Rating: 
Summary: Great book, but...
Review: George Carlin at his best. The problem is, a lot of the jokes are just written versions of the one's he tells on TV. A lot of the material is old. Still, there were some moments when I actually had to put the book down from laughing. At one point, I had tears in my eyes! George Carlin is still one of the best comedians in the world. If you're a Carlin fan, you may know some of the jokes, but it's still worth it. If you've never experienced Carlin before, you've never really laughed.
Rating: 
Summary: VILE...obnoxious
Review: Euck. More of Braindroppings. Some copied straight across. Too base to be funny. I do agree with him tho that religion is the biggest con job in human history and that all religions should pay taxes just like the rest of us! Why they are exempt I'll never know. It's not right...it's unfair to the rest of us.Andy Rooney says it well. "There's certainly a place for obscenity and profanity in literature or any of the arts. When a novel's a mirror showing us to ourselves, it has to include some obscene things to make it true. But when writers start using more of it than people really use, that's not art: it's show business. Not very funny tonight. Sorry" What a waste!
Rating: 
Summary: time to clasm some different icons
Review: I doubt that he'd find it amusing, but George Carlin might at least find it interesting to consider the possibility that the iconoclasm and nihilism of his brand of humor has succeeded so totally in transforming the culture as to make him generally unfunny. For one thing, his stock in trade is observational humor, which the far less talented Jerry Seinfeld has pretty much beaten into the ground. Second, where his profanity and scatology were at least somewhat daring twenty years ago, in a post-Clinton America where South Park is on TV, Eminem is the most popular pop singer and the Farrelly Brothers' movies are considered funny, there just is no such thing as public decency any more, and therefore, nothing to offend it. What's more, there's something truly sad about an old man, which Mr. Carlin is these days, who swears so compulsively. It is particularly noticeable when, as here, the language is written rather than spoken. At a night club or in a stage act, surrounded by young people, maybe it's more appropriate. But how does a 65 year old sit at a desk and type the infamous "seven words you can't say on television" quite this many times without feeling like he's making himself sound like a moron ? Finally, Mr. Carlin seems not to realize that most of the once sacred cows he's attacking were actually led to the slaughter years ago. Much of his ire is directed at Christianity and believers, but they have been so marginalized by modern society that it's like he's beating baby seals. The shock value of making fun of God went out with the hula hoop and coonskin caps : for cripes sake, it's been at least a hundred years since Nietzsche declared God dead--give it up already. I mean really, when's the last time you saw a person of faith portrayed in a positive light in any form of media ? Attack humor is funniest when directed at the powerful or those with many defenders, but when aimed at the downtrodden and the thoroughly disregarded it is merely gratuitous. It is a shame that Mr. Carlin, for whatever reason, but one assumes it has roots in his Catholic childhood, does not realize this, because when he goes after modern shibboleths, icons and causes, he really is funny, if only because political correctness has made so many of these things untouchable. He phrases it differently in the book, but when, one morning on Imus, he said of Timothy McVeigh : I'd let him off. After all, it's his first offense, and sometimes all these guys need is a firm talking to. it captured both the idiocy of the kind of penal laxity that the Left so often espouses and, second, the way in which secular events like the Oklahoma City Bombing have been endowed with a kind of holy and inviolable significance. Or when he says : Most people with low self esteem have earned it. or People get all upset about torture, but when you get right down to it, it's really a pretty good way of finding out something a person doesn't want you to know. or Message to the Denver Nuggets regarding Columbine High School: There's no reason to cancel a sporting event just because some kids kill each other. Try to concentrate on basketball and leave the life-and-death "stuff" to someone else. the lines aren't even all that funny, but the sentiments are so shocking, and true, that they catch you offguard, but then trigger that guilty moment of agreement. Lines like these show that there's still plenty of mileage left in being irreverent, Mr. Carlin just has to recognize what it is that our culture reveres these days, not God or clean language, but victimhood, disabilities, odd sexual preferences, and the like. It's, unfortunately, a New Age, and his humor needs to catch up. GRADE : C
Rating:
Summary: Truth as Comedy
Review: This book is not much more that Mr. Carlin's HBO special in writing. Even so, there is a great deal of insight as to the way we really are as a society. He takes on every aspect of our hipocritical institutions and calls it like he sees it. Most people get a laugh out of his rantings. Unfortunately, in many cases Mr. Carlin hits the nail on the proverbial head. If you are thin skinned, this book is not for you. This book is definately not for cigar smoking republicans that earn a living upon the remnants of the military industrial complex. Try Rush Limbaugh for your strokes!
Rating:
Summary: Review of "Napalm & Silly Putty"
Review: I usually look for either of two qualities in a book. It should either entertain, or it should educate or inform. Napalm & Silly Putty utterly fails in both respects. If Mr. or Ms. Ordinary Citizen had sent the manuscript for this book to a publisher it would have been rejected. Of this I have absolutely no doubt. I find nothing of redeeming value about this book. It is obviously being marketed on the recognition value of George Carlin's name. Save your money.
Rating: 
Summary: If you're a Carlin fan, you've heard this all before.
Review: Maybe this book would have been better if I didn't already own much of his audio material. This book is nothing more than bits from his albums. Why should I read this stuff when I can listen to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Carlin is a WINNER at my house!!!
Review: My 16 year old hates to read. He moans. He groans. He takes out the trash and cleans his room instead of sitting down with a book. BUT!!-- My 16 year old absolutely loves George Carlin. So, I took a chance and bought the book. He carried this book around with him for a week and a half. He read me excerpts, he shared parts of it with his friends. HE FINISHED IT!!! Now he is reading Brain Droppings and loving it. Thanks George Carlin!!! 5 stars is not nearly enough.....
Rating:
Summary: Not worth the money.
Review: I went to the book store to buy this (only because I needed something to read on a plane). Let me tell you...this book was a major disappointment. The book had its highs but in the end, I wished I would have actually read a few pages before hastly buying it. I don't like the kind of humor he presents about enjoying people die slowly. It's very graphic and often brings out "Ew's" then "Ha ha's". I would return it if I wasn't already out of the States.
Rating:
Summary: Watch Carlin Perform Rather Than Read This Book
Review: The book's title refers to Mr. Carlin's perception of the dual nature of humans, able to produce both noxious killing methods and ridiculous items. Mr. Carlin is not inspired by what he sees. In a life of 80 years, he guesses that there might be six sublime moments. Mr. Carlin's humor just doesn't work on the page very often here. The jokes that worked for me would fill about a page and a half. "For those who did read . . . [Braining Droppings] you'll find this is the same sort of drivel." His self-assessment is that this book is "Good, funny, occasionally smart, but essential drivel." He missed mentioning that it is also sophomoric, vulgar, and anti-religious. His best work is in an occasional clean one-liner of broad appeal. "You know what's fun? Go to a German restarurant and insist on using chopsticks." "By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth." That's the major theme of the book. He is effective in making fun of technical terms in preset speeches for airlines. He would like his "nonstop" flights to have a stop at the end. He doesn't feel encouraged to go on "final approach" in order to be headed towards a "terminal." He would like to "board" rather than go through an endless "boarding process" that begins with "preboarding." The jacket copy though and the reviews capture over 60 percent of the good one-liners in the book. There just isn't enough good material to sustain a whole book. If you are offended by lots of four letter words that begin with f, c, and s, you will be uncomfortable with this book. These words are put in frequently to lift weak material. In particular, he seems fond of using these words to refer to religious figures. If you would like to have a few good laughs, catch one of his HBO specials instead where his performance can help make up for the lack of wit in the material. I suspect that you will enjoy that humor more if you have a few alcoholic beverages first to slow down your brain. If you do decide to read the book, the best sections were on cars and driving, airline announcements, and that a cat is not a dog. Here's my favorite thought from the book. "Do placebos cause side effects? If so, are the side effects real?" After you have read this book (if you persist in reading it), think about how the material could have been rewritten to be funnier. I am sure you can improve on it. Have a good laugh . . . at the aburdity of pretense around you!
Rating:
Summary: Better than the First
Review: Much better than his First one. I love it!
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