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Mack the Life: The Autobiography
by
Lee Mack
A brilliant, heartfelt and hilarious insight into the life of one of our most popular comedians.
Lee Mack is not just another comedian with a book. He is one of the UK's most recognisable and celebrated stand-ups. His energy, finely crafted one-liners, and lightning quick ad-libs are second to none, and his solo tours sell out wherever he plays.
Autumn 2006 saw the successfu ...more
Lee Mack is not just another comedian with a book. He is one of the UK's most recognisable and celebrated stand-ups. His energy, finely crafted one-liners, and lightning quick ad-libs are second to none, and his solo tours sell out wherever he plays.
Autumn 2006 saw the successfu ...more
Hardcover
,
320 pages
Published
October 26th 2012
by Transworld Publishers
(first published September 27th 2012)
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Community Reviews
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525)
Enjoyed this. A truthful and very funny look at getting into stand up and writing a successful sit-com. Could have done without the 'psychiatrist's office' dialogue after very chapter, though. Slightly irritating and slowed the whole pace of the book down for me
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Reading this is just like sitting with the man himself over a cuppa. Conversationally brilliant insight in the birth of one of my favorite comedians to date.
I'm lucky enough to have seen Lee Mack treading the boards in Manchester and he makes it look natural and effortless. Interestingly, it's not, for him anyways! There are things in "Mack the life" that I didn't know about comedy in general albeit the book is a biographical account of how he got into comedy rather than the usual dissection of ...more
I'm lucky enough to have seen Lee Mack treading the boards in Manchester and he makes it look natural and effortless. Interestingly, it's not, for him anyways! There are things in "Mack the life" that I didn't know about comedy in general albeit the book is a biographical account of how he got into comedy rather than the usual dissection of ...more
Really enjoyed the book. Lee Mack is totally honest. Shares his thoughts and feelings about taking to the stage as a stand up comedian. The book is well worth a read just to find out how many years it took Lee to finally stand up on a stage and do his comedy routines. I harbour a secret desire to stand up on a stage and make people laugh. But I am now 60 so if I procrastrinated as long as Lee did I would be quite old. Anyone thinking about attempting stand up comedy would gain an insight into ho
...more
Interesting in places, funny in most, there's no hiding the fact there's really not much of an actual story here.
Jan 01, 2015
Kate
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of Lee Mack
Recommended to Kate by:
No-one
Shelves:
biographies
I bought this book on a whim when I spotted it in the bookshop. I like (auto)biographies and having watched Lee Mack on TV for a long time I was intrigued to know more about how he got into writing and such. I am a frequent listener to a podcast called Comedians comedian (highly recommend it to all lovers and writers of comedy) and he has not appeared on that so I thought this might answer similar questions.
The style in which it was reason was different and in itself entertaining, I actually dis ...more
The style in which it was reason was different and in itself entertaining, I actually dis ...more
This is my third comedian autobiography so I don’t know if that makes me experienced in the world of reviewing for this genre but what I have learnt from the variety of autobiographies is that everybody’s different.
I bet you’re thinking duh! Well, I expect common conventions that are in the autobiography but except that it follows their life and once they were a crap comedian and now they are not.
Yes, Lee Mack’s autobiography does this but in the strangest way possible I suppose this is one of t ...more
I bet you’re thinking duh! Well, I expect common conventions that are in the autobiography but except that it follows their life and once they were a crap comedian and now they are not.
Yes, Lee Mack’s autobiography does this but in the strangest way possible I suppose this is one of t ...more
[3.5 stars]
I love Lee Mack to death, I really do. He's a hilarious comedian and the whole family loves WILTY and NGO, but he's a better comedian when it comes from his mouth instead of from his hands it appears. This was a very interesting book, particularly for anyone curious in the industry itself, but it didn't sound like him. If it did I might have read it in his voice instead of the odd quote here and there that actually sounded like him.
This is a book better suited to his fans, I think, as ...more
I love Lee Mack to death, I really do. He's a hilarious comedian and the whole family loves WILTY and NGO, but he's a better comedian when it comes from his mouth instead of from his hands it appears. This was a very interesting book, particularly for anyone curious in the industry itself, but it didn't sound like him. If it did I might have read it in his voice instead of the odd quote here and there that actually sounded like him.
This is a book better suited to his fans, I think, as ...more
After reading a couple of autobiographies, Lee Mack's autobiography was altogether different from the others. Instead of placing a grand section of his book on his inner most private life, like most autobiographies, he simply sticks to his path of getting in to comedy and his honest, humble thoughts on what he has done throughout his comedy career. At times I found this book a bit arduous as it became a bit repetitive and altogether not that interesting to read. Besides these few rare times, I f
...more
To be honest, I haven’t seen much of Lee Mack’s stand-up for some reason. I’ve seen him on Would I Lie To You?, which I love, and in Not Going Out, which is his sitcom, but I didn’t really know what to expect going into this book.
The book follows Lee’s journey to where he is now in the world of comedy and his trials in getting to that level of comedian. This book is full of witty one-liners that, although they sometimes took over a little from the “plot” of the book, really made this a light-hea ...more
The book follows Lee’s journey to where he is now in the world of comedy and his trials in getting to that level of comedian. This book is full of witty one-liners that, although they sometimes took over a little from the “plot” of the book, really made this a light-hea ...more
If you like Lee's sense of humour you will enjoy his book. It charts his entry into the comedy circuit and his TV career to date. There's not much about his personal life but as long as a book can hold my interest and ( in this case) make me laugh then that's fine by me. The first part of the book had me laughing and reading bits out to my husband, I really enjoyed reading about Lee's holiday camp days. In between each chapter are the bits where he is talking to a psychiatrist and although they
...more
If you're in America and have been lucky enough to see Lee Mack in his sitcom "Not Going Out" in its infrequent runs on BBCAmerica, you'll enjoy Mack's autobiography. If you're especially lucky to have the enhanced Ebook version, you'll be treated to video clips of Mack throughout his career, including a brilliant gut-busting appearance on "The Graham Norton Show." On the other hand, if you don't have a clue who Lee Mack is, you might want to brush up on clips on the Internet first. "Mack the Li
...more
Love Lee Mack in pretty much anything. Having said that, I'm not a fan of autobiographies (there have been exceptions) and I was really skeptical coming into this how much I'd enjoy Lee Mack, "the writer". Obviously he writes brilliantly (seeing as he IS a writer, should not have been such a surprise). He manages to balance his personal and public life well, giving us a bit of insight into his head and how he got to where he is but also drawing clear lines as to where we weren't invited to go. A
...more
Written in a conversational style you can hear Lee telling you his story in your head.
Lee takes us through his childhood and explains how he came to be in his line of work. Some nice anecdotes that work well and the, now compulsory, quirky bit that makes it a bit different (Lee includes his musings with a psychotherapist called Brian.
If you have followed Lee you may be disappointed that some of his more famous stories aren't embelished (The Bluecoat story "Where are you from?" isn't included, bu ...more
Lee takes us through his childhood and explains how he came to be in his line of work. Some nice anecdotes that work well and the, now compulsory, quirky bit that makes it a bit different (Lee includes his musings with a psychotherapist called Brian.
If you have followed Lee you may be disappointed that some of his more famous stories aren't embelished (The Bluecoat story "Where are you from?" isn't included, bu ...more
Best 1.00 I've ever spent! Picked it up at Poundland! So funny and well written. Laugh Out Loud all the way
...more
I like his humour, though the book could be annoying in places; it was different.
umm to continue with my bad habit of reading autobiographies i read this it was quite interesting in parts note word quite it is relatively interesting seeing how people got where they are today!!! but get a bit bored naming people you dont really know i found at first the psych bit well strange at first but slowly got used with alot of bios you read them when just want to relax and not think
A funny, interesting biography, detailing his career far more than his personal life.
Amusing enough but with a feeling of gags being relentlessly crowbarred in at times as if it was a sit-com script rather than an autobiography. The psychiatrist sections really didn't add anything and, for me, we're just unnecessary breaks which interrupted the flow. A pity as I'm a big fan of Lee Mack and having met him can attest to what a genuinely nice bloke he is, the book just didn't quite measure up to my expectations.
This book describes the early life and comedy career of Lee Mack.
This book is laugh out loud funny in places and is also truthful about the comedian’s early failures. I thought the description of the sheer amount of time and effort required to create something original was refreshingly honest. The description of the “need to just do it” / blind faith required to follow “your dreams” was inspiring.
This book is laugh out loud funny in places and is also truthful about the comedian’s early failures. I thought the description of the sheer amount of time and effort required to create something original was refreshingly honest. The description of the “need to just do it” / blind faith required to follow “your dreams” was inspiring.
Not as good as I expected it to be. I love Lee Mack but found this book boring.
This was never going to be a literary work of art but it was a very entertaining read that I stayed up into the small hours to finish. I am a big fan of Lee Mack's work and throughout the book I could imagine him telling the amusing anecdotes which added to the enjoyment. No real surprises or revelations but lots of fun.
Lee Mack is funny. Full stop. And this isn't simply a straightforward memoir, for there's also scripted sections between each chapter in which he details his ongoing sessions with a shrink. He deserves 5 stars for this alone.
Lee Mack is witty, down-to-earth and a huge fan of the pun. Love him, love his book.
Lee Mack is witty, down-to-earth and a huge fan of the pun. Love him, love his book.
This is my husband's book, but I thought I'd give it a go as I like Lee Mack. It concentrates on how he became a comedian, which makes it more interesting than a standard biography. If you like his comedy, then you'll probably enjoy this, and if you don't, why on earth are you reading this review?
Each chapter begins with a transcript of the author talking to a shrink (with running mental commentary of the author added in), which was weird and annoying. The stories of the various jobs that Lee had before becoming a comedian are great. Over all, it's a good read.
really funny book looking at lee's life from growing up in southport/Blackburn to being a student/pontins and finally a stand up and having his own show and the sitcom not going out and its a laugh a minute as its not like most autobiography as love the humour in it
Thoroughly enjoyed this book I love lee mack and could hear his voice whilst reading it. I didn't enjoy the psychiatrist parts so stopped reading those bits after the first few chapters.
Looking forward to seeing him in stand up in oct 2014.
Looking forward to seeing him in stand up in oct 2014.
A really enjoyable read, lighthearted look thru Lee's comedy and early career. It is an easy read, just like having a chat with a mate, with lots of laughs and left me with a smile and wanting to watch some of his TV sitcom again.
This book reads like you're sitting in a pub with Lee Mack and he's telling you his story. It's warmly written, very funny and doesn't get bogged down with boring details.
And the photos are hilarious.
And the photos are hilarious.
I loved this, I loved the conversational way it was written and how brutally honest it was. The additional footnotes kept making me chuckle. Definitely would recommend.
Good read from a funny man. You can hear Lee's voice in your mind as you're reading it. If you like his humour, you'll like this book.
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Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968) is an English stand-up comedian and actor, known by the stage name Lee Mack. He is well known in the United Kingdom for writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out, for being a team captain on Would I Lie to You? and for hosting Lee Mack's All Star Cast.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Mack
More about Lee Mack...
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Mack
