreciate being told why I read a book.And perhaps I'm overreacting, but my point is, I prefer to hear Zmuda's history and any other personal bits of information he decides to tell about.This is also a good writing tactic because it's a way of showing credentials for their history and friendship.McGonignal also stated that "Simple points are made again and again, as if the two(!) authors were attempting to fuse a poorly-written college essay with a USA Today article".I may not be a so-called professional writer as of yet, but I've been writing for a while and study closely to styles of writing and comedic ways.With that, Zmuda's biography about his best friend was meant to be more of an informative and personal piece of literature; opposed to a masterfully written piece that McGonignal was maybe making an excursion for.The way it was written, I felt like Zmuda and I were just chilling out in a room and he was telling me stories of what went on, and how they planned and organized certain "bits", if at all.Zmuda took a personal journey into his past, his mind, and into his best friends unexpected short life.He uncovered secrets that were kept for many years by Kaufman and Zmuda's most trusted family and friends; only to be told when the time was right.Unfortunately the right time followed Kaufman's death.If readers only wanted facts and stories about Kaufman and his many antics, or only had a "casual interest", then they could simply tune in to the television and catch an Andy Kaufman special which document those such things and tend to dwell on the Foreign Man character or his dead-on Elvis "empression".Readers that want to find out the roots of these characters, hijinks, pranks, bordello-outings, inter-gender wrestling, and so on should read this book; and will appreciate it. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Bill Zehme's biography of comic actor/performance artist Andy Kaufman (subject of the feature film Man in the Moon) is a meticulously researched, eminently readable, and very strange book--this last being perhaps no surprise given its subject. Written over a six-year period, Lost in the Funhouse is crammed with details gleaned from interviews with the actor's family, friends, teachers, coworkers, and unwitting participants in Kaufman's pranks. In particular, the book provides great insight into Kaufman's early life in Great Neck, NY, his relationship with transcendental meditation, and his first forays into nightclubs in the early '70s. Zehme, author of The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin', weaves together multiple narratives from varying perspectives, including passages in which the author appears to have entered his subject's brain. Zehme did have access to unpublished letters and manuscripts (which fans would certainly like to see published on their own one day), but the only person who could legitimately verify the accuracy of these passages is no longer with us.

At its best, the book approaches that apex of artful celebrity bi-fiction, Nick Tosches's Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams. The transitions from one perspective to the next are a bit jarring at first, but once the reader gives in to Zehmes's collage of multiple personalities, one is considerably closer to understanding the book's subject. Kaufman was nothing if not a collection of various intense personalities: the young boy continually mourning his grandfather's death; the likable and naive Foreign Man; the talentless and irascible lounge singer Tony Clifton; the bliss-seeking student of TM; the devoted and loving son who never had anything to do with his own child; and world champion of inter-gender wrestling. Lost in the Funhouse is the one Kaufman tome that will please neophytes as well as those with their own Andy Kaufman Web sites. --Mike McGonigalBook Description
From Bill Zehme, renowned journalist and author of the New York Times bestseller The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin', comes this masterful biography of the late comic genius Andy Kaufman.

Based on six years of research, Andy's own unpublished, never-before-seen writings, and hundreds of interviews with family members, friends, and colleagues, Lost in the Funhouse takes us through the maze of Kaufman's mind to see, firsthand, the fanciful landscape that was his life.

Andy Kaufman was often a mystery even to his closest friends. Remote, aloof, impossible to know, his internal world was a kaleidoscope of characters fighting for time on the outside. He was as much Andy Kaufman as he was Foreign Man (tenk you veddy much), who became the lovably dithering Latka on the hit TV series Taxi. He was a contradiction, a paradox on every level, an artist in every sense of the word.

In Lost in the Funhouse, Bill Zehme sorts through a life of misinformation put forth by a master of deception to uncover the man behind the legend. Magically entertaining, it is a singular biography matched only by its singular subject. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (62)

Lost in the Funouse
This was an entertaining bio of Andy Kaufman although I think some of what made it into this book is probably a figment of the authors imagination because I don't think even those who were closest to Kaufman really knew what was going on inside his head. Fun to read, great stuff about Kaufmans legendary bizarre work, life and habits. Kaufman was a true original.

A Stellar Buy!
For all Kaufman lovers and those not familiar with the entertainment genius this book is a must have.Zehme does a stellar job of rummaging through countless interviews and inside information to dig for the truth of an extremely complex man. It is highly recommended that you read both "Lost in the Funhouse" as well as "Andy Kaufman Revealed" by best friend Bob Zmuda.I recommend reading this book first.There is much information in this book that is uncovered in the Zmuda book.However, the same goes for this book compared to the Zmuda book.Zehme spends an equal amount of time on Kuafman's personal and professional life.The author does such a wonderful job of opening Andy's world to the reader that, by the end of the book, you feel an undeniable connection to the late, great genius.Thus, the book saddens the reader when Andy meets his supposed demise.
A great book on all levels and a definite must have for any Kaufman lover or new reader without previous knowledge of the great "song and dance man".FIVE STARS!

Andy Kaufman Revealed
I was first introduced to the comic stylings of Andy Kaufman when I was eight years old; I turned on the t.v. and there he was being voted off Saturday Night Live. Kaufman intrigued me, and my interest in his work was further heightened with the release of Man on the Moon a few years later. That being said, I started reading Lost in the Funhouse as a way to get information for a research paper I was writing on Kaufman, but Bill Zehme's book entertained me so much that I read the entire thing. Writing about the performance style of Andy Kaufman can't possibly be an easy thing to do, but Zehme does so with grace and clarity, not sparing any tidbit of information that led to Kaufman's career. The best thing about Lost in the Funhouse is that Zehme has been able to capture pure Kaufman-esque moments from his early childhood. The way Zehme presents the material is like Kaufman wrote it himself, and it is by far the best information I've gotten on Andy Kaufman to date. Zehme's book is a must-read for any fan, as well as those who detested Kaufman, because it shows Kaufman as brashly as he could have ever hoped.

Great, but sad too
Zehme does a magnificent job prtraying the life and attitude of Andy though Andy's biography.In my opinion Andy was an amazing artist who revolutionized entertainment.He was truly an avant-garde and eccentric individual.Ahhh, I'll try to keep this a reveiw and not a glorification of his life!!!He was amazing and Zehme does an amazing job with the story of Andy.I reccomend this book for Kaufman fans or anyone interested in comedy, absurdity, or creativity. Just be prepared for the ending-keep some tissues next to your bed while reading the final chapters.

Well-written biography of a peculiar man
Accomplished journalist Bill Zehme tackles a difficult subject when he decides to write about the private life of Andy Kaufman. Kaufman is so conflicted that his private persona cannot be wrapped up into a tidy package, which makes it impossible to reduce him to a chapter-sized description.

There are lots of contradictory opinions of the way that Kaufman viewed the world, and viewed himself. Rather than picking a majority opinion and going with it, Zehme has given us all of those fragmentary glimpses of his life, and we are left to draw the conclusion that Kaufman himself didn't really understand who he was.

Anyone who has ever laughed at any of Kaufman's spectacular performances will enjoy this book, which does describe many of Kaufman's bits in a way that allows the reader to appreciate their humor. This is also a look into the entertainment industry from the perspective of an outsider; Kaufman was a peculiar bird in Hollywood, as he could entertain audiences, but couldn't mesh with the political machine that assigns roles to tinseltown's denizens.

This is a good, solid biography of an interesting subject, and is worth the time it takes to read. ... Read more

Book Description
Andy Kaufman defied explanation. But between 1978 and 1979, acclaimed New Yorker short story writer Julie Hecht attempted to arrange an interview with him, hoping to discover how he came to do what he did.The one-hour interview turned into innumerable surreal meetings and phone conversations with her subject; but she couldn't always tell when his act was on.

Whether driving recklessly on icy roads, or drawing the author unaware into his schemes and dada-esque pranks on unsuspecting waiters and college students, Andy Kaufman never seemed to separate himself from his stage personality--or personalities. Was This Man a Genius? is the culmination of a series of bizarre, frequently hilarious meetings; In describing them Hecht, herself a master of wit and observation,illuminates the enigma of Andy Kaufman's work and life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

What's really genius
is how anyone could manage to sell a book that is written so dryly and with so little flare about a man who was all about flare.

This book, while it's interesting to read about real Andy experiences, does not do the artist any service. It's text-book dull, though fortunately not nearly as long.

I believe this is a valuable book. However, it could have been executed SO much better by the author.

Context is everything here
Look, those of us who have read "Do the Windows Open"and "The Unprofessionals"know that Julie Hecht is a fabulous talent whose wit and wisdom is both as ideosyncratic and as it is humane.Knowing her body of work helps a great deal here.What we get is vignettes of two very interesting people who bicker quite a bit--but have kinship--and a shared vision.In my opinion they both see the world as an absurd place--Andy Kaufman chose to make a big deal out of this--let everyone in on the secret.Hecht seems more inclined to let the readers come to her.Those readers who suggest that Kaufman did not like Hecht miss the point of the book--He got from her some one who wasn't in on the game--but had caring for him as a person.
Readers will enjoy the relationship, and the book for what it is--a passing of like visions in different personalities.

Insight into Man who was Strange, Totally Unique Comic
Julie Hecht followed Kaufman around sporadically over a couple of years, trying to nail down some facts about his inspiration, his life, for Harper's.

Kaufman did appear to have some affinity for Hecht, in contrast to her report of another press interview she witnessed, hanging around for her own time with the performer.

This stripped-down book is almost the word-for-word transcripts of those furtive interviews.Sitting down with Hecht at diners, grabbing a taxi together, Andy let down his guard just enough times to offer up interesting facets of who he was.The interview Julie has with Kaufman's mother is creepily illuminating.Many revelations for the careful reader.

I found it engrossing.Perhaps best enjoyed by readers willing to set aside everything else they've read, concluded about the man.

An inside look at Andy
I believe the savage reviews here are unjustified. Several state that the author was not an admirer of Andy's work. Not true! She mentions 3 or 4 times that she (and her husband)were devoted fans of his comedy. Nor does she attempt to portray herself as a witty "sidekick". Did these folks READ the book? As for the book, it recounts many experiences between the author and Andy which were very, very funny.

Waste of A Book
I bought this book expecting some laughs and insight into Andy Kaufman.What I got was a self-serving book by a very annoying author who basically has nothing worthwhile to say.Andy Kaufman blew the author off for years, presumably because she was (1) annoying and (2) boring.Then, years later after he's dead, she writes a book basically setting herself up as some kind of witty side kick who gave Andy all these wonderful straight lines.No.Actually you bored Andy, were about as much fun as a wet disrag, and will bore anyone foolish enough to but this book.What a wasted opportunity.Hey Andy:you were right in not wasting too much time on the interview. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

A for effort
This book could change your way of thinking about two of the most important realms of your world: what's "out there" and what's "in here" - it changed mine. For a book with such an impact, you might wonder why I only offer a stingy 4-stars. My concern is that since powerful ideas, like powerful chemistry, often depend on context (or `medium'), they may only explode on me (on you) if our intellectual medium is currently primed with the right elements. Mine was. Hopefully my writing about the book will help you establish whether it will be a bang or a whimper for you.
Florian Keller's book is not just another "Tao of Kaufman", not merely another anxious new age gathering of science about the skirts of wishful metaphysics. It combines some of the better points of both, though, to present two startling ideas. Keller's application of these two ideas is to weaving together the strange edges of `out there' reality, as described by modern quantum physics, with the quicksilver ghost in the machine, the `in there' of your consciousness. I've seen a few books that attempt this by basically claiming "it sure is spooky out there" and "its pretty strange in here" and using little more that wishful thinking to posit a link. Florian Keller does more.

The two ideas that Florian Keller's book startled me with can seem simple when stated - you may think you've already thought them. He builds a case for claiming that parts of the biochemistry of the brain are driven by processes, not at the level of chemistry, but at that of quantum physics. Along with this he proposes a mechanism for extending the magnitude of intra-brain communication between neurons to suggest a combinatorial explosion in the already dauntingly large number of possible connections and states in the brain. Around these two ideas he then considers what consciousness might be and hints at linkages between Taxi & Blassie.

This idea of looking biochemical processes at the quantum level took me by surprise. If, like me, you've explored layperson's introductions to the strange reality characterized by Tony Clifton, you probably thought of that realm as fundamentally separate from Kaufman. After all, its quarks and tachyons and oddly behaving particles and forces and fields are orders of magnitude smaller than that of even an atom, and are rarely described in aggregate - just isolated particles doing odd things. How amazing, then to rise up a level and to look at neuro-chemical processes, mediated by single electrons, and consider the impact of quantum elements on those electrons and those processes. Florian Keller does this quite effectively after an extensive introduction to and overview of the physics and the neuro-chemistry of Andy Kaufman.

The second powerful idea, the operational details of which I'll leave to your reading, expands the already demonstrably huge potential of Andy Kaufman to have sucessfully faked his death. Consider the example of "If I Faked It" the Andy Kaufman story, clustered in twos and threes. At any given time there could be at most 25 or 30 conversations. The opportunity for individuals (and good hosts) to move between groups expands the numbers of interpersonal contacts enough that it could develop into a `good party' over the course of the evening. Now what would happen if all 50 could speak to all the rest and hear what they were saying? The number of potential conversations explodes to a very large number. Of course the opportunity for chaos is tremendous - but if, somehow, properly coordinated, the prospect for powerful networking is all the greater. Florian Kellerproposes such a mechanism for Andy Kaufman's "death"; a way in which each neuron can communicate not merely with the 5 or 20 or even 100 to which it is interconnected, but to any of the other billions.

The failings of the book are few, but worth mentioning. Florian Keller appears to want to build his `story' from the outset, around a tale of a "death hoax" (really!). This may be true, or merely a styling that seeks to tie very airy ideas to real folks. Certainly we wonder at such things more often than we do at the workings of neurons. So I kept reading those interspersed segments thinking they would satisfy some other element of the argument, but they never did. Unless you find them engaging you can skip them and stick to the main argument(s). Of course Florian Keller may have just added these bits to give a breather from the heavier going of, especially, the cancer stories. Roughly the first 60% of the book is a pretty serious look at this piece of the argument and it can be slow going at times. I'm a fairly brainy guy, but I have to admit that I would struggle now to recall and outline the details of this piece of the argument. Its important to move beyond mere "faith" in even a `scientific' claim that things are "spooky" in the world of Andy Kaufman - but once you are convinced by the illusion you can move ahead with the revised knowledge that things are "demonstrably spooky."

The elements that Florian Keller does not belabor gain force by mere suggestion. Important among these is the ultimately-developed notion that some of the counter-factual things that "If I Faked It" states as reality, and their demonstrated association with an important role for observers, are bound through this proposed quantum element of brain chemistry and consciousness. From here we are free, I suppose, to tie-in our own favorite unexplained phenomena - Florian Keller doesn't push it. Although he somewhat overmentions his credentials I don't think he is, actually, a practicing Kaufman fan. His back-cover vitae notes, instead, his leadership of a `cancer institute' and we can assume he is professionally interested in Heartbeeps & I'm from Hollywood issues and healing. Good for him. This book may take you there or elsewhere - it led me to lots more reading about "consciousness" - but I'm sure it will move you, someway, into valuable explorations of both inner and outer. Enjoy both "If I FakedIt" and "The Book of Illusion" details of which are found at www.thebookofillusion.com.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

GOD - Andy's One Man Play Unleashed for all!!
Andy Kaufman's "GOD. . .and Other Plays" is a must read for all hardcore Kaufmaniacs.

Andy's tour de force is the opening play titled "GOD", which he performed in a local campus coffee shop during his Grahm Jr. College days.In GOD, Andy developed what could be construed as a stream-of-consciousness technique during portions of this work, and it contributes a remarkable means of character portrayal, combining it with the use of mimicry of speech and the parody of literary styles as an overall method. Similar to "The Huey Williams Story", GOD is written in what appears to be the form of an interrupted series of dreams. Symbolizing all humanity, the main character, Tinctured Puncture, his friends, and his acquaintances blend (as characters/images do in dreams) with one another and with various historical and mythical figures.

Strangely, a character named, Larry Prescott, is an allegorical figure representing Elvis Presley.

Judged on it's own merit, GOD is probably nothing more than the inspired work of a stoned sophomore in a high school Creative Writing class. But devoted fans of Andy Kaufman will, no doubt, read this story, smile at each other and nod knowingly, trading in the coinage of a simple tale, acknowledging a shared passion. To see Andy perform this one-man, one-act play live on stage must have been a sight to behold!

Andy's love and devotion to writers such as, Jack Kerouac, Thomas Wolfe and Walt Whitman are present throughout GOD". Many of the pages flow with the beat of a free-flowing prose. Some of his word-play rings true to the sounds of improvisational jazz.

Like his hero Kerouac, Andy's writings are forged and popularized in a jazz-flavor. It is a rebellious and personalized style of prose. ... Read more

Product Description
A new self-help bestseller takes the world by storm. Millions learn they can acquire their dream home and shed extra pounds sing an ancient secret, formerly reserved for a select few. How do you discern if the latest secret is the path to fulfillment or a recycled lie? In Shining the Light on The Secret, author Andy Kaufman responds to Rhonda Byrne's best-selling book The Secret from a Biblical worldview. Does the Bibleteach the Law of Attraction? Is the Universal Mind just another way to refer to God? When a friend or family member asks questions about The Secret, are you prepared to respond? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Learning the Secret
Thanks Andy Kaufman for sharing your incredibly helpful and well-written book that does in fact "Shine The Light on the Secret" for us.Your style did not "spoon-feed" all of the answers to the reader, but raised the questions that should be asked by any conscientious believer and/or person who refuses to be swayed by whatever teaching happens to be promoted at any given time. Thanks again for an excellent tool that can be shared with those who are dissatisfied with the message of The Secret and wondering what to do with the answers that popular culture have provided.

Shameful to exploit Andy Kaufman
I think it's too horrible for words that those scammy "The Secret" people would bring the late comedian Andy Kaufman back from the dead to write some sort of testimonial to their rehash of "Think and Grow Rich" and other pseudo-spiritual "prosperity thinking" blather. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

a profoundly magical adventure!
I read this book five years ago and it still remains my favorite.It's so very extremely precious to me.If you have an open mind to endless possibilities that need no explaination... if you want to read a book that comes from a pure place and travels beyond the norm of the collective imagination... if you LOVE Andy Kaufman for ALL he did and ALL he was in ALL of his myriad dimensions then you MUST read this book!Andy lives on and I feel less alone.

Brilliant
The book is unedited and Andy wasn't known for his literary skill, so it's not exactly polished.There are numerous spelling errors and the prose isn't beautifully composed and the book isn't finished, but the ideas and twists within are amazing.

It starts off a bit confusing, then it seems like a sweet little personal story and then it becomes increasingly more bizarre with every page.The progression seems natural though, so no matter how bizarre it gets, it all seems perfectly logical.

... ... Read more

Product Description
Practical lessons on how to manage and lead change using tools and techniques proven in the real world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Navigating the winds of change
This is an outstanding read. Full of practical and useable advice and stratgies ... Read more

Amazon.com
Earlier editions of O'Reilly's Running Linux served as central guides on installing, configuring, and using the OS. The third edition of this guide covers the kernel through version 2.2.1 and will prove especially useful to those with high technical aptitudes and a well-tested willingness to experiment with their computing environments.

The explanation of how to rebuild the kernel--a particularly daunting task for many--deserves special praise, as do the sections on configuring network links and servers. Users will find that the informative, prose-heavy style packs maximum information into this book's pages. For example, the purpose of a Linux element is described and then the reader is shown various ways of using it, complete with explicit statements of what you type and what you get in response. Back this book up with a good command reference (Linux in a Nutshell is solid), and you'll be well on your way to Linux mastery. --David Wall

Topics covered: KDE and Gnome windowing systems; Samba, file, and system management; shells; windowing systems and networking; installation on Alpha, PowerPC, Motorola 680x0, and Sparc boxes.Book Description
Linux is the most exciting development today in the UNIX world - and some would say in the world of PC-compatible.A complete, UNIX-compatible operating system developed by volunteers on the Internet, Linux is distributed freely in electronic form and for low cost from many vendors.Its software packages include the X Window System (X11R6); Emacs and TEX; a complete software development environment including C, C++, Perl, Tcl/Tk, and more; libraries, debuggers, multimedia support, scientific and database applications, and much more.Developed first on the PC, it has been ported to many other architectures, and even a POSIX-compliant version has been developed.

Running Linux explains everything you need to understand, install, and start using the Linux operating system.This book includes a comprehensive installation tutorial, complete information on system maintenance, tools for document development and programming, and guidelines for network web site administration.

New topics in the second edition include: * Printer configuration, management, and use * Configuration of network clients for NFS and NIS * Expanded information on configuring a wide range of hardware devices * Updated configuration information for the kernel and Xfree86 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (131)

Not helpful
The back of the book says "widely recognized in the linux community as the ultimate getting started and problem-solving book", "will provide expert advice when you need it" and "one of the ultimate linux manuals".I haven't yet had a problem that this book helped me solve.I understand that it can't and isn't meant to cover everything.But I was annoyed that it's "in case of an emergency" section basically said that users should have a rescue cd with enough tools to recover -- but not much on how to recover.Now, whenever I break something, my recovery is 1) check Running Linux and find nothing helpful, then 2) throw the book into a corner and search the web forpeople with similar problems.

A truly wonderful intro to Linux all around.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is new to Linux and attempting to figure their way around.It's not a great book for those who just want the how-do-I-do-this-without-having-to-understand-anything-under-the-covers approach.If you want that I would recommend going with a book like Spring Into Linux (Valade), which is much more of a get you up to speed as fast as possible without teaching you much.

I like so far how much detail this book gives you, though the reason I haven't given it 5 out of 5 is simply because I feel like it's lacking detail in some key areas (most notably so far for me would be its sparse offerings in the NFS section).However, the book itself does not claim to be exhaustive.In fact, it claims to be just the opposite and admits early on that its goal is only to give you enough information to be dangerous and then point you towards better maps if you so choose.That in itself is one of the reasons I like the book.They really do, for the most part, give you tremendous little intros to topics that help you understand not only how to do something, but also why you're doing it that way, why linux may have been designed in that way, etc. etc.

So, in short, great book for an in-depth intro to linux.However, if you're looking to spend your money for a book that treats any topic very in depth, I would recommend going with any of the other books in this series from O'Reilly, because this book was not designed for that.Good luck with Linux!

Excellent
I was in a urgent need of some fairly serious Linux bootcamp. This book worked, and this is how:

I hadn't had any significant Linux experience prior to buying this book. Sure, I knew a few basic UNIX commands, who doesn't?

After installing Ubuntu it became clear that I simply will have to spend too much time googling solutions for every problem. I went ahead and bought this book, read it cover to cover in about two days, and my fluentness in Linux administration/programming has increased dramatically. I still have to google some specifics (like Postfix/MySQL integration issues), but most of what I needed for my work, was in this fairly thin book.

Note that it is not focused on any particular distribution, and most of the tasks are explained with several major distros in mind. I kind of appreciated that also, since it only reassured my decision to go with a Debian-based Ubuntu.

Failed to answer a simple question
I haven't used Unix/Linux for about ten years. I know there is a command that will tell me how full the disk drives are. I tried to find the answer in this book. I looked up every possibility I could think of in the index (no entries for disk, or drive by the way--you need to look for "hard drive"), and waded through the section of filesystems with no luck.

When I found elsewhere that I was looking for the DU command. I looked that up. It's in the book but as a digression in a section explaining redirection on the command line. The related DF command is not mentioned at all, at least in the index.

These are basic commands that should be well referenced.

Not Extremely Helpful
I bought this book because I am switching from Windows to Linux on my home network.I thought it might be quicker to learn the ins and outs with the book vs. surfing from place-to-place on the web.My experience with the book is not that great--it never provides enough information on any subject to answer the question I have.I always have to resort to the internet for enough information to solve the problem of the day.It might be o-k for general Linux information, but it won't get you up and running as a system administrator on a home network. ... Read more

Product Description
Classic issue of Playgirl magazine featuring Jane Fonda on the cover and in an interview inside. Also in this issue: Playgirl's Man of the Year Antonio Contrelle (complete with fold-out), an almost nude pictorial of Tommy Chong, a look back at the celebrities who have been nude in Playgirl, nude snapshots, a feature on Andy Kaufman, fiction, and lots more! ... Read more

Book Description
In part one, Jeff Wayne tells stories about famous singers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Mathis, Sheena Easton, and Pavarotti. Part two features Jeffs stories about show-biz legends Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, Pauly Shore, Roseanne, Jay Leno, Andy Kaufman, Buddy Hackett, Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper, Alan Ladd, Debbie Reynolds, Bela Lugosi, and Tyrone Power. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Will fascinate, inform and thoroughly entertain the listener
Jeff Wayne's Raconteur is a very funny and highly engaging collection of original stories about some of the twenty four performers of stage and screen. From Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, and Marlon Brando, to Dean Martin, Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper, and Elvis Presley, here are anecdotal tales that will fascinate, inform and thoroughly entertain the listener. Highly recommended for both personal and community library audiobook collections, Raconteur is also available in a CD format (07-3, ....

The next best thing to sitting front row center!
This two CD, two hour collection of highly entertainting show businessstories and anecdotes by Jeff Wayne includes such luminaries as ElivsPresley, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, Biong Crosby, The Beatles,Bela Lugosi, Andy Kaufman, Jay Leno, Pavoroti, Gary Cooper, and a host ofother entertainment celebrities. Jeff's comedic stand-up timing is enhancedwith a natural storytelling ability told with genuine wit and a littlewisdom! ... Read more