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  • Never Have Your Dog Stuffed

  • And Other Things I've Learned
  • By: Alan Alda
  • Narrated by: Alan Alda
  • Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (50 ratings)

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Never Have Your Dog Stuffed

By: Alan Alda
Narrated by: Alan Alda
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Summary

He's one of America's most recognizable and acclaimed actors: a star on Broadway, an Oscar nominee for The Aviator, and the only person to ever win Emmys for acting, writing, and directing, during his 11 years on M*A*S*H. Now Alan Alda has written a memoir as elegant, funny, and affecting as his greatest performances.

"My mother didn't try to stab my father until I was six," begins Alda's irresistible story. The son of a popular actor and a loving but mentally ill mother, he spent his early childhood backstage in the erotic and comic world of burlesque and went on, after early struggles, to achieve extraordinary success in his profession.

Yet Never Have Your Dog Stuffed is not a memoir of show-business ups and downs. It is a moving and funny story of a boy growing into a man who then realizes he has only just begun to grow.

It is the story of turning points in Alda's life, events that would make him what he is, if only he could survive them.

From the moment as a boy when his dead dog is returned from the taxidermist's shop with a hideous expression on his face, and he learns that death can't be undone, to the decades-long effort to find compassion for the mother he lived with but never knew, to his acceptance of his father, both personally and professionally, Alda learns the hard way that change, uncertainty, and transformation are what life is made of, and true happiness is found in embracing them.

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, filled with curiosity about nature, good humor, and honesty, is the crowning achievement of an actor, author, and director, but surprisingly, it is the story of a life more filled with turbulence and laughter than any Alda has ever played on the stage or screen.

©2005 Alan Alda (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.
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Critic reviews

"It's a brief but entertaining autobiography tempered with humility and a depth rarely found in celebrity memoirs." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Never Have Your Dog Stuffed

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant!

So enjoyed this account of Alan Aldas life. Fascinating journey into his early years and beyond.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastically funny and thoughtful

Brilliantly performed and written. I really enjoyed listening and have found inspiration for my life. Thank you.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully written and narrated.

What a lovely book. It was very well written and narrated. I always loved Alan as Hawkeye in Mash and it was fascinating to learn more about his life. What a lovely man.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great

Love it, it has a lot of depth and great character. It also comes with a life lesson; you can't hold back change and take every opportunity to try new things.

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2 people found this helpful

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fantastic

Really well written, it was almost like a novel the way it was put together. I was hooked. Great narration by the author.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Dog lovers beware

Great to hear that people we see as 'stars' have ordinary lives and problems just like the rest of us. Alan Alda's voice is a little more monotone than I was expecting from an actor but nevertheless is easy to listen to and he has a story very much worth hearing.

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3 people found this helpful

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Brilliant

Hawkeye is a gifted storyteller and his story is told with real wit. Highly recommended.

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excellent listen

very well read by the author. an enthusiastic and interesting story. enjoyable from start to finish.

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