From Publishers Weekly
Cosby has entertained readers on subjects ranging from aging to marriage and parenthood. Some, however, will be disappointed in these 19 lightweight pieces composed of free association, fleeting memories and digressions: about how at age eight, for example, he went out to play, leaving his two-year-old brother alone, or about his refusal to do his geometry homework ("'cause home is for play"). Cosby's conversational humor involves repetition and minimalistic reduction of everything to brief sentences and simplistic language: "You don't want to have it checked because the doctor may say: Ooo! You've got it! That means you have it. If you don't go, it means you don't have it." Amid expositions on grandparents, plastic packaging, noisy boats and ingrown hairs, truly funny bits occasionally surface. On seating arrangements for the elderly, he says: "You cannot put someone who eats salt and regular food next to someone who can't have anything except a stainless steel fork and water because, if you do, they're not going to like each other." The best chapter recalls his move from Greenwich Village stand-up comedy to big-time clubs, particularly a big-time flop in Chicago. His honesty makes readers want a full-scale autobiography in place of these miscellaneous bits. Even the great George Booth falters here with offhand illustrations. (Nov. 7)Forecast: Hyperion plans an intense marketing campaign includes a radio and TV satellite tour, 12-copy counter displays and author appearances on Good Morning America, Rosie O'Donnell and numerous other national shows. This might have a big spike in sales at first, but word of mouth will slow it down.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Comedy is funniest when it stays as faithful to the truth as Cosby keeps it in his latest collection of 19 autobiographical essays. His topics range from the unromantic changes in married love over time to the discomforts, dangers, and expense of learning to ski. Students will laugh hardest at his quirky jokes about the problems of growing up in the projects, being identified as an intellectually gifted child, and coping with threats to health and safety. The author reveals his most vulnerable moments as a young comedian who was too nervous to make his audience laugh. He describes how he walked off of the stage feeling totally humiliated. He also discusses his difficult adjustment to the military, and explains how that experience drove him to work hard in college. In stand-up comic style, Cosby shows readers different stages of his life, and he highlights all of the laughable moments in hilarious, hyperbolic detail throughout this short book. Such a highly successful person's willingness to share his stories of triumphing over adversity, and overcoming moments of failure, is sure to inspire many teens. Even reluctant readers will breeze through this book while laughing out loud along the way.Joyce Fay Fletcher, Rippon Middle School, Prince William County, VACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In this small collection of wry comments and comic observations, Bill Cosby, Ed.D., approximates the character of his last TV incarnation, Cliff Huxtable, M.D., centerpiece of Cosby's then-groundbreaking portrayal of a black professional's family. As in that show and in earlier essays on family-oriented fun, Cosby largely ignores social issues and showbiz concerns in favor of gentle, almost sentimental humor. In places, the humor is mellow almost to the point of inducing somnolence, as in his riff on men's changing nocturnal urination strategies as age and the duration of monogamy advance. Not that his invocation of feeling for the porcelain bowl in the dark with one's calves doesn't hold water; it is just that the subject is more mundane than a politically and socially astute guy like Cosby might choose. On such subjects as going to the doctor, assessment tests, and that most annoying of yuppie pastimes, skiing, he often sounds for all the world like his old Jell-O pudding commercials. Still, he is consistently amusing, probably just the thing for desultory reading, and he still has legions of fans. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
On stage, page, and screen, perhaps no one in the entertainment industry is more well known than Bill Cosby. Now the bestselling author of Childhood, Fatherhood, and Time Flies hones his comedy down to a science, in a new collection of stand-up material, Cosbyology.

Just as biology is the study of life, Cosbyology is the study of life as Bill Cosby sees it, and these short stories, essays, and observations put his whole lifetime under the microscope. From learning responsibility watching his siblings ("This bothered me for three reasons: 1. They were not my children. 2. I didn't know how to spell responsibility. 3. I was eight"), to learning geometry the hard way, that is, without reading the book, ("You got the answer correct. And I followed your philosophy. You're a genius!.... For the year four hundred A.D."), Cosby's recollections of growing up as a "very bright boy" in the projects of Philadelphia are as charming as they are hilarious. And whether he's recalling his early days as a stand-up comic in Greenwich Village and Chicago (where he was told, "When you get back to your hotel, will you tell Bill Cosby to come back here and do the second show and to never again send you because you, sir, you are not funny") or his unlikely path to Temple University via the U.S. Navy (standing watch over a clothesline), Cosbyology is not just a collection of humorous stories -- it's also a patchwork autobiography, giving us glimpses of the life that led him to the spotlight. Of course, it wouldn't be Bill Cosby without also offering educated rants on everything from skiing to boating, from the joys of marriage to the dangerous pitfalls of dinner seating arrangements, from ingrown hairs to everything else that he can't stop thinking about, and we can't help but laugh about.

With his signature dry humor and impeccable timing, Bill Cosby has pulled together a slim collection that is a smorgasbord of comic genius. Whether as a gift or a guilty pleasure, for anyone who needs some light shed on the wonders of life, Cosbyology should be required reading. (Elise Vogel)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In his long and illustrious career, Bill Cosby has been many things: award-winning actor, bestselling author, doctor of education, media icon, and role model. But first and foremost, he is a comedian, and here he returns to that role in this wonderfully funny collection of stand-up material that touches on everything from childhood and marriage to school, sports, and work. Fusing his classic jazzy timing and edgy humor with the intelligence and perception that have made him a huge star, Bill Cosby draws from his own life to tell these laugh-out-loud stories. With a dry wit and uncanny insight, Cosby writes about his first experiences skiing, lying to his mother, and fretting about ingrown hairs. Fans young and old will be eager to add this volume to their collection, while new fans everywhere will delight in this sampling of great comic genius.

FROM THE CRITICS

Time Out New York

Imagine Cosby's voice as you read -- we dare you to keep a straight face.

Publishers Weekly

Cosby has entertained readers on subjects ranging from aging to marriage and parenthood. Some, however, will be disappointed in these 19 lightweight pieces composed of free association, fleeting memories and digressions: about how at age eight, for example, he went out to play, leaving his two-year-old brother alone, or about his refusal to do his geometry homework ("'cause home is for play"). Cosby's conversational humor involves repetition and minimalistic reduction of everything to brief sentences and simplistic language: "You don't want to have it checked because the doctor may say: Ooo! You've got it! That means you have it. If you don't go, it means you don't have it." Amid expositions on grandparents, plastic packaging, noisy boats and ingrown hairs, truly funny bits occasionally surface. On seating arrangements for the elderly, he says: "You cannot put someone who eats salt and regular food next to someone who can't have anything except a stainless steel fork and water because, if you do, they're not going to like each other." The best chapter recalls his move from Greenwich Village stand-up comedy to big-time clubs, particularly a big-time flop in Chicago. His honesty makes readers want a full-scale autobiography in place of these miscellaneous bits. Even the great George Booth falters here with offhand illustrations. (Nov. 7) Forecast: Hyperion plans an intense marketing campaign includes a radio and TV satellite tour, 12-copy counter displays and author appearances on Good Morning America, Rosie O'Donnell and numerous other national shows. This might have a big spike in sales at first, but word of mouth will slow it down. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Comedy is funniest when it stays as faithful to the truth as Cosby keeps it in his latest collection of 19 autobiographical essays. His topics range from the unromantic changes in married love over time to the discomforts, dangers, and expense of learning to ski. Students will laugh hardest at his quirky jokes about the problems of growing up in the projects, being identified as an intellectually gifted child, and coping with threats to health and safety. The author reveals his most vulnerable moments as a young comedian who was too nervous to make his audience laugh. He describes how he walked off of the stage feeling totally humiliated. He also discusses his difficult adjustment to the military, and explains how that experience drove him to work hard in college. In stand-up comic style, Cosby shows readers different stages of his life, and he highlights all of the laughable moments in hilarious, hyperbolic detail throughout this short book. Such a highly successful person's willingness to share his stories of triumphing over adversity, and overcoming moments of failure, is sure to inspire many teens. Even reluctant readers will breeze through this book while laughing out loud along the way.-Joyce Fay Fletcher, Rippon Middle School, Prince William County, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews