Monkey In The Middle

by Dobie Maxwell

Comedian Dobie Maxwell has written his life story. Entitled “Monkey In The Middle,” the book is being released next month by the Chicago-based Eckhartz Press. Pre-orders are now being taken, with the book expected to be shipped on March 14th. In addition to being a top Midwestern stand-up comic (nicknamed “Mr. Lucky”), Maxwell has also spent his fair share of time working in Chicago radio. For one year, December 2003 to December 2004, Maxwell was co-host of WLUP-FM/The Loop’s morning show, working alongside Spike Manton and Bruce Wolf. A few years later, he became one of “Jerry’s Kidders,” heard weekly on Jerry Agar’s radio shows on WLS-AM, and later WGN-AM. Maxwell also worked in radio in Lansing, Milwaukee, Kenosha, Reno, and Salt Lake City. (http://eckhartzpress.com/shop/monkey-...)

374 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[jessica bellows · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not my usual "type" of book. But, I loved it!!! Maxwell is an excellent story teller, yet it's not a story-it's non-fiction! Unbelievable tale of the unluckiest man in the world. You'll laugh (he is a comedian) and you may even cry (he is human and so very likable). Highly recommend this book.

[Steve Sabo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dobie Maxwell is a talented writer. He keeps you engaged with his reading and the prose flows naturally. It's a fascinating tale, and the fact that it is all true is what makes this story spectacular. The only problem that I found was that it is a bit self-indulgent. Essentially, it is two books shuffled together into one manuscript-- the life story of dented can Dobie J. Maxwell and bank heist caper thriller story. Both books are good, but I think the two stories get in the way of each other. The whole bank robbery aspect doesn't really come into fruition until well over page 200-- that's a lot of exposition! He also tends to be a bit heavy handed in keeping you on track with the story. I found him repeating a couple things, probably because he felt they were very important, but I found myself saying, "You already said that!" on more than one occasion. If I had read a few chapters and set it aside for a week or two, then picked it up again, it would have been extremely helpful, but since I read it entirely at pretty much a straight clip, I found myself wanting it to move along a bit faster. That is a small criticism though. It's a good book. You should give it a shot.

[Catherine M. Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story and excellently writing. I could easily imagine this as a movie. What a story!

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's rare when I reread a book but I not only reread Dobie Maxwell's incredible Monkey In The Middle but also raised the rating from 4 to 5 stars on goodreads.
Dobie Maxwell is my Facebook friend, friend in real life, colleague in comedy and fellow former Milwaukeean.
It's a biography and a story of not one but two bank robberies and a memoir and a wild roadtrip with Timbo, Dobie's longtime friend with his cousin, Brett, to Las Vegas featuring a midway point of Dobie acing an audition before returning to Brewtown. WITH AN AMAZING and pleasantly surprising twist ending, which strikes completely out of the blue, an astonishing redemptive moment, rendered with heartfelt wonderment. That section alone is worth the price of admission, or in this case, his book. Which Dobie signed for me, see enclosed photo.
Ultimately, a comedian has two jobs: Getting to the gig & getting home.
(Getting home is the raison d'être of John Knight's brilliant, yet somewhat flawed book-"I'm Still Aggravated But At Least I Didn't Kill Anybody!": A Humorous Look at Anger Management. In the past, I had said I was going to review Knight's book and I will but I'll need to reread it before I do. Soon.)
-
Many years ago, Dobie and I were performing separate one-nighters in Northern Wisconsin during the Winter and I was able to snag a ride back to Brewtown with him. We were talking Green Bay Packers stuff, as Wisconsinites do and as we neared TitleTown I mentioned that I had never been to Lambeau Field or the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame & Museum. Dobie swerved to catch the last of the 3 exits in to Green Bay and we went to that Hall of Fame and Museum! It was very cool!
-
Not long after a car crash, cops and medical personnel told Dobie he was lucky to be alive. Later, while he hobbled around the south side of East Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee and saw, who he assumed was his lifelong best friend, Timbo, dressed in a Gorilla costume, attempting to gain entrance to a bank.
My Favorite Sentence of the Book:
I stood stunned in surreal silence and soaked in the scene.
(Page 239)
-
Monkey In The Middle has some heavy-hitters from the Milwaukee-area with promotional blurbs on the back cover via well-respected, longtime evening newscaster, Ted Perry, anchor on FOX6 AND Drew Olson who was/is omnipresent in the 414 area code sports radio & TV world but I knew him as a writer as I read his stuff written for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Also, Drew would have been the fourth road-tripper to Las Vegas, with Dobie, Timbo and Brett had a breaking story not pulled him back to the newspaper.
Even heavier-hitters from history, introduce each chapter including popular quotes from Mark Twain to Vince Lombardi and Thomas Paine!
-
Side Notes:
- Another time, I saw Ted Perry, TV6 news anchor at an East Side Milwaukee restaurant wearing a puzzled expression while looking at me. Ted had been to the Comedy Cafe a number of times and just failed to recognize me without a microphone in front of my face.
- I met Timbo, antagonist to Dobie, the protagonist, at a gig Dobie booked me for in Waukesha, a near suburb of Milwaukee.
- I met Dobie's relative and Vegas roadtripper, Brett at least once and for some reason I want to say a couple of times.
- I was the opening act at weekend shows at an Illinois hotel for The Intergalactic Comedian, Super Chuckle!!
-
My question for Dobie: I know you have mentioned a number of times how much you like the book Foul Ball by Jim Bouton. Have you associated that book, Foul Ball, with how you met Timbo, when you were very young, by chasing a stray baseball and returning it to Timbo AND is there a publication date for your next book?
-
I went from a Milwaukee that couldn't maintain an Open Mic Night for more than 3 weeks to reaching my goal of making a living at standup comedy. Had I known the Ins & Outs from Dobie's Maxwell Method, I would have reached my goals much sooner and, who knows, might still be performing. I am considering doing comedy again.
I'm just suggesting that the small price of admission to The Maxwell Method should be purchasing Dobie's excellent book, Monkey In The Middle. Not only will you be entertained but you can read an example of a comedian writing a book, as you too, one day, might also do.
And if you will excuse me, it's time to get back to writing my book.