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Fatherhood
From one of America's most beloved funnymen comes a hilarious look at the lighter side of fatherhood. So, what is fatherhood...? It's pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope. It's helping your children learn English as a second language. It's asking your son to make up a name rather than tell anyone who he is. It's knowing that "Everything's okay, Dad!" means "I haven't killed anyone!" It's the book every father will love. It's Bill Cosby at his wittiest, wisest, and warmest. " Bill Cosby makes fatherhood come alive. He takes us on a comedic yet insightful journey through the awesome shifting sands of parenthood. Though this volume is titled Fatherhood , its effect will be to strengthen the entire family." --from the afterword by Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D.
178 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
27 people are currently reading
1111 people want to read
About the author
Bill Cosby
153 books224 followersWilliam Henry Cosby Jr. is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy star, with his longest-running live-action role being that of Cliff Huxtable in the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). He also released several stand-up comedy albums and was a popular spokesperson in advertising for decades. Cosby was well known in the United States for his fatherly image and gained a reputation as "America's Dad". Since 2014, dozens of allegations of sexual assault have been made against him.
Cosby began his career as a stand-up comic at the Hungry I nightclub in San Francisco in 1961, and primarily performed observational comedy in a conversational style. He released numerous standup specials starting with Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right! (1963) and starred in the comedy film Bill Cosby: Himself (1983). Cosby still holds the record for winning the most Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, with seven wins. His acting career began with a starring role in the NBC secret-agent show I Spy (1965–1968), which broke new ground for African Americans when he made history by winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first black actor to do so.
Cosby made his film debut starring in Man and Boy (1971) followed by Hickey & Boggs (1972), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Let's Do It Again (1975), A Piece of the Action (1977), Leonard Part 6 (1987), and Ghost Dad (1990). He produced and starred in a series of television sitcoms such as The Bill Cosby Show (1969–1971), Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–1985) and The Cosby Show (1984–1992) as well as its the spin-off A Different World (1987–1993), The Cosby Mysteries (1994–1995), and Cosby (1996–2000). He hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things (1998–2000). During his prolific career he advertised numerous products including the Jell-O ice pop treats Pudding Pop.
Over 60 women have accused Cosby of rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse and sexual harassment. Those allegations gained traction 2014 after a set which made mention of them by fellow comedian Hannibal Buress went viral. Numerous allegations followed with Cosby maintaining his innocence and repeatedly denying the allegations made against him. Despite receiving numerous awards and honorary degrees, several of them were revoked following the allegations. Reruns of The Cosby Show and other programs featuring Cosby were pulled from syndication. In 2018, Cosby was convicted of aggravated sexual assault against Andrea Constand. He was imprisoned until the conviction was vacated in June 2021 by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on the basis of Cosby's 5th Amendment and 14th Amendment due process rights having been violated. In 2022, Cosby was found civilly liable for having sexually assaulted Judy Huth when she was 16.
Cosby began his career as a stand-up comic at the Hungry I nightclub in San Francisco in 1961, and primarily performed observational comedy in a conversational style. He released numerous standup specials starting with Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right! (1963) and starred in the comedy film Bill Cosby: Himself (1983). Cosby still holds the record for winning the most Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, with seven wins. His acting career began with a starring role in the NBC secret-agent show I Spy (1965–1968), which broke new ground for African Americans when he made history by winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first black actor to do so.
Cosby made his film debut starring in Man and Boy (1971) followed by Hickey & Boggs (1972), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Let's Do It Again (1975), A Piece of the Action (1977), Leonard Part 6 (1987), and Ghost Dad (1990). He produced and starred in a series of television sitcoms such as The Bill Cosby Show (1969–1971), Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–1985) and The Cosby Show (1984–1992) as well as its the spin-off A Different World (1987–1993), The Cosby Mysteries (1994–1995), and Cosby (1996–2000). He hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things (1998–2000). During his prolific career he advertised numerous products including the Jell-O ice pop treats Pudding Pop.
Over 60 women have accused Cosby of rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse and sexual harassment. Those allegations gained traction 2014 after a set which made mention of them by fellow comedian Hannibal Buress went viral. Numerous allegations followed with Cosby maintaining his innocence and repeatedly denying the allegations made against him. Despite receiving numerous awards and honorary degrees, several of them were revoked following the allegations. Reruns of The Cosby Show and other programs featuring Cosby were pulled from syndication. In 2018, Cosby was convicted of aggravated sexual assault against Andrea Constand. He was imprisoned until the conviction was vacated in June 2021 by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on the basis of Cosby's 5th Amendment and 14th Amendment due process rights having been violated. In 2022, Cosby was found civilly liable for having sexually assaulted Judy Huth when she was 16.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 265 reviews
March 4, 2012
This was a very enjoyable read! It was another one of those books that I’ve know about for a long time, but never had the interest in reading. I came across it again recently, and, since now I am a father of two, thought it might be interesting. It was. I laughed on almost every page. What I loved most is that Cosby is so sarcastic about his appreciation for his children, speaking often of a concealed desire to set them on fire or getting rid of them and making new ones. He refers many times to his hope that his children will be out of the house by the time he dies. He calls his children beggars, and says that he often sits in the stillness of the night watching his daughter sleep, relishing the air of innocence about her when she’s not asking for anything. He is wry, and he says it like he means it. But he’s not always serious, except when he is. You have to trust him to understand him, and I do.
He’s creative with his comedy, and actually very intelligent about it. I was surprised to find out that he has his doctorate in education, and his value on education certainly comes through in the book. These are no low-brow jokes, although the appeal probably still spans across all educational levels. He expertly and often eloquently boils down the ‘sweet insanity’ of parenting, not only fatherhood, to its quintessence, and helps us come to terms with those most frustrating realities like a child’s lack of logic, a girl’s journey through dating, a boy’s devil-may-care attitude, and a grown children’s tendency to return home after college.
I am definitely going to re-introduce this book into circulation among my friends and family who are parents, although a parent will mostly appreciate it only after having been a parent for at least several years. Besides being a classic—much of it has already woven itself into the parenting humor of our culture (“I brought you into this world, and I can take you out…”)—it is a safety valve of sorts, releasing in laughter the building pressure from all the things you think you can’t complain about in parenting. Cosby blows his top for you, and does it brilliantly. You can hear his punctuated, consonant-popping, measured emphasis of every syllable, stressing his utter bewilderment of why kids do the things they do, and why people choose to have them in the first place.
For all the satire, it really is good-natured humor. He makes complaining about children’s behavior feel right, for at its heart it is deeply reverent of the miracle of life and love. You sense that Cosby is a paragon of a good father, and his steady love and understanding of children’s sometimes slow intellectual development becomes the model of patience for his readers. I come away from this with a better understanding that parents are in the unique position of being the wisdom and law for relatively unreasonable creatures, while still trying to learn the rules of the life ourselves. We walk the tightrope of trying not to take human logic—and the lack of— too seriously, while taking love very seriously.
I don’t spend a lot of time with humor books, but this one was rich and well worth the short read!
He’s creative with his comedy, and actually very intelligent about it. I was surprised to find out that he has his doctorate in education, and his value on education certainly comes through in the book. These are no low-brow jokes, although the appeal probably still spans across all educational levels. He expertly and often eloquently boils down the ‘sweet insanity’ of parenting, not only fatherhood, to its quintessence, and helps us come to terms with those most frustrating realities like a child’s lack of logic, a girl’s journey through dating, a boy’s devil-may-care attitude, and a grown children’s tendency to return home after college.
I am definitely going to re-introduce this book into circulation among my friends and family who are parents, although a parent will mostly appreciate it only after having been a parent for at least several years. Besides being a classic—much of it has already woven itself into the parenting humor of our culture (“I brought you into this world, and I can take you out…”)—it is a safety valve of sorts, releasing in laughter the building pressure from all the things you think you can’t complain about in parenting. Cosby blows his top for you, and does it brilliantly. You can hear his punctuated, consonant-popping, measured emphasis of every syllable, stressing his utter bewilderment of why kids do the things they do, and why people choose to have them in the first place.
For all the satire, it really is good-natured humor. He makes complaining about children’s behavior feel right, for at its heart it is deeply reverent of the miracle of life and love. You sense that Cosby is a paragon of a good father, and his steady love and understanding of children’s sometimes slow intellectual development becomes the model of patience for his readers. I come away from this with a better understanding that parents are in the unique position of being the wisdom and law for relatively unreasonable creatures, while still trying to learn the rules of the life ourselves. We walk the tightrope of trying not to take human logic—and the lack of— too seriously, while taking love very seriously.
I don’t spend a lot of time with humor books, but this one was rich and well worth the short read!
October 15, 2020
Read in 1986. This book was actually ghost written by humorist Alvin Poussaint. What a shitbag!!
May 22, 2014
For some reason, my father-in-law is not a big Bill Cosby fan. We've never really talked about why this is, but it's common knowledge around here and it gets brought up from time to time.
My mother-in-law saw this at a used book sale and gave it to me as a gift from him, telling me how much he loves Cosby, knowing the whole time that we both knew he didn't. It was pretty funny. The only thing funnier would have been if she left me a note on the inside cover extolling Cosby's virtues while mimicking my father-in-law's handwriting and signature.
I don't think she expected me to read the book, being that it was a joke gift and all - but here I am.
And I kindof liked it. There were several parts I could really relate to. For instance, he says: "Parents are not really interested in justice. They just want quiet." (pg.54) That about sums up my parenting style right there. One daughter's crying because another daughter took something. But the first daughter's turn was up. No it wasn't. It's my turn. The only reason she wanted the baby doll in the first place was because she couldn't have it.
Sure, I try to be just. I try to get to the bottom of things. I try to appease everybody and teach sharing, caring, but really you're just wearing me out. I want justice, but often I want quiet far more.
Cosby takes the reader through the various stages of raising kids - infant through college. He regales us with tales and advice along the way; good stuff that most families can relate to.
And he keeps his sense of humor an irony. He seems to realize that his nostalgia for the past is false, and that when his children yearn for the days of their youth, their memories will have been tainted as well - which is refreshing, because I can't stand the "the world is going downhill fast" speeches that seem to be everywhere. We never used to have those when I was a kid...
My mother-in-law saw this at a used book sale and gave it to me as a gift from him, telling me how much he loves Cosby, knowing the whole time that we both knew he didn't. It was pretty funny. The only thing funnier would have been if she left me a note on the inside cover extolling Cosby's virtues while mimicking my father-in-law's handwriting and signature.
I don't think she expected me to read the book, being that it was a joke gift and all - but here I am.
And I kindof liked it. There were several parts I could really relate to. For instance, he says: "Parents are not really interested in justice. They just want quiet." (pg.54) That about sums up my parenting style right there. One daughter's crying because another daughter took something. But the first daughter's turn was up. No it wasn't. It's my turn. The only reason she wanted the baby doll in the first place was because she couldn't have it.
Sure, I try to be just. I try to get to the bottom of things. I try to appease everybody and teach sharing, caring, but really you're just wearing me out. I want justice, but often I want quiet far more.
Cosby takes the reader through the various stages of raising kids - infant through college. He regales us with tales and advice along the way; good stuff that most families can relate to.
And he keeps his sense of humor an irony. He seems to realize that his nostalgia for the past is false, and that when his children yearn for the days of their youth, their memories will have been tainted as well - which is refreshing, because I can't stand the "the world is going downhill fast" speeches that seem to be everywhere. We never used to have those when I was a kid...
November 27, 2019
Before I start this review, I'd like to give a shoutout to Mr. Bill Cosby.
This book is really good, and I'm waiting for the second one.
Anyways.... This book is a really good read!
I highly recommend it for any Cosby Fans, or people trying to get into the Cosby Fan Subreddit.
This book has taught me, and many other people across America, just how to parent....
BILL COSBY STYLE!
It even shows some special moves, like the chloroform shuffle, and the zip zip bobbity bah!
Buy this book, now!
This book is really good, and I'm waiting for the second one.
Anyways.... This book is a really good read!
I highly recommend it for any Cosby Fans, or people trying to get into the Cosby Fan Subreddit.
This book has taught me, and many other people across America, just how to parent....
BILL COSBY STYLE!
It even shows some special moves, like the chloroform shuffle, and the zip zip bobbity bah!
Buy this book, now!
June 6, 2019
I was looking for a book with some of his normal humor, but this was basically only about fatherhood and the stages of raising a child, even to the afterward written by a doctor explaining the different stages of childhood. The thing I found ironic was his commenting on how important family is and how wonderful his wife is while he was raping other women.
May 2, 2013
If you like Bill Cosby, then you'll love this book. It's about how he found ways to be a father. This is one of the funniest books I've ever read.
September 18, 2014
A Great Book Full Of Laughter!
October 16, 2018
Very funny!!
April 5, 2020
I saw this book while looking through a list of best sellers, and as someone who grew up post Cosby Show and got to see his fall from grace in my mid 20’s, I was curious enough to see how America’s dad was such a monster underneath it all. Overall, it was a very fun read. A roller coaster if you will. At the high points, his sarcasm and wit will have you guffawing out loud, while the low points will consist of great parenting advice for you to tuck away and deploy at a point in time when your child finally hits varying stages in age. Then came the loops and times when everything went upside down. Hilarious side tangent, unbelievable conversations with children who seemingly strive to make you go crazy, and self analysis that reminds us that parenting is a lot of trying to reason with undeveloped, immature devils with your dna, simply there to collect when you’re ready to hit the old folks home or kick the bucket. It deserves 5 starts, and he too is reaping what he sowed. So while I had mixed feelings about reading something by a guy who turned out to be America’s biggest dirt bag, I think that in itself taught me how everyone who grew up watching and loving his show felt when they found out what kind of guy he was. I had to dive in to understand just how this avid character could have taken over living rooms across the country, and why it was so impactful to see the wolf in sheep’s clothing face the music in the end. And today the Hollywood elite keep falling. It’s about time they too learn that stardom should never trump the law. So read it, don’t feel bad. Like with his show, it is also important to remember that though minor as it may be, the monetary compensation of consuming his show, much more than the book, affects everyone else he worked with, and through no fault of their own may suffer because he decided he wanted to be something evil.
August 8, 2012
Hysterical from start to finish. As usual Bill Cosby’s humor hits home. He has so many ludicrous everyday family situations that are funny because they really happen, like the loss of bathroom privacy and begging children. It is relevant to anyone who is a parent, plans to be a parent, or who has ever been part of a family…so for everyone. His wit is for all ages. I had a smile plastered on my face throughout and laughed non-stop. If ever I feel overwhelmed with raising my 4 children I will pick this book up to lighten my mood. I was cracking up when he talked about thinking his brother's name was "Lookdammit" and his father couldn't finish a sentence due to censoring his language. I love the way he candidly talks about wanting to threaten your children when they are driving you crazy or thinking cruel things toward them that you would never do—all the while loving them unconditionally. This is the absurdity of family life in a nutshell.
June 23, 2019
Not a bad read - breezy and humorous, though not all that insightful. It contains Cosby's patented wholesome humour with a dash of cynicism, which contributed to the shock of his fall from grace as America's 'dad'. Released during the height of the Cosby Show, it dovetails nicely with that image.
Overall, you can see why Cosby was such a popular satirist. His grasp for brevity and storytelling is very good, akin to that of P.J. O Rourke (though O'Rourke doesn't use a ghostwriter). It's not hard to see why this was a big hit in its day. It's not really packed with good parenting advice, but I suspect it was actually written as an antithesis to parenting books. In a way Cosby makes parenting seem like a massive chore, but between the lines he praises it.
So, generally speaking it's good satire, well-written and easy to get through. If you want a funny book about parenting, this is not a bad choice.
Overall, you can see why Cosby was such a popular satirist. His grasp for brevity and storytelling is very good, akin to that of P.J. O Rourke (though O'Rourke doesn't use a ghostwriter). It's not hard to see why this was a big hit in its day. It's not really packed with good parenting advice, but I suspect it was actually written as an antithesis to parenting books. In a way Cosby makes parenting seem like a massive chore, but between the lines he praises it.
So, generally speaking it's good satire, well-written and easy to get through. If you want a funny book about parenting, this is not a bad choice.
March 25, 2013
I picked up the "Nationwide #1 Bestseller Deluxe Paperback Edition" of "Fatherhood" for fifty cents from a historic society's book sale. Like much of Bill Cosby's work, it's a gem.
This is a guide to parenting. It follows along the lines of Cosby's famous standup routine so some of the material will feel familiar. Many of the antidoctes told in here also found their way into the Cosby Show. That said, it's great and you should read it.
Since I am so privileged to own the "Deluxe Paperback Edition" I feel the need to share it with friends. My hope is that my particular copy will be passed around among my friends who are fathers, as a reminder that most parents manage to survive raising their children.
This is a guide to parenting. It follows along the lines of Cosby's famous standup routine so some of the material will feel familiar. Many of the antidoctes told in here also found their way into the Cosby Show. That said, it's great and you should read it.
Since I am so privileged to own the "Deluxe Paperback Edition" I feel the need to share it with friends. My hope is that my particular copy will be passed around among my friends who are fathers, as a reminder that most parents manage to survive raising their children.
August 21, 2014
This book was very funny, interesting and well-written! I loved it!
As a writer, it is fun to see what a situation is like told from the point of view of someone who has been in it or is still in it. In this case: Fatherhood, something that I know nothing about this from personal experience(I'm 18, you would hope that I didn't xD) but this type of book really can help you put yourself in someone else's skin and also put yourself in yourself in the skin of your own parents and see (sometimes, maybe, rarely haha) that you are totally wrong in something that you are arguing with your parents about. I also believe that this specific book can help you mature as a person child or adult!
As a writer, it is fun to see what a situation is like told from the point of view of someone who has been in it or is still in it. In this case: Fatherhood, something that I know nothing about this from personal experience(I'm 18, you would hope that I didn't xD) but this type of book really can help you put yourself in someone else's skin and also put yourself in yourself in the skin of your own parents and see (sometimes, maybe, rarely haha) that you are totally wrong in something that you are arguing with your parents about. I also believe that this specific book can help you mature as a person child or adult!
July 24, 2008
I read this book right before we had our first son and laughed my head off at how funny Bill Cosby is. I read this book after our second son and laughed my head off at how funny Bill Cosby is and then cried at how perfect his description of fatherhood is and how I was committing all the same blunders. Awesome book!
June 11, 2020
I read this in the 1980s when I was about 12 or 13. At the time, I loved it. At the time The Cosby Show was the most popular show on TV and Bill Cosby was "America's Favorite Dad."Knowing what I now know about him I would never read it, but I'm not going to pretend I didn't love it when I did read it.
December 20, 2008
phony.
September 10, 2009
I read this book as a young father and didn't get too much encouragement from of it. I loved Cosby's comic routines and the Cosby Show, but I guess I was expecting some deeper insights on fathering more than all the cynical humor about all the trouble kids cause their parents. I also wondered why the book needed a lengthy introduction and afterward by a Harvard psychiatrist. Dr. Poussaint seemed to be trying to salvage Cosby's content with some expert professional advice on raising kids. Not that this advice was any more helpful, but I would rather have had it from from Cosby himself, in his own words and experience, than from an academic.
Read
June 13, 2023DNF. I found the humor pretty mediocre in book format. (I remember finding parts very funny years ago when he performed it on stage). The mediocre content and the creepy recent news about the author made this a DNF
August 16, 2018
legends never die, but Bill's been taking it in the shorts lately. he's great at what he does. one of the good ones.
February 26, 2020
He may have been an awful man, but I enjoyed this book greatly as a child. It was funny and insightful!
June 30, 2021
I read it before i found out what he was
Read
September 2, 2024Found at a local Goodwill this afternoon; picked it up because it just seemed irresistible. Lots of ‘I hate my wife’-esque humor. ‘Funny’ jokes about getting hit by your dad. Do not recommend, obviously.
March 12, 2024
It was funny but I'm loathe to say that now he's been cancelled.
August 29, 2025
This was ass. I found in a free library and read it for the bit. Impressive that a ghostwritten book could still be so bad.
December 12, 2014
A humorous account of Cosby's fatherhood days, interspersed with some comic, some intelligent and some nonsensical material. However, it is quite hard to get a coherent message on the subject sometimes, even if you get a laugh or two instead.
While I did not find Cosby's book to be a particularly illuminating guide on fatherhood, it is, nevertheless, an entertaining read. On the other hand, one should not dismiss this book as comic, bargain-bin trash. There are some good points as well. Such as that the challenge of fatherhood has remained virtually the same from our caveman days, despite the fact that we have moved closer to a concept of androgynous fatherhood (at least in some countries) nowadays. Cosby hilariously remarks that Mozart's father must have asked his prodigy extraordinary son to "turn that crap down" as much as he did ask his own son. There is always a rift between the older and the younger generations in this regard, and it has nothing to do with today's modern society. Discipline has always been a concern as well, as another example.
All in all, Cosby's book is little more than an entertaining read on the subject, although it does offer some unique and witty perspectives sometimes.
While I did not find Cosby's book to be a particularly illuminating guide on fatherhood, it is, nevertheless, an entertaining read. On the other hand, one should not dismiss this book as comic, bargain-bin trash. There are some good points as well. Such as that the challenge of fatherhood has remained virtually the same from our caveman days, despite the fact that we have moved closer to a concept of androgynous fatherhood (at least in some countries) nowadays. Cosby hilariously remarks that Mozart's father must have asked his prodigy extraordinary son to "turn that crap down" as much as he did ask his own son. There is always a rift between the older and the younger generations in this regard, and it has nothing to do with today's modern society. Discipline has always been a concern as well, as another example.
All in all, Cosby's book is little more than an entertaining read on the subject, although it does offer some unique and witty perspectives sometimes.
October 15, 2015
I found this on the shelf at a holiday house, near a book celebrating Rolf Harris. Reading this particular Cosby book does nothing to foreshadow the staggering number of claims that have been made against him in the last fifteen or so years; it is more tinged in hindsight by the late nineties murder of his only son, who is frequently mentioned here.
Fatherhood is a collection of pithy anecdotes telling us that kids say the darnedest things and if you hit your son twice he will behave forever. It's bookended by incredibly dry psychological parenting advice from an MD, which offers remarkably progressive deconstruction of the destructive nature of enforcing gender roles in the raising of children, but neither the Poussaint or Cosby material justify the scant hours needed to consume this slim tome.
That's right: Bill Cosby's Fatherhood offers neither irony, entertainment or insight into the mind of a monster value. (It is said that much of his other printed material hints at his dark pathology; this must be the most tame of his works).
Fatherhood is a collection of pithy anecdotes telling us that kids say the darnedest things and if you hit your son twice he will behave forever. It's bookended by incredibly dry psychological parenting advice from an MD, which offers remarkably progressive deconstruction of the destructive nature of enforcing gender roles in the raising of children, but neither the Poussaint or Cosby material justify the scant hours needed to consume this slim tome.
That's right: Bill Cosby's Fatherhood offers neither irony, entertainment or insight into the mind of a monster value. (It is said that much of his other printed material hints at his dark pathology; this must be the most tame of his works).
May 30, 2013
I gave this two stars because I did chuckle a few times. Otherwise, I would give it one star.
I've enjoyed Bill Cosby on television and seen a few clips of comedy routines that I found humorous, but as written material, his comedy falls flat. Bill Cosby's delivery accounts for 80% of the routine. Without his delivery, the book sounds merely like hyperbolic cynicism. In addition, it would have been improved immensely by leaving out the profane and occasionally blasphemous language.
To make matters worse, this written comedy routine was sandwiched between two serious essays promoting modern fatherhood as shaped by the feminist perspective. Alvin F. Poussaint's Introduction and Afterward fit as well as a tuxedo in a pig sty. The juxtaposition of his work with Mr. Cosby's seemed tremendously out of place.
All in all, this book did prove to be a light, quick read, but also a general waste of time.
I've enjoyed Bill Cosby on television and seen a few clips of comedy routines that I found humorous, but as written material, his comedy falls flat. Bill Cosby's delivery accounts for 80% of the routine. Without his delivery, the book sounds merely like hyperbolic cynicism. In addition, it would have been improved immensely by leaving out the profane and occasionally blasphemous language.
To make matters worse, this written comedy routine was sandwiched between two serious essays promoting modern fatherhood as shaped by the feminist perspective. Alvin F. Poussaint's Introduction and Afterward fit as well as a tuxedo in a pig sty. The juxtaposition of his work with Mr. Cosby's seemed tremendously out of place.
All in all, this book did prove to be a light, quick read, but also a general waste of time.
September 23, 2015
This was a light read. So light that even I could finish it in a night. And boy, never had I laughed so much reading a book. Bill Cosby was great. Parenting is really tough and the greatest take away from this book is that you learn to go easy on things that would have, previously, ended up in you tearing your hair out. He shows the funny and frustrating side of raising the most evil creation of man and also shows us the joy he had in doing that 5 times.
Having said all that, the title and marketing of this book is greatly misleading and that took one star from this 4 star worthy book. It's not a how to guide on fatherhood as they say. The book is just a note by Bill Cosby on his experience as a father from which we could take some points if we liked.
Having said all that, the title and marketing of this book is greatly misleading and that took one star from this 4 star worthy book. It's not a how to guide on fatherhood as they say. The book is just a note by Bill Cosby on his experience as a father from which we could take some points if we liked.
February 6, 2014
First off, I chose to read this because he was in town but too expensive for me to see. Secondly, I was actually surprised and disappointed in this book (saved me from spending too much money on his show, I guess). Surprised by the swearing and sometimes vulgarity he shares when I never viewed him that way before. Disappointed because he seems to demean children a whole lot more than he praises them. Of course, there were some funny lines that he shares accurately about the difficulties of child raising, but I couldn't read beyond half of it. I was so tired of it by that time. And I just felt grateful for the good life I've had in raising my own children.
April 15, 2009
I read this when I was still a young father. I particularly liked the idea of writing letters to you daughter or son in each of her birthday and keeping those letters in a safe place. Then when she is already getting married, that's the time you give those letters to her. I also got goosebumps regarding Crosby's poignant story of the box that he kept on the topmost shelf of his closet that contains the mememtos of his daughter's childhood like dried spilt spaghettis, coloring books, shoes, etc. The way Crosby told those stories was really heartwarming.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 265 reviews