Rating: 
Summary: ... on paper
Review: This book seems like it was written from newspaper clippings.It is a terrible biography. After I finished I felt so cheated I had to destroy the book. I ripped it to shreds!!! It felt good! Read Bob Zamuda's book, it is superior.
Rating: 
Summary: You've got to give it chance!
Review: The book is written in a very unique way. It works because of the subject matter. It is a narrative, but is written using the sentence structure Andy used on stage. It took me about 1/3 of the way through the book to feel comfortable with this style. However, once I did, I flew through it, and was sorry when it was over. The subject matter is alternatively funny, infuriating, frustrating, appealing and most of all, tragic. If you have any interest in Andy Kaufman, comedy or performance art, this is a seminal book. Just give yourself time to get used to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Be wary of excellent review ratings
Review: I loved the film and expected the book to be much better. Instead you will find that this is a story of a great guy written very badly. Unfortunately the other readers are correct in complaining about the writing style. It makes for an irritating gruelling read. Some sentences go on forever. There is a lack of reference to material and humour which makes the content somewhat dull. For ardent fans only this one.
Rating: 
Summary: That Andy Kaufman was one weird guy.
Review: Andy Kaufman was a weird guy. No, really. What Bill Zehme has managed to do with this biography is to present, in some kind of order, a life of chaos. The real and the unreal combine just as in Kaufman's own work, but whereas some people find Kaufman too difficult to take, nobody should have too much problem understanding Lost In The Funhouse. Kaufman comes across as a likeable but frustrating individual you don't know whether you want to hug or smack. And Zehme doesn't overbalance his account. He doesn't make the mistake of many biographers who often condemn or apologise for their subject. Zehme gives you the facts. His prose style is reflective of Kaufman's own idiom. Consequently there are smooth and crunchy bits of text, sudden leaps, smash cuts, but the author never loses control of his material. I didn't know a great deal about Kaufman before I read this book. I remember Latka Gravas (his character in Taxi) with fondness, but am too young and too British to remember his SNL appearances and inter-gender wrestling matches (!). Some of Kaufman's antics made me cry with laughter. And I now look forward to digging out some of his stuff. Although I might give Heartbleeps (his movie) a miss! If you're familiar with Kaufman's career (and it really was a career, as in CRASH) you'll still find plenty here you didn't know. If you aren't familiar with this incredible hoaxer, Zehme's book is the place to begin acquainting yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Andy Kaufman was a genius.
Review: This isn't so much a review of the book "Lost in the Funhouse" as of Andy Kaufman. Andy wanted to live so bad that (when he found out he had a life-threatening disease) he traveled to the Phillipines looking for a last minute cure. Andy was a very funny guy even when he was in the ring. He was taken advantage of by those around him.
Rating:
Summary: Lost in reading this biography!
Review: I must admit that I have been obsessed with the Kaufman question for some time now. Was he crazy, or wasn't he crazy? Repeated viewings of "I'm from Hollywood", Taxi, and his other Comedy Central specials only clouded the issue even further. Was he insane, or a genius? Part of the question involved the mystery of Andy's origin. Andy himself would talk about his past, growing up in Great Neck, Long Island, but what was fantasy and what was reality? Is what he said the truth? Did he himself even believe what he said? This brilliant book is a meticulous attempt to answer these questions and more. Zehme is obviously driven by the truth through all the things that Andy (we all call him "Andy", just as if he were our nutty uncle) said and did over his extraordinary life. Here Zehme presents the fruits of his six years of research for our reading enjoyment. It starts in Great Neck and ends in the hospital, and along the way we are treated to his manager George Shapiro's personal tape recorder, just enough reminiscence from Andy's mother, father, living grandparents and siblings, and countless quotables from everyone from Chevy Chase to David Letterman. As a fan obsessed with the "was-he-or-wasn't-he" question, I found this book to provide me with all the insight I needed. Way to go, Mr. Zehme.
Rating:
Summary: an awesome and intruiging book!
Review: If you liked man on the moon and love hearing about Andy Kaufman you will absolutely LOVE this book! It includes all the plot twists with Tony Clifton and Jerry "the king" Lauler it is the best yet even if you didn't like andy kaufman and his famous escapades with the inter gender wrestling champion title you will still love this book!
Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: This book is a must read for any Andy Kaufman fan. You will laugh, struggle and cry with Andy in this epic biography of a brilliant comedian. I read it 3 times!
Rating: 
Summary: Gives little insight into Kaufman
Review: While this volume provides a straight forward biography of comic (and sometimes NON-comical) Andy Kaufman, it utterly fails to explain him: his need to alienate and even be hostile to his audience, his ultimately career-self-destroying forays into anti-comedy and wrestling. I never found the man funny, just odd. I picked this book up with the hope that I would understand his strangeness. I was disappointed. The author doesn't seem to understand his own subject. Was Kaufman mentally ill? A moderate sociopath? A strongly anti-social personality? The author never discusses these possibilities and doesn't offer any theory of his own. This left me with the feeling that the six years the author spent on this biography consisted of very little reflection. This book also suffers because it lacks an index. A so-so work.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This book amazed me. It went through andys mind describing every little detail about him and what his perspective on life was. He was a very talented man but yet miss understanded. Read this book if u didnt like andy kaufman before then u will like him after reading this book. This a must buy order it or go to local bookstore now!
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