And a part of me harbored some sort of belief that every person who saw Steve Martin do stand up comedy must have known they were seeing something amazing. I thought it would be hilarious and filled with jokes and I think I actually laughed out loud about five times. I thought it would be mostly about Martin's career as a primarily comedic actor and it basically ends at the onset of his film career. I loved this book so much because it was everything I subconsciously wanted it to be and nothing that I expected it to be. Illustrated throughout with black and white photographs collected by Martin, this book is instantly compelling visually and a spectacularly good read. Though Martin is reticent about his personal life, he is also stunningly deft, and manages to give readers a feeling of intimacy and candor. This book is a memoir, but it is also an illuminating guidebook to stand-up from one of our two or three greatest comedians. And he writes about how he figured out what worked on stage. He writes about fear, anxiety and loneliness. He writes about mentors, girlfriends, his complex relationship with his parents and sister, and about some of his great peers in comedy-Dan Ackroyd, Lorne Michaels, Carl Riener, Johnny Carson. He writes about making the very tough decision to sacrifice everything not original in his act, and about lucking into a job writing for The Smothers Brothers Show. Obsession is a substitute for talent, he has said, and Steve Martin's focus and daring-his sheer tenacity-are truly stunning.

By age 20, studying poetry and philosophy on the side, he was performing a dozen times a week, most often at the Disney rival, Knott's Berry Farm. In the decade that followed, he worked in Disney's magic shop, print shop, and theater, and developed his own magic/comedy act.

Author: Steve Martin, narrated by the authorīlurb (GR): At age 10, Steve Martin got a job selling guidebooks at the newly-opened Disneyland.

Born standing up a comics life