Furious Cool: Richard Pryor And The World That Made Him By: David Henry & Joe Henry

Title:  Richard Pryor And The World That Made Him
Author:  David Henry and Joe Henry
Publisher:  Algonquin Books
Reviewed By:  Arlena Dean
Rating: 4
Review:

"Richard Pryor And The World That Made Him" by David Henry & Joe Henry

Book Description....

"No one who saw Richard Pryor alone on stage with nothing but a microphone in his hand could have doubted that here was a man possessed of genius. But few have any sense of the strange, violent, and colorful landscape from which he emerged.

His childhood in Peoria, Illinois, was spent just trying to survive. Yet the culture into which he was born—his mother was a prostitute; his grandmother ran the whorehouse—helped shaped him into one of the most influential and outstanding performers of our time.

Pryor attracted admiration and anger in equal parts. He was a comedian who many consider the greatest ever, yet his triumphant stand-up work has been largely eclipsed by his mediocre movie output. His personal life was likewise something of a contradiction, because Pryor was a man of deep intelligence and sensitivity yet was also someone who could never seem to make the pieces of his life come together to create a whole. His was a fascinating, larger-than-life personality; he was as pivotal and essential a figure as Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, or Muhammad Ali. Pryor the solo artist brought to a pop-obsessed generation the news that they had a past with deep roots that spoke to our shared humanity. Through David and Joe Henry, Richard Pryor speaks to us still."

What I like about this novel.....

I found this novel very interesting.  Yes, I was one who  watch some of  Mr.. Pryor's  movies.  I especially love watching with my sons the one called 'Moving.'  I never laughed so hard in my life...oh well let's get to my thoughts on the novel where after reading this novel I found is story rather a  sad one.  The authors however did give the reader a well written script of Mr. Pryor's life that gives a thoughtful look at this person, his relationships, his work and his internal struggles.  Yes, even with all that was on Mr. Pryor was one of the greatest stand up artist.  I thought the read was good and very informative read of Mr. Pryor, who was a 'standup comedy, pop and social cultures during the years of 1960 and 70's, and historian of those turbulent decades.'  If you are a fan of Mr. Pryor, this read would be of interest to you and I would definitely recommend this to you.