Rating: 
Summary: What's What?
Review: I didn't much like "The Dating Game", thought "The Newlywed Game" was okay, and have never seen "The Gong Show" so my impressions of Chuck Barris weren't very vivid. However, after discovering he wrote the song "Palisades Park" and reading CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND: AN UNAUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY, I have to admit that Chuck Barris is a genius, even if he is the "King of Schlock".I thought this book would be silly, uninteresting, and perhaps a little quirky. Well, it is quirky, but it's also quite entertaining and interesting. It's hard to say whether the events described in the book or fact or fiction. Barris writes about everything in his life in a very self-defacing, humorous manner (including the events we know are fact) so it's impossible to figure out if the events described are all true, partly true, or just a total yarn. I mean it wouldn't surprise me because the book reads like a cop-off of some of the best mystery/cloak-and-dagger writings around much in the same way that "The Gong Show" was a parody of popular talent search shows. Yet, at the same time, the events are so bizarre and fit so well into known facts, everything really could be true. Anyway. The book is full of sex, violence, and foul language; but other than the language, none of it is very graphic. I mean, it seems early contestants on "The Dating Game" could describe their sexual exploits more graphically than Barris. Nevertheless, the book is thoroughly entertaining and difficult to put down.
Rating: 
Summary: I DON'T GET IT
Review: I don't get it. One editorial says this "reads like a classic". Not to me. Chuck Barris likes to use foul language. I mean all the time. A simple line like "I sat under the tree" is transformed into "I sat under the ***#*!* tree." It's gratuitous, it's silly, and it's too much. It becomes seriously grating. At first it was humorous. In the end it's annoying. The whole CIA angle is preposterous. Again, at first it's kind of amusing to think of a little nebbish like Chuck Barris working as a hitman for the CIA, but that too gets old fast. I get a kick out of the "is it true or isn't it" debates. Folks, it's a crock. Okay? End of discussion. The parts that are interesting all revolve around the game shows. But a lot of what's written has me wondering what part of the game show stories are true. I'd like to believe all of it, but given the nature of the book, I can't tell fact from fiction. So I'm left with a book that isn't really all that entertaining. All it really did was annoy me.
Rating: 
Summary: Ramblings of a Deranged Mind
Review: I finished this book two days ago and still don't quite know what to make of it. What Chuck Barris projected on "The Gong Show" is projected in this book. He has minimal attention span and his mind works in mysterious ways. Barris is significant to Pop Culture by lowering the standards of our television viewing. While Chuck Barris is most famous for "The Gong Show", his other inventions, "The Dating Game" and "The Newlywed Game" have stood the test of time better. For those who haven't seen the Gong Show, it was a prelude to Johnny Knoxville and reality TV, i.e., the worst that TV has to offer. Now admittedly I watched it and sometimes enjoyed the comic appeal of the train wreck. The book also mentions the early success with Dating and Newlywed shows which allowed him to grow his ego into the disastrous Gong Show. As a biography, this book just touches the high points, TV Producer with bad long-term romantic relationships. Obviously the book has been rediscovered based upon his claims of being a CIA spy. Not just a spy but also a hit man. I'm sorry but it is so unbelievable that to even guess to its validity as some have done is incredulous. It would be too easy to track some documentation to his involvement. There is a lady agent who is mentioned and pictured in the book that could easily be tracked if this were true as well as his initial supervisor who was killed. What you have is what the title says, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind". The guy has a great imagination and wrote a book partly autobiographical with great fiction on top. After a short slow period getting into the story, I found the book interesting and funny. At one point I was in an airport suppressing laughter. But by the last 75 pages, the story slowed to a crawl. He didn't like his job producing. His relationships are terrible. Let's go kill someone to spice up the book. I would add that the ending does provide a plot twist I was not expecting and did enjoy. In summary, I'm neither glad nor sad that I read this book. It was somewhat interesting but dated and may not be worth your time unless you have a specific interest in Chuck Barris or Pop Culture in America in the 60s/70s. Now, if you like the ranting of a deranged mind........
Rating:
Summary: A fun read despite some hard to believe stories
Review: I have a confession to make: I've never seen "The Gong Show," not even one episode. I'm aware of the basic premise and I know (being somewhat odd myself) that this odd little show would be one I would like, but I've just never seen an episode, not even on Nick at Nite. That show, of course, is Chuck Barris's claim to fame. That could change very soon, however, when George Clooney's new movie "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" hits a theater near you. It is a movie based on Barris's "unauthorized autobiography," where he relates tales of being a hit on television and being a hit (man) for the CIA. Chuck Barris, you see, is not only the creator of "The Dating Game," "The Newlywed Game," and "The Gong Show" --- he spent nearly two decades as a decorated covert assassin for the CIA. CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND is his story. The book itself is a bit weird (much like a slew of the contestants on his game shows), but he makes it interesting with his spicy writing style, his candor and his filthy mouth because, boy, Chuck Barris can swear like a sailor! It starts innocently enough with him discussing aging as an old television superstar and then quickly moves into killing people --- bad guys like Mario Moretti and Salvador Panagra Renda. CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND makes for a somewhat intriguing read, as Barris alternates between discussing his game shows and his travels overseas to kill various criminals. It is filled with some fun and some double-crossing and some sex and some shootings (sounds like a good movie!). "Brazioni's shoulders were hunched together. He was shooting from the hip. Soledad's right arm was fully extended, unloading his gun at point-blank range, the end of the barrel just inches away from Renda's face. All I heard were little popping sounds. Renda slumped to the back of the bench, his head flopping to the side. Someone screamed." Barris's writing is quick, succinct and to the point. As you're reading it, you can imagine Barris telling the story to you face to face in conversation, perhaps over a couple of martinis at a late night party catered with little quiches and shrimp cocktails. For that, the book makes its mark. But, just as successful as he is in telling his life story, you can't help but think, particularly with a subtitle like "unauthorized autobiography," that it's a bunch of bunk. It would be fun to think that a game show host could also be an assassin (can you imagine the patriot Bob Barker knocking someone off with a .22-caliber automatic with silencer)? But at the same time, can we believe that a game show host COULD be an assassin? It's a stretch. Also, he writes the details of the murders, the spy games and the double-crosses in a very cool and matter-of-fact way. Wouldn't the CIA not want people to know the kind of information that he's giving freely to whoever picks up his book (or, in the coming months, to whoever goes to the movies)? Overall it is a fun diversionary read, but after finishing it, you feel a little duped (like Dorothy felt when she realized the Wizard of Oz was just a smart guy behind a curtain) and a little put on, like perhaps someone should have gonged Chuck Barris when he started talking about his whirlwind adventures of killing enemies of the state. Can it be true? --- Reviewed by Jonathan Shipley
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and Funny Book
Review: I listened to the book on tape of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. This is a really hysterical semi-autobiography, semi-fiction(?) of the life of Chuck Barris. Barris tells stories about his life in show business creating such television hits as The Gong Show, The Newlywed Game and the Dating Game.
The stories of his show-biz life are interesting and humorous.
Then there is the part about his secret life as a CIA assassin, getting rid of enemies during the Cold War. This part of the book is interesting, and it sounds realistic - but who knows ? Maybe this really did happen back then. Maybe Barris made it all up to entertain the reader even more.
Whichever, this is book is a great glimpse of Hollywood television history. As well as a funny look at what might have been Barris' other job. The story is so believable you can't tell if its truth or fiction.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Hollywood history.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Read
Review: I read the first printing of this book and enjoyed it immensely. Part reality/part fantasy, this book will make you laugh and give you insight into the crazy mind of Barris.
I'm glad this book is back in print.
Rating:
Summary: "The Homicide Game"
Review: I saw the movie "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" first and then I read the book. As interesting and well made as the movie is, the book is actually better. I was a regular viewer of Mr. Barris's television programs and watched them quite a bit when I was growing up along with millions of other boomers.
It is a strange leap from producing "The Dating Game" and "The Newlywed Game" to being a contestant in Barris' real life version of "The Homicide Game." Yet, this is precisely what this story from Mr. Barris asks the reader to believe. Yet something in the back of my mind tells me that it is not actually all that difficult to imagine Mr. Barris actually saying, "And now here's a prize selected especially for you. It's a three-eighty hollow-point!"
I always thought Chuck Barris did not deserve all the vile and spiteful things that were said about him during his television producer days by critics and so-called media experts. He was just giving America what it wanted. Compared to the infantile sitcoms of the day, his game shows were far more mentally engaging. The first book I read by Barris was "The Game Show King: A Confession" and I was amazed at how well he wrote. But then again, this is a well educated, well traveled mature man who has lived life above and beyond the everyday Joe since 1965, so I should not have been as surprised as I was. "Game Show King" is a better insight into his complex and fascinating personality than "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and does not get into the CIA angle at all.
That Barris is just plain wired differently from normal people is obvious to anyone who ever saw "The Gong Show." However accepting that what he wrote in "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" could all be true is certainly a stretch. Yet Mr. Barris is clever enough to make his story very convincing and extremely entertaining. There are very few clues here that he could be making the entire thing up, but they are there for informed readers. For only one example, he writes about CIA operations which happened in the USA. Of course, this is specifically forbidden by law and they simply wouldn't do that. They would get the FBI to do it. There are other very minor details that are also questionable.
The true mystery of this book and its sequel "Bad Grass Never Dies" isn't whether or not the CIA angle is true. The real mystery is that since Barris doesn't need the money why does he bother to write these books at all? As of yet his true motivation remains a mystery, but I wouldn't be surprised if his next book is about why he wrote the "Sunny Sixkiller" books. I've seen him interviewed and he's been extremely evasive when directly questioned on the story's validity. None the less, this is one very enjoyable book that I had trouble putting down and finished in no time flat. I was left wanting more. I really enjoy Barris's writing style. I think he could have been an everyman's Tom Clancy or Ian Fleming if he'd really wanted to be. Instead of carving a literary legacy for himself, he will be remembered primarily as "Chuckie-Baby" Barris, the apparently deranged master of disaster on "The Gong Show." This is a pity as he writes so well. The ending of this book is really very good. The ending of the film it is just not as good. I would have enjoyed reading an entire "Sunny Sixkiller" series if he had written one.
Rating:
Summary: Hmm...well, I don't think I believe him, but who cares?
Review: It's a good read anyway. The movie is quite good too, although both versions of the tale - both Barris's own memoirs and the film adaptation - contain some narrative flaws that more picky readers/viewers might not fall for.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, couldn't put it down.
Review: Once I started this book, I didn't want to stop reading it. Once I was done, I searched out his other books and love them too. Absolutely entertaining and extremely well written. And for the person who didn't "get it," how embarrassing for you. What's to get? I mean, there's really nothing confusing about it. I can't wait for the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Could not put it down
Review: The book is a well-written, fast-paced narrative of Chuck Barris' bizarro, manic depressive alternative universe. Barris was a television game show producer and he relates the history of his most successful programs -- The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and The Gong Show. He also, briefly, mentions his less successful programs, like The Mother-In-Law Game. What gives the book its punch is Barris's claim that while he was a TV producer, he was also an assassin for the CIA. He relates that he murdered people, bad guys, all over the world at the behest of the U.S. Government. Fact or fiction? Who cares! It makes for a great read. The humor-challanged should skip this book.
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