Rating: 
Summary: A humorous look at fatherhood - well done
Review: A hilarious, light-hearted look at fatherhood, "Being a Dad" is sure to bring a smile to the face of any father. In 36 short essays Dale Alderman points out the funny side of fatherhood from playing, to potty training, to disciple, money, vacations, and every other fun and funny adventure of raising children. With a great writing style that gets to the point quickly and brings a smile to the face, "Being a Dad: The Stuff No One Told Me" is very well done and highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Promising Guide to Being a Better Father & Husband!
Review: After reading Being A Dad by Dale Alderman I was impressed by the important message behind this book. Dale shares embarrassing, humorous and entertaining true life-testing stories that he has experienced with his family. Over all Dale offers advise using tales that will have you laughing out loud on the subject of being a better husband and father. This would be a great gift for any father, father-to-be or anyone who enjoys amusing tales!
Rating:
Summary: A highly recommended, grade-A smile-inducing giftbook
Review: Also available in a hardcover edition, Being A Dad: The Stuff No One Told Me by Dale Alderman is an amusing trip through the trials and tribulations of fatherhood. Drawn heavily from life experiences of author Dale Alderman raising his two young sons, the enjoyable and recognizably familiar anecdotes include "Stop It, Quit It, Stop It...", "Daddy, Are You Awake?", "SuperChildren of the Corn", "Don't Hit Your Brother With A Stick", and much more. Laughable anecdotes aplenty and wry insights into the ups and downs of being a parent in the modern day and age make Being A Dad a highly recommended, grade-A smile-inducing giftbook.
Rating:
Summary: Very funny look at family life
Review: Although written from a father's perspective, this book is for all the family. I made up my mind at a very early age that I never wanted to be a father and this book provides confirmation that I made the correct decision. The book is very short - only 120 pages - but the quality makes up for that. Dale, it seems, has a bossy wife (Starla) and two mischievous sons (Chase and Logan) but no daughters. The book covers his time with his two sons from the start of their lives up to the ages of seven (Chase) and four (Logan).He starts by telling of the problems surrounding the birth of Chase. Despite the fact that Starla had spent five years delivering babies, she was not as prepared for giving birth as Dale had hoped - and there were medical complications. You know it wasn't funny at the time but the way Dale tells the story is very funny and sets the tone of the book. In the chapter about naming children, Dale warns against giving children unusual names that could cause them to be subject to teasing. I therefore wondered why his boys are called Chase and Logan - however, this was one of the few things that seemed a bit odd. A recurring theme is how Chase and Logan remember what Dale says and repeat them at exactly the wrong time. In one case, a business get-together outside work allows the families to meet each other. When Chase is introduced to Dale's boss, he tells him what his did really thought of him. Another recurring theme is the difference in outlook between men and women and between boys and girls. A particularly entertaining episode occurs when Chase is invited to a girl's birthday party. Of the twelve children at the party, Chase is one of only two boys. He and his father knew as they arrived that accepting the invitation was a mistake and things get worse when they learn that all the food is vegan - not what they were expecting or wanting. So Chase wasn't rewarded for the ordeal with a slice of chocolate cake - it was a tofu cake instead. When Dale and Chase learned that, it was too much for them. Dale sometimes compares life before he was a father with life as a father, describing how he and Starla spent their time together as a childless couple and all the exciting things they did, then explaining how his boys changed everything - but it's also clear that he loves the company of his boys the way that a father should. So, this book is the story of sleepless nights, ruined weekends and other misadventures that are all part of family life, told in an extremely witty style. I embarrassed others in the launderette by laughing so much while I was reading this as the washing machine was doing its work. Let's hope that he provides an updated edition in a few years time.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Gift for Any Dad
Review: Being a Dad by Dale Alderman is a delightfully funny book about the experience of new parenting as told by a father of two boys under seven years of age. From the initial homecoming with new bundle of joy to the potty training to school days, Dad relates the embarrassments, the horrors, and the joys with hilarious candid personal experiences. This book will make any parent grin and say, "Been there, done that," as he or she chuckles through re-living the memory from this dad's perspective. This is a perfect gift book for expectant or new fathers, or to make any daddy laugh! A fun read.
Rating:
Summary: A hilarious celebration of the true joy of fatherhood
Review: Being a Dad: The Stuff No One Told Me is one of the funniest books I have read in a long, long time. This isn't some kind of guidebook for present and future dads, it's pretty much one man's retelling of a number of memorable and exceedingly humorous experiences he has shared with his two young sons over the course of their young lives. Much of what Dale Alderman says rings true with me, and I'm not even a father (heck, I'm scared of anyone under twelve years old), so I am convinced that many parents out there (mothers as well as fathers, but especially fathers) will be nodding their heads and mumbling things such as "Yep, I know what that's like" and "The same thing happened to me" as they laugh their way from one chapter to the next. You may want to think about reading this book while no one else is around. Being a Dad will have you laughing out loud time and time again, and there are far too many people out there in the world who see a reader laughing and simply feel compelled to say something like "That book cannot possibly be that funny." Take it from me, folks - Being a Dad is that funny! (I almost never use exclamation marks, so you know I'm telling the truth here.) It's not easy to laugh and wince at the same time, but Dale Alderman even had me laughing through a chapter dealing with the V word (vasectomy) - anyone who can make the details of a vasectomy funny is a comical genius. As Alderman points out in his introduction, he isn't offering advice here; he is just telling a number of funny stories based on his own experience as a father. His style of presentation is eloquent yet personal, incredibly witty yet sincere; he writes as if he were sitting there telling you these funny stories firsthand, and he is more than willing to talk about his own mistakes and embarrassing moments. You will learn all about the Hooter Fairy, find out which brand of nipple cream reigns supreme, hear all about the magic of growing older while your children run circles around you, and experience the real-life joys and headaches of vacationing with little children, attending children's parties, and trying to get through each day without a blow or kick in a sensitive area. Little League games, field trips, special father-son days: these are major events in the life of a father, and Alderman recounts his own experiences in vivid detail. Through it all, Alderman's genuine love for his wife and children as well as the true joy he finds in even the most trying of days in the life of a husband and father are obvious. In a very real sense, this book wonderfully communicates the true joy of fatherhood, and what could be more important than that, really? The world needs more fathers like Dale Alderman.
Rating:
Summary: A hilarious celebration of the true joy of fatherhood
Review: Being a Dad: The Stuff No One Told Me is one of the funniest books I have read in a long, long time. This isn't some kind of guidebook for present and future dads, it's pretty much one man's retelling of a number of memorable and exceedingly humorous experiences he has shared with his two young sons over the course of their young lives. Much of what Dale Alderman says rings true with me, and I'm not even a father (heck, I'm scared of anyone under twelve years old), so I am convinced that many parents out there (mothers as well as fathers, but especially fathers) will be nodding their heads and mumbling things such as "Yep, I know what that's like" and "The same thing happened to me" as they laugh their way from one chapter to the next. You may want to think about reading this book while no one else is around. Being a Dad will have you laughing out loud time and time again, and there are far too many people out there in the world who see a reader laughing and simply feel compelled to say something like "That book cannot possibly be that funny." Take it from me, folks - Being a Dad is that funny! (I almost never use exclamation marks, so you know I'm telling the truth here.) It's not easy to laugh and wince at the same time, but Dale Alderman even had me laughing through a chapter dealing with the V word (vasectomy) - anyone who can make the details of a vasectomy funny is a comical genius. As Alderman points out in his introduction, he isn't offering advice here; he is just telling a number of funny stories based on his own experience as a father. His style of presentation is eloquent yet personal, incredibly witty yet sincere; he writes as if he were sitting there telling you these funny stories firsthand, and he is more than willing to talk about his own mistakes and embarrassing moments. You will learn all about the Hooter Fairy, find out which brand of nipple cream reigns supreme, hear all about the magic of growing older while your children run circles around you, and experience the real-life joys and headaches of vacationing with little children, attending children's parties, and trying to get through each day without a blow or kick in a sensitive area. Little League games, field trips, special father-son days: these are major events in the life of a father, and Alderman recounts his own experiences in vivid detail. Through it all, Alderman's genuine love for his wife and children as well as the true joy he finds in even the most trying of days in the life of a husband and father are obvious. In a very real sense, this book wonderfully communicates the true joy of fatherhood, and what could be more important than that, really? The world needs more fathers like Dale Alderman.
Rating:
Summary: ATTENTION: A Bright New Comedian Has Arrived!
Review: Dale Alderman has the gift for comedy - in excelsis! In BEING A DAD: The Stuff No One Told Me he offers real life experiences about the uncommonly hilarious (in retrospect, mind you) instances that color the life of young families. He relates his own moments of madness with his two sons (three years apart) and his wife in a way that is usually found in the territory of stand-up comedians on Comedy Central. Embarrassing situations - such as standing in line to buy nipple cream and breast pads, changing his first diaper, the 'real inside story' on vasectomy, potty training, the body changes that occur after babies enter the family space - changes for both mother AND father - and on and on in an endless protracted heartfelt chuckle to guffaw. Not only is Alderman funny; he knows how to write. This book is for everyone - not just commiserating Dads. Much like David Sedaris, Alderman is a naturally gifted writer of comedy. Let's hope he pursues more books about more topics because few authors relate the absurdity of everyday incidents better than Dale Alderman! A wonderful little book, this.
Rating:
Summary: ATTENTION: A Bright New Comedian Has Arrived!
Review: Dale Alderman has the gift for comedy - in excelsis! In BEING A DAD: The Stuff No One Told Me he offers real life experiences about the uncommonly hilarious (in retrospect, mind you) instances that color the life of young families. He relates his own moments of madness with his two sons (three years apart) and his wife in a way that is usually found in the territory of stand-up comedians on Comedy Central. Embarrassing situations - such as standing in line to buy nipple cream and breast pads, changing his first diaper, the 'real inside story' on vasectomy, potty training, the body changes that occur after babies enter the family space - changes for both mother AND father - and on and on in an endless protracted heartfelt chuckle to guffaw. Not only is Alderman funny; he knows how to write. This book is for everyone - not just commiserating Dads. Much like David Sedaris, Alderman is a naturally gifted writer of comedy. Let's hope he pursues more books about more topics because few authors relate the absurdity of everyday incidents better than Dale Alderman! A wonderful little book, this.
Rating:
Summary: Fun with Fatherhood
Review: Many a true word has been written in jest, & BEING A DAD may just make father's laugh a lot more! This crazy ride gallops from childbirth to grownup-hood, however, unlike those rides at the fairs, fatherhood has no end, & from the birth to first time Dale Alderman is trapped alone in a room with his first son to the surprises of brand new anatomy to watching the money disappear, the comedy roars on... Rebeccasreads highly recommends ON BEING A DAD for everyman you know who watches tv, doesn't understand women & who's a Dad -- it'll do them good to know they're not alone!
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