Oh, the Things I Know! A Guide to Success, or, Failing That, Happiness

By: Al Franken

Narrated by: Al Franken

Length: 2 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Al Franken, or Dr. Al Franken as he prefers to be called, has written the first truly indispensable book of the new millennium. Filled with wisdom, observations, and practical tips you can put to work right away, Oh, the Things I Know! is a cradle-to-grave guide to living, an easy-to-follow user's manual for human existence.

What does a megasuccess like Al Franken - best selling author, Emmy-award winning television star, and honorary Ph.D. - have to say to ordinary people like you? Well, as Dr. Al himself says, "There's no point in getting advice from hopeless failures."

Join Mr. Franken - sorry, Dr. Franken - on a journey that will take you from your first job ("Oh, Are You Going to Hate Your First Job!"), through the perils and pitfalls of your twenties and thirties ("Oh, the Person of Your Dreams vs. the Person You Can Actually Attract!"), into the joys of marriage and parenthood ("Oh, Just Looking at Your Spouse Will Make Your Skin Crawl!"), all the way to the golden years of senior citizenship ("Oh, the Nursing Home You'll Wind Up In!"). Don't travel life's lonesome highway by yourself. Take Al Franken along, if not as an infallible guide, then at least as a friend who will make you laugh. For adult listeners.

©2002 Al Franken. Recorded by arrangement with Dutton, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc. (P)16 9; 2002 HighBridge Company.

Critic reviews

"This laugh-aloud take on advice books - it is dedicated simply 'For Oprah' - is Stuart Smalley with an edge. Reviewer's advice: don't read it while sitting alone on a " (Booklist)

Franken Does It Again!

Sen. Franken never ceases to make me laugh and think. This book like his others, is a cut Above the usual dren perpetrated by lesser "humourists". I can only wish that he uses his "thinking man's" wit and powers of observation in Congress. That is our only hope and salvation.

Holy Moley! Al Franken is Funny

I was surprised that this book doesn't have an aggregate rating of at least 4 out of 5 stars. Don't let humorless reviewers sway opinion.

You either have a sense of humor or ...

I'm amazed at the negative reviews given this warm, hilarious book! It's not for Pollyannas or the humorless, but for anyone who appreciates Al Franken's style of wit this is great "laugh out loud" fun. And just the right length. Audio quality is superb. I heartily recommend this to anyone with a mature sense of humor, meaning that if you're an adult with a sense of the absurd and a grasp of irony, and if you're someone who can discern Al's embracing humanity beneath a mocking, satirical exterior, you'll want to sit in your car long after the end of your commute, reluctant to stop listening...and laughing.

Excellent Wit

Oh, god you can laugh out loud at the stages of your life described with such wit.

Oh The Things I Know

My neighbors are concerned because I walk through my neighborhood laughing out loud for no apparent reason. Contrary to what Al says, laughter is in fact the best medicine since many others cause headaches, urinary retention or even impotence. Everyone should read this book and devote their lives to its precepts. Perhaps we have entered the "Al Franken Millenium."

Surprisingly Fresh

Oh, how I enjoyed this book! I was incredibly surprised that the well-known liberal version of Al Franken was not really in this book. The intellectual comedian Al Franken takes center stage here. Very little on politics. The book is styled as a life advice book that will guide you through life from college to death. The book is chock full of invaluable advice like: don't tell the crowd at Hartford Tech that they are losers because your commencement speech was written for Harvard because your maid wrote down the wrong school, making you angry; keep a list of religions handy in your wallet in case you have a last minute need to pick one in the event of impending death or some other trauma; that he's read all the other advice books and can tell you that they all suck except for his! The book had me laughing out loud right at the beginning and then kept me going for a while. It is non-stop poking fun at just about every part of American life. It did slow down toward the end and the laughs were spreading a bit in the last 1/3, but I laughed so hard at the beginning that I would recommend it to anyone who needs a little comic relief....even conservatives!

Al Franken is Wonderfully Funny

Al let's you know right off the bat that if your starting out in life, the trip ain't gonna' be easy. Then again, why should it be.

Al takes you through his life and gives out some good, and some bad, advice about what might work for you.

Honest, funny, sad, and at times moving, this book reflects life itself. Take the end of the book, which I feel is the best part, Al talks about being a senior and how it's probably the most fun anyone will ever have. Excellent!

Life is too short, buy this book and find out why.

A lot of fun

This book was light and fun to listen to. Franken is as funny as he is good looking - you decide! of course I'm kidding on the square - read lies and the lying liars to find out what that is.

In a word: Funny.

Al Franken's witty humor is very entertaining and his monologue is absolutely golden. You'll get a kick out of this audio book, then you come back here to review it and give it three stars because you forgot the jokes, or because you didn't get the same laughs when you tried to repeat them.

just fun, no insight required

A silly send-up of American self-help books. Unlike Franken's two major books ("Rush..." and "Lies...", which are some of the most insightful political commentary of recent times, there may not be any useful information or analysis in this books. But it's good enough, it's smart (witty) enough, and doggone it, people like it. I know I did. It's really funny. Enjoy it.