Rating: 
Summary: awesome book
Review: Annotation: It's Not Easy Bein' Me starts out as Rodney as a child moving around the dingy neighborhoods of New York with his mother and her sisters. Who beat and argue with each other. He has a father who he sees only once a year because he is to busy with his comedy act. Rodney who is put in odd and interesting situations always makes the best of them. Threw out the book are jokes on every page that reflects back to one of the situations on the page. You realize threw out the book a majority off his jokes are part of his life story.
Author Bio: Rodney Dangerfield the late bloomer in comedy not only worked extremely hard at starting his own career but also later stared out the careers of many others. Like Jerry Signfield, Jim Carry, Adam Sandler. Staring in box office movies, writing scripts for TV shows and doing a No Respect comedy Routine showed he was a hard worker and dedicated. He was a heavy cigarette and pot smoker. He's had his share of wives. He has had many odd jobs in comedy clubs to get his one chance at performing and he was not a first hit wonder it took him years to perfect his routine or get his known white button up shirt and red tie look.
Evaluation: In the first few pages in this book you can tell its going to be good its has so many funny stories, that are so unbelievable. Even if you had no idea who Rodney was or had never heard his name before, by the end of the book you would. You would fall in love with his personality and his life. Working from the bottom up he proves himself as a dedicated young man. His first job ever was at the age of 5 where he would go to this man that would kiss him on the lips and give him 5 cents every time to delivering newspaper, working in dozens of different comedy clubs to eventually being a siding salesman. Doing comedy as a hobby and smoking pot to be less depressed. Rodney's friend books him on his TV show over and over again that starts getting Rodney recognized in the public eye. Rodney lived in poverty for over 40 years and died with fame and fortune but most off all respect from family friends and fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointed
Review: I disagree with the previous reviews. This book was a quickly written tome of banal anecdotes. Important area's of Rodney's life were only touched upon in an extremely cursory way. For example, his run in with the IRS was touched on, but no details were provided. Ditto- his divorce,his relationship with his children etc.Some of his battles with other comedians were not even mentioned. There was just nothing to sink my teeth into.
No angst, no pathos, no emotion- just trivial unimportant stories of only passing interest. Recently on Howard Stern's radio program, Howard asked Rodney why at the age of 80, he decided to write this book. Rodney's answer- "a big advance." That says it all. If anyone would like to read a truly great autobiography of a comedian, may I suggest "Jackie Oy" by Jackie Mason. I truly know the "inner Jackie." I still don't know Rodney- too bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Humor, Memorable Story
Review: I got this as a gift this year, and after Dangerfield's passing it meant a lot more to me reading it than I thought it would.
It's very simple to just pick up and read - it doesn't have long whiny prose or lengthy explanations of his life. Instead, Dangerfield fuses humor with the most saddest of stories, and you can't help but laugh.
This man is a comic genius, and this book proves it. A must read for anyone with a sense of humor.
Rating:
Summary: TONS OF JOKES MIXED INTO AN INTERESTING LIFE STORY!
Review: I saw Rodney a couple of years ago in the Salt Lake City airport sitting in a chair waiting for his flight to LAX with his wife. He looked old and frail, but I gave him a wave and he gave me back a wink with his trademark okay sign. That was very cool. So when I bought this book I was really looking forward to an interesting read....and I found it. This book has a tons of jokes that are used to separate his stories (and he's got a lot of them) within the chapters. I now realize how hard he worked and really how little he received back in terms of material riches. (He only received $35,000 for Caddyshack with no residuals!) There are so many funny stories about show business, struggling as a comedian, sex, women, drugs, his youth, his health, friends, marriage, and of course, not getting any respect. I know that Rodney may not be with us very long as he is in his 80's and dealing with health issues, but I feel lucky to have seen him since the Ed Sullivan days, through the Johnny Carson years, the Miller Lite Beer commercials, the hilarious movies, and up to my incident at the Salt Lake City airport. Here's a real success story in disguise from a kind man who has made us all laugh for decades. This book adds so much to my appreciation of this humble and very human man. I'm going to watch "Back To School" and "Caddyshack" again soon. Thanks Rodney. You have my respect.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: I think that last reviewer was either a jealous Jackie Mason or Jackie Martling. This book that Rodney wrote is pure genius! I hope it outsells all the other diatribe out there and that he writes many more books.
Rating:
Summary: Was Rodney the end of something?
Review: Nightclubs. You don't hear too much about them unless you live in a major urban area or are plugged into the stand-up comedy scene. Rodney was one of the originals, one of the guys, a clasic, an archetype, someone to put on a petastal because he broke into mainstream fame and glory, as he'd say in a game of craps, the hard way. Stand up is also a gaime of chance as is craps. Will an owner give you a chance, five minutes on their stage? Hell, Rodney had a hard time with it.
Stand up comedy of course is one of the most raw forms of art. Nothing can save you but your voice. If you're dying it can be the loneliest places to stand. But, the stand-up comic unfortunately is an endangered breed, most likely due to television and the internet. It's easier to stay at home than go to some dark smokey club with what you think is some foul-mouthed acidic loser on stage. Rodney shows that it isn't easy being of this brotherhood.
Rodney's accounts focus on his experiences with nightclubs, his early failure, and his highly successful return onstage. But it's the hard way. After a few appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show and more than a few on Johnny Carson, it still seemed life on the road was tough. Tenacious D sang a song about how hard the road is. They were right and Rodney shows you how he got no respect.
So why 5 stars? The translation, storytelling, and format.
The translation of "It's Not Easy Bein' Me" is an up close and personal account told in first person. The book was written very close to the end of Rodney's life and it's such a clean translation fo Rodney's voice, his stage/film presence. When reading, you hear his voice over your shoulder. His punchlines lose nothing in written text.
The second part for my 5 stars is Rodney's storytelling. I was apprehensive about starting this book and it sat on my shelf for five months. I heard about it on the Stern Show. And it sounded like a sad book, especially the questions Howard asked the feeble comic. A huge Rodney fan, I bought it right away. Through the HS interview I'd learned that Rodney had a tough life as a kid; parents that didn't give a crap, never around, and an uncle who paid him a nickel every time he sat on the man's lap. However, the storytelling is brilliant!!! No matter how tough it gets for Rodney, absolute down and out, each segment ends with him poking fun at the situation, taking a turn to make you smile. So demned encouraging for the little man. Many times these punchlines are unexpected but it's Rodney's voice and the book plays 100% on getting no respect.
Third, the format of the book is top notch. Many pictures, short chapters, and at least one blocked off joke per page. That's right, the narrative stops, and a joke is blocked off between lines, usually relating to what's happening in the narrative. Perfect!
On a final note, I'm really going to miss Rodney because his death was the end of something great. The night club and the standup comic are a rare breed. SUPPORT STANDUP COMICS! Tell them they were great even if you've never felt so insulted. They deserve you're respect as much as some dying eunich whale does. But I also feel lucky. At AC, Trump Taj Majal, I had the rare chance to play craps at the same table as Rodney. He was old and feeble and rode around on a little cart. He played with his head low and lost me $75. Lousy bastard, but he gets all my respect.
Rating:
Summary: Totally Funny
Review: Rodney Dangerfield is one of the all-time greatest comics. His autobiography tells the story of his life, yet is filled with zingers and on-liners. The stories of his childhood, marriages and career are told honestly yet Rodney always finds the humour in them.
I was very inspired by how he gave up on show business, then went back to being a comedian when he got older. It is a very inpsiring story.
This is a funny book about one funny guy.
Rating: 
Summary: He's the King of Comedy, but the Book Leaves Me Wanting More
Review: Rodney Dangerfield is one of the two funniest comedians I have ever seen (Sam Kinison, who Rodney essentially discovered, is the other). The schtick of "No Respect" has never, ever gotten old with me. So when I saw his autobiography, I grabbed a copy right away without so much as a skim. Rodney tells his story with his usual "No Respect" fervor, but, he pretty much only grazes over his many experiences. He wrote enough to let me know that he cared less about his mother and wished he knew his father better, but his first marriage is pretty much covered in a couple of pages. No real explanation of what went wrong and why they got back together and got married again only to break up again. Not much is mentioned about his kids. Not much is mentioned about his take on other comedians (except Jim Carrey, who he takes much credit in keeping him from quitting the business in the early days). I wanted more. There are many of his famous one-liners interspersed between his writings. I've heard most before, but they are still pretty funny. All-in-all, I'm glad he wrote this book, but I suspect it would have been a lot better 10 to 15 years ago when he wasn't suffering from his many maladies of an 80+ year old man.
Rating:
Summary: the king of the one liner
Review: rodney dangerfield was one of the greatest comedians of all time. He had a rough life, but always seemed to find the humor in things. this book is a great biography of his life, it is light and funny, and a great way to carry on Rodneys legacy. Plus it is filled with many of his hilarious one liners. We love you Rodney!
Rating:
Summary: A Collection of One-Liners
Review: The exciting aspect of this book is that it was authored exclusively by Rodney Dangerfield. When you read this volume you cannot help but hear Rodney Dangerfield's voice telling his story. From Dangerfield's New York childhood to his surgeries in California, this book encompasses the life of a man who made a career commanding "No Respect." The book is lighthearted and very funny. There are some lessons on life as well. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the autobiography I also found it lacked detail -- or should I say it whetted my appetite for more. Reading the book it appeared that the chapters were directly transcribed from random notes or dictation recordings. It is difficult to follow Dangerfield's career progression as the story jumps back and forth in time more often than Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughter House Five." Many of Dangerfield's recollections are not dated and I was often left wondering exactly when an event occurred. More importantly, Dangerfield introduces subjects about his very interesting life that beg additional detail. For example, his reminiscences of movies such "Caddy Shack," "Easy Money," and "Back to School" easily deserved entire chapters, but were relegated to a handful of sentences. Likewise he discusses his decade-long show business hiatus in order to sell aluminum siding, but the home improvement segment of his life is only a scattered reference throughout the book. The bottom line is that in the future there is an opportunity for Rodney Dangerfield to reissue an "Author's Cut" of this book that would lengthen the work ten fold. Still, I found it humorous reading and look forward to the availability of the audio-CD, only if narrated by the author.
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