Bob Hope: My Life In Jokes

by Bob Hope, Linda Hope

To comedians, 'material'--their jokes--has always been precious, worthy of protecting and preserving. On stage, a good vaudeville routine could last years as it was performed on tour across the country. On radio, a year's vaudeville material might be fodder for one week's broadcast. Bob Hope used new material not only for his weekly radio series, but also for the several live charity appearances he made each week.

Organized by the stages of his life, accompanied by black-and-white photographs, this book gives readers a chance to enjoy the very best of Hope's jokes, from his early years in vaudeville, his top-rated radio show in the '30s and '40s, his legendary television appearances, and much more.

Genres: Humor, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Biography Memoir, Autobiography

224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2003

About the author

Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG (born Leslie Townes Hope) was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO tours entertaining American military personnel.

Throughout his career, he was honored for his humanitarian work. In 1996, the U.S. Congress honored Bob Hope by declaring him the "first and only honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces."

Reviews

[Gisela Hausmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bob Hope My life in Jokes should be required literature for authors of memoirs. Ok, the material is dated, in part extremely dated, however, most amazingly, Bob hope seems to have managed to makes fun of every aspect of his life.

The book is a collection of all his jokes arranged in a continuous timeline.

Bob Hope proves Mark Twain's point “Write what you know” and, Lord knows, he made a lot of money with it. The reason why I believe that this book should be required literature for authors of memoirs is that so often memoir writers see only the tragic, the dramatic, in short, the heavy aspects of their story; Bob Hope proves that success can be found by making fun of it.

Also: though this may sound funny, many of these old, dated jokes about the presidential debates of 1960 could have been recycled in 2016.

"I keep waiting for the moderator to say, "Will the next president step forward."

"Those debates are exciting... but I'll be glad when it's over. I hate long commercials."

"The campaign really is getting rough, you know. The other night while Kennedy was speaking, Nixon stood behind him humming "Rag Mop"."

There is a lot to be learned from this old master of jokes, I highly recommend the book to writers, comedians, and anybody who needs to infuse humor to their writing.

5 Stars,
Gisela Hausmann, author & blogger

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well done summary of Bob Hope's career and life. He was a master at extracting comedy from current events. Somewhat focused on his Presidential friendships from Roosevelt to Bush. Enjoyable light hearted read.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is lovely! It's a funny way to learn American history during the 20th century. Bob Hopes recollections put a happy spin on everyday life in Cleveland, Ohio in the early 1900s.

Another reviewer said he didn't enjoy reading non-stop jokes they lost their punch. I read a few pages of this small book before going to sleep; I was still smiling as I closed my eyes.

Bob Hope is an American icon (even if he was born in England) and his banter takes us along the streets to see children playing in patched and worn clothes. Since everyone was in the same boat, no one realized they were poor.

I don't know how we would have made it through the Vietnam War without Bob Hope. I remember being an adolescent and afraid our country was coming apart at the seams. Then Bob Hope would get on TV and exchange banter about the war and I didn't feel so worried about the riots and demonstrations.

Mr. Hope taught me that there was another way to view hard times and together we would make it through this problem too. I've always loved the man for his ability to make fun of anything and anybody ... especially himself.

If you are looking for the definitive history of Mr. Hope, you will need to go elsewhere. This is a happy frolic through his long life, one joke at a time!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A read for my library's "Bring Your Own Book" Club.

I'm not a big nonfiction person. (It always feels like homework to me.) So when the theme for December's Book Club was "biography," I knew I'd have to pick a quick read in order to have it finished in time. This book seemed to fit the bill: The life of Bob Hope, told in short snippets in his own words, with complementing jokes from his career.

All in all, a wonderfully fast, but also engaging read: Bob Hope lived to be 100, so seeing history unfold through his eyes, beside his jokes, was as fascinating as it was entertaining. Very much a time capsule in many ways, and timeless in many, many more. Humorous and educational, this quick read is perfect if you're a Bob Hope fan, or if you want a history lesson with a fun twist.

[Tayler Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't really like this book. It's told in a mix of jokes and information about his life in big print; I didn't particularly care for that format. Additionally, the book is void of any deep emotional involvement for the reader. Instead, it is a surface-level overview or summary of Bob Hope's life. I would much rather experience the emotional turmoil of life in a book than get an informational overview.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It really was his biography told in his jokes. As a result, it wasn't really a biography, as such. I enjoyed the jokes & I could see him saying them, though. Even the little prefaces for the jokes did not tell that much about his life - a lot of time they just referenced the news that was going on at the time.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bob Hope - Great actor, funny guy!

Some of his jokes are funny and others are lame, but overall it's a good read.

Here's one joke I thought was crazy...
"It takes Halley's Comet 76 years to get here. Big deal! So does a home-delivered pizza!"

He ain't completely wrong there!

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read of Bob Hope’s best jokes organized by the decades of his life.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just loved Bob Hope.

[Kent Ellgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read old Bob Hope jokes - brought back memories of watching him when I was a kid. I liked how they broke this up into years

[Gilly Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is literally a list of jokes.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much about comedy is timing, inflection, and callbacks. It just gets lost in book format. Also, newer generations will not have the benefit of having heard Bob Hope perform.

[Connie Becerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. He was an amazing man. Did a lot of good in his lifetime.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haven’t laughed this much in a while!

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 1 out of 5]

The initial idea of Mr. Hope putting his life into jokes sounds good. He was a comedian. He was good at what he did. What better way could he relay his life story? The problem is that all together, these jokes lose their humor.

The book might be useful for quotes, but as a book with substance it is seriously lacking.

[Nathan Wilder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bob Hope's life in jokes provides good insight into American culture and recent history. If historical political commentary could be told in the form of jokes, this is it. The book shifts from lower class poverty level and highly relatable jokes about common life to largely political and celebrity commentary and jokes by the end, which tells the story of Bob Hope's life from poverty to fame.

[Whimsical · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so very funny. Pick it up and turn to any page and you will break out into side-spliting laughter once you read it. Mr Hope, we miss you!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boy, I love Bob Hope.

[Marilee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of funny.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

read SOMETIME in 2010

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved, laughed and thoroughly enjoyed every part of it. A true legend always