Riding the Elephant: A Memoir of Altercations, Humiliations, Hallucinations, and Observations

· Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Craig Ferguson
4.8
12 reviews
Audiobook
8 hr 3 min
Unabridged
Eligible
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About this audiobook

From the comedian, actor, and former host of The Late Late Show comes an irreverent, lyrical memoir in essays featuring his signature wit.
 
Craig Ferguson has defied the odds his entire life. He has failed when he should have succeeded and succeeded when he should have failed. The fact that he is neither dead nor in a locked facility (at the time of printing) is something of a miracle in itself. In Craig’s candid and revealing memoir, listeners will get a look into the mind and recollections of the unique and twisted Scottish American who became a national hero for pioneering the world’s first TV robot skeleton sidekick and reviving two dudes in a horse suit dancing as a form of entertainment. 
 
In Riding the Elephant, there are some stories that are too graphic for television, too politically incorrect for social media, or too meditative for a stand-up comedy performance. Craig discusses his deep love for his native Scotland, examines his profound psychic change brought on by fatherhood, and looks at aging and mortality with a perspective that he was incapable of as a younger man. Each story is strung together in a colorful tapestry that ultimately reveals a complicated man who has learned to process—and even enjoy—the unusual trajectory of his life. 

Katie Falkenberg/Los Angeles Times/Contour by Getty Images

Ratings and reviews

4.8
12 reviews
William Gibson
August 22, 2019
As a fan of Craig's Late Late show and standup, this was a fun look into his life and thinking. Great having it read by him as well.
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Michael Kobrowski
August 7, 2023
After two books didn't think he could top it. But well, he did. Fantastic.
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About the author

Craig Ferguson has worked as a drummer, a bartender, a stand-up comedian, a producer and an actor. He is the author of a bunch of screenplays, a few of which have actually been made into talking pictures. He wrote the novel Between the Bridge and the River and the memoir American on Purpose and with his friends Geoff, a sassy robot, and Secretariat, a comedy horse, he hosted a late night talk show on American television for ten years. He lives in Scotland.

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