Too Fat to Fish

By: Artie Lange

Narrated by: Artie Lange

Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

When Artie Lange joined the permanent cast of The Howard Stern Show in 2001, it was possibly the greatest thing ever to happen in the Stern universe, second only to the show's move to the wild, uncensored frontier of satellite radio. Lange provided what Stern had yet to find all in the same place: a wit quick enough to keep pace with his own, a pathetic self-image to dwarf his own, a personal history both heartbreaking and hilarious, and an ingrained sense of self-sabotage that continually keeps things interesting.

A natural storyteller with a bottomless pit of material, Lange grew up in a close-knit, working-class Italian family in Union, New Jersey, as a maniacal Yankees fan who pursued the two things his father said he was cut out for: sports and comedy. Tragically, Artie Lange Sr. never saw the truth in that prediction. He became a quadriplegic in an accident when Artie was 18 and died soon after. But as with every trial in his life, from his drug addiction to his obesity, to his fights with his mother, Artie mines the humor, pathos, and humanity in these events and turns them into comedy classics.

True fans of the Stern Show will find Artie gold in these pages: hilarious tales that couldn't have happened to anyone else. There are stories from his days driving a Jersey cab, working as a longshoreman in Port Newark, and navigating the dark circuit of stand-up comedy. There are outrageous episodes from the frenzied heights of his coked-up days at MADtv, surprisingly moving stories from his childhood, and an account of his recent U.S.O. tour that is equally stirring and irreverent. But also in this volume are stories Artie's never told before, including some that he deemed too revealing for radio.

Wild, shocking, and drop-dead hilarious, Too Fat to Fish is Artie Lange giving everything he's got to give. And like a true pro, the man never disappoints.

©2008 Artie Lang (P)2008 Random House

Critic reviews

"A very funny man." (David Letterman)
"A comedy treasure....One of the funniest guys there is....The pride of New Jersey." (Jimmy Kimmel)

Don’t like the parts read by others

Artie , you owe it to us to come back and read the parts you left out . Great stories!! World Series story made me cry at the end.

yeah ya

great story. really funny. wish he did a couple more. u should listen bet u laugh

Love the honesty

Big fan,I love Howard Stern, norm mc.Gary del. ect. Ardie is one of my peeps.

Awesome book!

Artie Lange is such a great comedian and storyteller. He is one of my favorites.

A must for any fan of Artie, Howard or anyone w addictions they battle.

I enjoyed the entire book, listening to much of it a second time. It’s so good I’m going to listen to all his books, and Anthony Brazzo’s books as well!

Great book

Loved it! Wish Artie was able to narratethe entire thing but I understand his struggle! Awesome book though!

In all honesty

I'm a huge fan of Artie and the whole show and if you are too this book won't disappoint. I was actually surprised though that of all the talent that read, Bob Levy was one of the best while Artie himself sounded a bit flat and lacked the natural inflection and intonation I'm use to from hearing his stories told on the radio. It's a great book though, especially if you are a fan of the show.

Just Awesome

I loved it from beginning to end I definitely cried wehe talked about his father especially the part when Artie talks about when he was sitting in the room with his dad and he was about to leave and go watch some college basketball but then his dad called him back and they started to cry I started to cry that was very emotional and it's horrible growing up without a father and I definitely feel and I think I know if his father never would have passed away that he wouldn't have gone through all this crazy s*** in life.

More Artie!

Artie is a great story teller! Loved it! I do wish he read the whole thing...but Gary and Jim did a good job too! Going onto his next book soon. Really hoping his kind heart shines through in that one, as it did this one!

Awesome!

Loved it! Amazing, heart wrenching stories mixed with the funniest comic whit there is!
Great job Artie, I'm pulling for ya