The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
Wow. Great book. Pretty scary when he was running around drunk and drugged out, though.
I already have Saving Grace and The Big Tease on request from interlibrary loan.
While I want to read it at some point, I dont want to shell out the $$$ for a hardcover copy, so I will just have to wait for paperback…
Craig is constantly referencing his drinking and drugging daze during his show, looking for laughs, and it (like many of his previous schticks) is rapidly getting old; we get it, you used to get REALLY fucked up all the time, now you are sober------give it a rest already.
I really enjoyed his first year or two with the show, but for me, it’s sadly becoming stale and predictable.
I do look forward to reading his book however, as he is obviously an intelligent, very funny guy and hopefully it will be a good source of insight to his life and outlook.
Just picked this up an hour ago. Haven’t finished it yet. 
Really liked Between the Bridge and the River.
Didn’t cost me a dime as I have a library to use.
I just don’t see him that way. YMMV.
I just finished it yesterday. On the whole I liked it, but not as much as Between the Bridge and the River. The writing style seems a little…informal? I’m not a literary critic, so you’ll have to excuse my lack of effective language. It was breezy, and easy to read, and I do like that it seemed very conversational. This wasn’t a memoir where the author is being too “deep” or “profound.”
At the same time, there were parts that made me uncomfortable, but in a good way, I think. Some portions were simultaneously sad and funny.
The unifying theme, if there is one, is his early determination to live in America. Given the title of the book, I wish he’d spent some more time discussing the actual decision to become a citizen and the process of becoming one. That part kind of feels tacked on to me; like he was bumping up against a deadline and dashed the words onto the page to get the book finished.
It was interesting to learn how much of an autodidact he is; he’s clearly an intelligent man.
I thought Between the Bridge and the River felt much more structured and well-planned. American on Purpose was OK, and I’m glad I read it, but I don’t think I’ll ever consider it a great book.
“Fond of deranged, slightly warped humor? Try this.” June Sawyers (review reprinted at Amazon)
Sold! Off the the interlibrary loan site…
I’m really pleased that Craig Ferguson is doing so well these days. He was always a funny and clever guy back in his Bing Hitler days, but he was (in retrospect) one of those guys who the booze turns into a self-destructive fuckwit suicide case.
I suspected as much, from what he’s said on the show and the glimpses you see of just how well-read and clued-in he is (in spite of his trying very hard to hide it).
Can anyone tell me why he uses both between “shit” and “shite”?
Because he grew up Scottish and has been in the US for a long time now, is my guess. If you watch his show, it’s funny to see how his accent gets weaker and stronger - if he’s mocking Scottish people or talking with a Scottish person, you can hardly understand him.
Umm, what?
I mean, he uses shit and shite because he has a foot in both worlds (shit being American slang and shite being UK slang), which is also seen in his accent.
I always thought shite was like shiat, a not-so-clever euphemism. Ignorance fought!
Nah, it’s Scottish and probably Irish, and nowadays also said sometimes in England, so he’s sort of having fun with different linguistic usages. NOT a euphemism - I mean, “shite” actually sounds rather more “rude” than “shit”, I tend to think.