Craig Ferguson tells the story of his life-from being bullied as a child to being a world class drunk to being an actor and most recently a late night talk show host. Only a tiny part of American on Purpose deals with Craig Ferguson Late Late Show Host, since that is really too recent an event for Craig to fully process. Instead, it is the story a man who almost died a number of times in a number of odd and interesting ways.
American on Purpose is often funny and occasionally a little bit of a tear jerker. As with the story of any life, Craig’s is filled with the choices, large and small, that lead him to be where he is today. While he does make a trip to America as a child and tells his father that he will one day live here, there is not quote the feeling of inevitability that many autobiographies have-it’s clear that Craig is just as amazed at his ultimate success as anyone else.
Craig Ferguson is my favorite of the late night talk show hosts, and I wish he was on a little bit earlier. Craig is only a few months older than I am, though he has clearly put his time on earth to better use than I have. So I can relate to a good deal of the story of his life-the music, comics, TV, and movies he mentions in passing and name drops in earnest. I can also relate to how he feels when he flirts with the pretty young starlets and how they react as if he is a million years old. In the end, he discovers that writing novels gives him all the control he never had as an actor or a director.
So, it’s a great day for America, everybody. Get a copy of American on Purpose, it’s a good read and a slightly amazing story.
