Rating: 
Summary: funny and a fast read
Review: Bill Cosby is by far one of the most funny comedians alive, plus, he's funny to everybody. He isn't rude or anything. In this book, Bill shares his opinions on weight loss, smoking, drinking and other things in a funny manner. It also went quickly. It was easy to understand yet very entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious and touching
Review: Bill Cosby's humor is funny and touching. Every parent will relate. This book along with Debbie Farmer's book "Don't Put Lipstick on the Cat!" And Bruce Cameron's "8 Simple Rules" makes a perfect parenting survival package.
Rating:
Summary: The critics must have all been young and skinny
Review: HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! pure comedic genuis, nothing less
Rating:
Summary: This book had me laughing so much, fun book to read
Review: Humorous book looking at health issues, and the problems that bad eating could cause. I had so much fun reading this book. I found myself laughing out loud, and I had visual images of Bill Cosby doing some of what he wrote as a stand up routine. Bill Cosby at age 65 is coming to terms with his health, and how his eating in the past is affecting his current health conditions. He takes a light hearted look at eating, smoking, drinking and even death. He is coming to terms with letting go of his favorite foods, and instead eating healthy (translation BORING in his mind) foods. He is so animated with his story telling, you can't help but laugh when he discusses going to see his girlfriend in 20 degree wearing nothing but a thin cotton school jacket. You will wipe tears from your face as he discusses waiting for the bus, then being so cold all he could do was fall into the bus. Cosby never gets preachy. He even talks about applying for his social security check, so he can secretly buy those "forbidden" foods without his wife knowing.
Some of my favorite quotes that had me in stitches:
"Because on holidays you over eat like a pig and tell yourself: But it's a holiday!" Don't even deny it!!! We all look forward to holidays just so we can get our serious eat on!!
"Women who cook once a year. One by one they file in like gastronomic grim reapers bearing death in a casserole dish."
"My toe nails are made of hot dogs, hoagies, bacon, chocolate and those things I ate."
This is a fun, quick read, that will have you chuckling long after you read the book.
Rating:
Summary: Hysterical Commentary About Health & Diet
Review: I Am What I Ate by Bill Cosby is hysterically funny. When his doctor tells him his cholesterol is high, and he needs to change his diet, Bill Cosby does what he does best and laughs about it !
I loved the story about his Aunt hiding the pork chops in her bedroom. And the chapter about eating everything in "moderation".
What a hoot ! Anyone whose gone on any kind of a diet will love this book. And if you are a person getting up there in age, and dealing with cholesterol and blood pressure .... this book will make you feel alot better and make you laugh !
Rating:
Summary: I love to laugh
Review: I Am What I Ate. . .and I'm Frightened is a book anyone and everyone should read. Those who have problems with cholesterol, or those who pretty much have any health problem, or for even those who love food and would DIE to give their favorites up and only be able to eat them every "once in a while" (3 months) will love this book. Bill Cosby really illustrates his many situations with food, and what he can and cannot eat. There are many times when you wonder where he gets his stories, and how many other people there are out there that relate to his stories. But, at the same time, you wonder how it is that he has funny stories that he can tell about and you never do, and they all happen to be from his personal life. This book made me laugh, snicker, and giggle out loud. All I can say is, if you love to laugh you'll be floating on the ceilings (Mary Poppins) because of this book.
And why would you wear a cotton sweater in the winter? I guess you'll just have to read the book.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book - Thanks a lot.
Review: I'm sitting there in the bookstore, reading, and I'm laughing, and then crying, real tears. I remember buying semisweet chocolate, and gnawing on these big black chunks of slightly bitter chocolate, and how much I want the real thing, but I had to at least have my chunk to gnaw on. This image comes to me as I read this book of myself gnawing, just gnawing like a rodent on this hunk, and I crack up.
I think about how I love nuts, and how I buy these jars of salted roasted macadamia nuts and then the jar, it's empty, no idea how, you know? They're so delicious! And I started eating a lot of cashews instead, but then I realized they had a huge amount of fat, although it wasn't the worst kind. I got nervous thinking of a friend who loved cashews and fried chicken, a really great guy, pretty active too, and how he died suddenly of a heart attack at 42. Just stood up, fell on the floor, told his wife he loved her and was dead, bang.
So I have this intense philosophical discussion in my head, because my dad ate great and exercised, did Pritikin all the way, cleaned out his arteries, was really a strong guy. Now he's dying of what? Stomach cancer. So I'm thinking, is it really worth it? I'm going to die anyway, and should I really care? It's a real question.
That part's why I cried. My dead friends and my dad and all that. I totally relate to what Bill was saying. I'm really a pretty disciplined guy. Head of my own company, and I've exercised pretty good, I like to, it's fun. I can get out there and do all kinds of things. But I'm getting old and it's not as much fun as it was, and I'm starting to gain a bit, and I had a conversation with the doctor just like Bill's. In fact, he called me at work when he got the blood work back, said I had to come right in, my numbers were incredibly high, he sounded frightened. And the fact is, I'm head to head with chocolate and macadamia nuts and cashews now after beating back the things that I can let go of, and they're pretty tough customers. Really they are.
What is life for? That's what it comes down to isn't it? What's important? I guess what it comes down to is that I have things I want to do.
Rating:
Summary: Hold the cheesecake¿
Review: In an amusing account of life and food, Bill Cosby examines the state of his
health and mourns his favorite foods in I AM WHAT I ATE ... AND I'M FRIGHTENED.
Cosby talks about turning 65 and becoming aware of his body in ways that he
never examined before. He lightly deals with the ills of aging and how what
you can eat changes dramatically as you age. In a number of anecdotes and
stories, he talks about visits to the doctor, aches and pains, cholesterol,
and eating in moderation. Presented in classic Cosby style, he exaggerates his
life experiences in ways that will have you hollering in laughter. For
example in one chapter he illustrates how young people think they are
invincible by telling a story from his youth where he went out to see his
girlfriend in 20 degree weather wearing only a thin cotton school jacket.
Cosby takes you with him as he waits for the bus and his fingers start to go
numb onto the very end when he discovers that he has lost his bus fare. My favorite chapter in the book was on entitled "Moderation" and Cosby lets you
know in a humorous way just how little he knows about it. Cosby keeps his tone light and avoids becoming preachy on a topic that has been
dear to him for a long time. We all remember The Cosby Show and Bill hiding
hoagies and other tasty treats. In this book, he shares a few regrets about
the food choices of his past while trying to strike a balance in his current
eating habits. I AM WHAT I ATE... AND I'M FRIGHTENED is filled with funny
stories and his personal insights on food. Reviewed by Diane Marbury
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Rating:
Summary: Not What I Expected
Review: In this book, Bill Cosby discusses, in a humorous way, various changes he has experienced at age 65 and his struggles to give up his excessive, unhealthy eating habits after learning from his doctor that he has very high cholesterol and a thirty percent blockage in the carotid artery.
While it is neither the roaringly humorous book I expected nor a preachy diet book, it is a quick and pleasant read that had me chuckling quite a bit and identifying with many of his observations. His casual writing style, delivered as though he were sitting next to you and talking, accurately captures many of the rationalizations people often use to justify behavior they know is not in their best interest, be it smoking, drinking or eating fat and cholesterol-laden foods. I thought one of the funniest sections was his discussion of hair and skin, where he observes that "as you get older, you don't have oil. The skin is drier." And, regarding hair, he wants to know why he lost hair from the top of his head and it came out on his back and in his nose and ears. Gray hair at that! "What am I turning into?", he asks. I suspect there are a few of us in our fifties and sixties who have had similar thoughts. He also cites his father as having compared the human body to a machine, which, at age 65, has "old parts" -- a simplistic but plausible explanation for many of the aches, pains and limitations one experiences in the later years.
In all, the book is funny and enjoyable. And, possibly, it may be helpful to those struggling with changing their eating habits and other aspects of getting older, as they step back and see it through Bill Cosby's eyes.
Rating:
Summary: Humourous Reflections on Turning 65
Review: Less and less of what is self-labeled as "humor" these days causes me to laugh. Bill Cosby's "I Am What I Ate . . . and I'm frightened!!!" is a happy exception. Many people claim that comedy is all about timing . . . which can be hard to do in a book. But with deft twists that I defy you to see coming, he takes you down a laugh-ridden labyrinth of all the foolish things people do about their health. What makes the humor especially powerful is that Mr. Cosby is frequently telling stories on himself. But at the same time you'll recognize yourself . . . and people he knows in these stories. The basic set-up is that Mr. Cosby is excited about turning 65 . . . because he can spend his social security check to secretly buy food that his wife doesn't want him to eat because it's unhealthy. She runs the check book on a tight leash (with frequent cross-examinations about spending), so this is a real boon. That happy thought is muddled, though, when Mr. Cosby goes to have a physical. He finds that he has the body of someone much younger than 65 . . . except for a sky-high cholesterol level and a partially blocked carotid artery (the one that takes blood to the brain). Suddenly, he has visions of all that unhealthy food he has eaten all over the years. Ugh! From there, Mr. Cosby takes you on a funny excursion into all of the other ways that our bodies run down hill (age, hair loss, joints that wear out and physical conditioning), the ways we rationalize "not" doing what we should (conveniently forgetting, changing our focus and simply making up crazy excuses) and the foolish ways that doctors try to overcome our self-destructive tendencies. Then, he looks around to see the bad habits that others have . . . and also rationalize (drinking, smoking and binge overeating), and finds similar room for humor. If you are like me, you can almost hear Mr. Cosby's voice as he delivers these wry witty commentaries on the human condition. What makes them so funny is that he's not exaggerating very much! People are really funny about their vices. All those who really love food will get the biggest kick out of seeing their obsession exposed. As one such person, he had me laughing aloud during many points in the book. The book also contains occasional illustrations by George Booth that add to the fun. My favorite is the one on the back cover of the dust jacket. To give you a flavor of the book, let me share a few quotes from the last chapter: ". . . three choices everyone has: Don't go to the doctor at all. Just ignore everything until one day your eyeballs roll up under your eyebrows, your body slumps forward, and you wake up in traffic in the back of a large, strange vehicle." "Why is she anemic? Well, from the blood tests it seems that she's lost three-fourths of her blood. They took her blood to find out why she's losing blood." One of the great beauties of this book is that each story builds on the previous ones . . . so new information creates humorous echoes in your memory that remind you of the rest of the book. The cumulative effect is marvelous. As I finished the book, I began to wonder why we are so perverse in harming ourselves. Sure, Mr. Cosby has provided lots of "excuses" but we're all smart enough not to believe our own excuses. Maybe we just want to be indulged like most of our parents did while we were little . . . but no one does any more now that we are grown. It that's the case, find your indulgence in less unhealthy ways. Remember, 65 is coming for most of us!
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