What do you think?
Rate this book
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself
Picking up where his bestselling memoir Never Have Your Dog Stuffed left off–having been saved by emergency surgery after nearly dying on a mountaintop in Chile–beloved actor and acclaimed author Alan Alda offers an insightful and funny look at some impossible questions he’s asked himself over the years: What do I value? What, exactly, is the good life? (And what does that even mean?) Here, Alda listens in on things he’s heard himself saying at critical points in his life–from the turbulence of the sixties, to his first Broadway show, to the birth of his children, to the ache of September 11, and beyond. Reflecting on the transitions in his life and in all our lives, he notices that “doorways are where the truth is told,� and wonders if there’s one thing–art, activism, family, money, fame–that could lead to a “life of meaning.� In a book that is candid, wise, and as questioning as it is incisive, Alda amuses and moves us with his uniquely hilarious meditations on questions great and small.
Praise for Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself
“Engagingly thoughtful and thought-provoking . . . [Alan Alda] candidly shares many stories of his life, so easily and wittily you can hear him speak as you read.�
�Sydney Sun Herald
“Alda is chatty, easygoing and humble, rather like a Mr. Rogers for grownups. His words of inspiration would be a perfect gift for a college grad or for anyone facing major life changes.�
�Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Smart, engaged, funny and observant.�
�San Antonio Express-News
Praise for Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself
“Engagingly thoughtful and thought-provoking . . . [Alan Alda] candidly shares many stories of his life, so easily and wittily you can hear him speak as you read.�
�Sydney Sun Herald
“Alda is chatty, easygoing and humble, rather like a Mr. Rogers for grownups. His words of inspiration would be a perfect gift for a college grad or for anyone facing major life changes.�
�Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Smart, engaged, funny and observant.�
�San Antonio Express-News
209 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2007
440 people are currently reading
2637 people want to read
About the author
Alan Alda
35books472followersFull name: Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo
Son of actor Robert Alda
Husband of children's book author Arlene Alda
Alan Alda is an American actor, director, screenwriter, comedian and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he played Hawkeye Pierce in the war television series M*A*S*H.
Son of actor Robert Alda
Husband of children's book author Arlene Alda
Alan Alda is an American actor, director, screenwriter, comedian and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he played Hawkeye Pierce in the war television series M*A*S*H.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 610 reviews
February 28, 2018
Alda's reading voice is so marvelous that I feel sorry for anyone who only gets the print version of this. As other reviewers have pointed it out, a good portion of it is adapted from commencement speeches & the like, but there's still a lot of merit to it. Am now wanting to read the prequel to this, which am assuming is more in the vein of personal recollections -- though am aghast to see that someone else reads it. What was the publisher thinking?!
December 20, 2022
Refreshing
I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be reading a book by Alan Alda and loving it. I was not a Mash fan although I did watch the series from time to time, and I do not remember if I saw any of his movies. The title caught my attention, and I believe it was on sale.
So
did I like about it? I like the way he thinks. He is a liberal. And he really gives good speeches, plus he is such a wonderful person. And he is an activist. I will be reading more by him.
I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be reading a book by Alan Alda and loving it. I was not a Mash fan although I did watch the series from time to time, and I do not remember if I saw any of his movies. The title caught my attention, and I believe it was on sale.
So
did I like about it? I like the way he thinks. He is a liberal. And he really gives good speeches, plus he is such a wonderful person. And he is an activist. I will be reading more by him.
July 12, 2022
4 Stars for Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself (audiobook) by Alan Alda read by the author.
Alan Alda is a great story teller. His stories in this book mostly revolve around times he has had to speak publicly. His insights are interesting but I mainly listen to this audiobook because he narrated it.
Alan Alda is a great story teller. His stories in this book mostly revolve around times he has had to speak publicly. His insights are interesting but I mainly listen to this audiobook because he narrated it.
January 25, 2017
This book pulls out all the stops and sets your emotions rolling. I cried during the chapter about 9/11 when a lady in Kansas not knowing what else to do baked a cake or the gentleman who said what they really missed at ground zero was something as simple as a candy bar. You could feel the immense feeling of being overwhelmed by all of the people represented in this chapter.
I laughed out loud about a conversation that he and Peter Jennings had one evening when Peter said that "Yes, and I think I like you better drunk." Yet, had tears in my eyes again a few pages later as I read his eulogy to Peter Jennings.
I loved reading about his relationships with Ossie Davis, Peter Jennings, Anne Bancroft and her husband, Mel Brooks, but not because of their celebrity. Rather, I enjoyed reading about the everyday things -- drying dishes, visiting on the front porch, eating a slice of pie, etc. We often put celebrities on pedestals and never think of them as being just like us; doing the everyday things.
I loved the story about Alan asking to put his feet on Marty Bregman's desk after 20 years -- that was a riot!
I also enjoyed reading about simple family pleasures such as inviting the grandkids over to make telephones (not the good old fashioned way with tin cans and string, either) and celebrating the life of Vinegar.
Alda talks about his political concerns, passionately, but doesn't shove his beliefs down your throat. He does, however, send the message that he cares and encourages the reader "to work together" to solve the problems that affect us: war, environment (global warming, etc.).
Through these snippets, we learn a bit more about the man, Alan Alda. M*A*S*H is my favorite TV show of all time and I watch the reruns religiously, but I recently watched a rerun of the 30th Anniversary of M*A*S*H and I always thought Hawkeye was somewhat profound. I now realize that this was the true Alan Alda shining through his TV personna.
I laughed out loud about a conversation that he and Peter Jennings had one evening when Peter said that "Yes, and I think I like you better drunk." Yet, had tears in my eyes again a few pages later as I read his eulogy to Peter Jennings.
I loved reading about his relationships with Ossie Davis, Peter Jennings, Anne Bancroft and her husband, Mel Brooks, but not because of their celebrity. Rather, I enjoyed reading about the everyday things -- drying dishes, visiting on the front porch, eating a slice of pie, etc. We often put celebrities on pedestals and never think of them as being just like us; doing the everyday things.
I loved the story about Alan asking to put his feet on Marty Bregman's desk after 20 years -- that was a riot!
I also enjoyed reading about simple family pleasures such as inviting the grandkids over to make telephones (not the good old fashioned way with tin cans and string, either) and celebrating the life of Vinegar.
Alda talks about his political concerns, passionately, but doesn't shove his beliefs down your throat. He does, however, send the message that he cares and encourages the reader "to work together" to solve the problems that affect us: war, environment (global warming, etc.).
Through these snippets, we learn a bit more about the man, Alan Alda. M*A*S*H is my favorite TV show of all time and I watch the reruns religiously, but I recently watched a rerun of the 30th Anniversary of M*A*S*H and I always thought Hawkeye was somewhat profound. I now realize that this was the true Alan Alda shining through his TV personna.
November 26, 2017
About my only recollections of Alda is the TV series MASH which I watched as they came on religiously for the first few seasons. It got a little old after that, but was still pretty good. What little I heard about him in other ways was always very liberal - nice sentiments, but little practical. Similar to the later MASH episodes.
This book was pretty much the same, but without a lot of the humor. There was some, but it was pretty much serious platitudes that he often read from various speeches he's given. For a self-professed optimist, he's awfully pessimistic about a lot of things, though. That undercuts a lot of his messages.
Still, his ideas on the meaning of life were good & I liked a lot of the history he brought back. I'd forgotten that some of the biggest arguments against the ERA were unisex bathrooms & same-sex marriages way back in the early 80s. Time warp. Same people against the same things with same stupid arguments. Thankfully, there are a lot less of them now, only 35 years later at that.
I liked what he had to say about Feynman. Great man. There were tidbits on other famous men & women he's known, too.
All in all, it was interesting & not too long. Well narrated by him. That helped a lot.
This book was pretty much the same, but without a lot of the humor. There was some, but it was pretty much serious platitudes that he often read from various speeches he's given. For a self-professed optimist, he's awfully pessimistic about a lot of things, though. That undercuts a lot of his messages.
Still, his ideas on the meaning of life were good & I liked a lot of the history he brought back. I'd forgotten that some of the biggest arguments against the ERA were unisex bathrooms & same-sex marriages way back in the early 80s. Time warp. Same people against the same things with same stupid arguments. Thankfully, there are a lot less of them now, only 35 years later at that.
I liked what he had to say about Feynman. Great man. There were tidbits on other famous men & women he's known, too.
All in all, it was interesting & not too long. Well narrated by him. That helped a lot.
June 9, 2008
In the spirit of full disclosure, Alan Alda has always reminded me of my own father; As such, I think I would enthusiastically applaud his reading of the yellow pages. I knew that Mr. Alda was a talented actor and his turns in M*A*S*H, ER, and West Wing always thrilled me, but I didn't realize how multi-faceted he really is until this book. He was funny and introspective and provocative and warm. His words made me think: Is my life meaningful and what IS my definition of a meaningful life? I had to pat myself on the back when I came to generally the same answer he eventually did.
His retelling of the commencement addresses were wonderful, but could get repetitive in the reading. I don't remember anything about my commencement address, but I feel sure that I would have committed his words to memory. I felt that the book was strongest when talking about his family. It takes a strong man to speak so candidly and naturally about the love he has for his wife, children, and grandchildren. I listened to his reading of the book and it was like we were sitting on his front porch or in some diner just enjoying coffee and the conversation. I had a visceral reaction picturing the many times my father would try to impart his many pearls of wisdom a la Mr. Alda.
After reading the book, Mr. Alda is officially a hero of mine. I don't say that lightly. Not for his acting or his fame, but for his ability to retain and communicate his curiosity, his humor, and his morality. If I can do the same, then I, too, can say I've led a meaningful life.
His retelling of the commencement addresses were wonderful, but could get repetitive in the reading. I don't remember anything about my commencement address, but I feel sure that I would have committed his words to memory. I felt that the book was strongest when talking about his family. It takes a strong man to speak so candidly and naturally about the love he has for his wife, children, and grandchildren. I listened to his reading of the book and it was like we were sitting on his front porch or in some diner just enjoying coffee and the conversation. I had a visceral reaction picturing the many times my father would try to impart his many pearls of wisdom a la Mr. Alda.
After reading the book, Mr. Alda is officially a hero of mine. I don't say that lightly. Not for his acting or his fame, but for his ability to retain and communicate his curiosity, his humor, and his morality. If I can do the same, then I, too, can say I've led a meaningful life.
November 23, 2014
WARM, WITTY, AND WISE. A WORTHY READ.
“Think for yourself.�
� Alan Alda, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself
Alan Alda’s aptly titled memoir/collection of commencement addresses and eulogies, THINGS I OVERHEARD WHILE TALKING TO MYSELF, is an enjoyable and insightful read/listen. Alda actually is the ‘really nice guy� he’s reputed to be, and a really bright one, too. His musings on life, love, celebrity and science are pretty much spot on: poignant and practical.
Recommendation: Highly recommended for anyone with a crumb of curiosity, or a whit of wonder.
“Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself is another superb Alan Alda performance, as inspiring and entertaining as the man himself.”—from the goodreads.com synopsis. [Hear, hear!]
“What if the ‘Hokey Pokey� really is what it’s all about?�
� (as quoted by) Alan Alda, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself
OverDrive MP3 audiobook edition, 6 hours, 1 minute
“Think for yourself.�
� Alan Alda, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself
Alan Alda’s aptly titled memoir/collection of commencement addresses and eulogies, THINGS I OVERHEARD WHILE TALKING TO MYSELF, is an enjoyable and insightful read/listen. Alda actually is the ‘really nice guy� he’s reputed to be, and a really bright one, too. His musings on life, love, celebrity and science are pretty much spot on: poignant and practical.
Recommendation: Highly recommended for anyone with a crumb of curiosity, or a whit of wonder.
“Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself is another superb Alan Alda performance, as inspiring and entertaining as the man himself.”—from the goodreads.com synopsis. [Hear, hear!]
“What if the ‘Hokey Pokey� really is what it’s all about?�
� (as quoted by) Alan Alda, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself
OverDrive MP3 audiobook edition, 6 hours, 1 minute
January 16, 2008
Got it from the library -- want a copy so I can underline all the funny and so-true quotes.
On the back of the book it says it's a great celebrity memoir, and that's true.
He's a great guy who could be a total snot and totally reclusive now that he's showing his age, BUT he doesn't! What a cool guy. Humble, honest, out there -- way out there; on top of mountains, interviewing all kinds of "little" people who are interesting. And funny -- oh so funny -- with heart.
I'm inspired and encouraged; something in short-supply these days of spin and positioning and all that baloney.
On the back of the book it says it's a great celebrity memoir, and that's true.
He's a great guy who could be a total snot and totally reclusive now that he's showing his age, BUT he doesn't! What a cool guy. Humble, honest, out there -- way out there; on top of mountains, interviewing all kinds of "little" people who are interesting. And funny -- oh so funny -- with heart.
I'm inspired and encouraged; something in short-supply these days of spin and positioning and all that baloney.
December 17, 2012
I read Alda’s Never Have Your Dog Stuffed and was entertained, but it was not life changing. Therefore, I approached this book with few expectations. I was VERY pleasantly surprised with his second book. Instead of a chronology of his life since the last book, each chapter dealt with a different facet of the question, “What is life all about?.� Alda used his earlier commencement speeches, eulogies, and script writing to examine this question. I thought it was fantastic. I especially liked his chapters about September 11, the loss of his close friends Anne Bancroft, Ossie Davis, and Peter Jennings, and his passion for science.
I would highly recommend this book to those of love Alan Alda from his days on M*A*S*H, The West Wing, and his films, but I think that people who have never heard of him would enjoy and benefit from his words of wisdom. It was a book that made me think and cry, a sure sign for me that it was a good book.
I would highly recommend this book to those of love Alan Alda from his days on M*A*S*H, The West Wing, and his films, but I think that people who have never heard of him would enjoy and benefit from his words of wisdom. It was a book that made me think and cry, a sure sign for me that it was a good book.
January 29, 2010
"And that's something else I want to tell you as we stand in this doorway today. Love your work. If you always put your heart into everything you do, you can't lose. Whether or not you wind up making a lot of money, you will have had a wonderful time, and no one will ever be able to take that away from you." ......
Throughout the decades that make up his nearly sixty-year tenure in the acting industry, Alan Alda has been asked to give countless motivational speeches at places at which he will be the first to tell you he had no business speaking. He was asked to give these speeches for many reasons, most of them probably having to do with his recognizeable face and the character he became synonomous with in the early 1970s, but also because in addition to everything else that he is, Alan Alda is a man whose intellect reaches no bounds, and who dares to ask the questions that everybody else has always been afraid to ask. Where most people tip-toe over eggshells their entire lives, this guy tap-dances through mine-fields, daring to say the things that everybody else wants to say but can't manage it. He *gives* these speeches because, in his words, he likes to do things that scare him. Out of the hundreds of reasons to admire him that he has offered me in his two autobiographies, his fearlessness, or rather his willingness to accept fear as part of human metamorphosis, is right at the top of the list.
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself picks up where Never Have Your Dog Stuffed left off: Alan Alda having been spared death by emergency surgery on a mountain-top in Chile. "I was so glad to have not died that day that I made it my ner birthday," he says, and subsequently he was inspired to take an insightful look back on all of the things that he has done, everything that he has learned in his life, and decide whether the life he has lived has been as meaningful as it could have been. If it has then he's among the small percentage of the population who could say that. If he's not then, he asks, what can he do to "squeeze the most juice out of his new life"? In search of the answer to his questions, Alan turns to the bevy of inspirational and motivational speeches that he has cultivates over the years, and using the collection of his own words that has built up over critical points of his life, he strives to determine out of what one, or several, things comes a "life of meaning."
Now, I'm not saying that this autobiography is in any way interchangeable with the first one. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed is one of my most favorite autobiographical offerings in a long time. What *this* book *is*, though, is honest, and insightful, and candid, and witty, and filled with the things that in some dim part of the 90% of our brains that we don't use we have always known to be true, but we just needed somebody else, somebody that, for whatever reason, we have grown to trust, to tell us.
In this book Alan gets personal: and contrary to popular belief, getting personal is not such a simple thing to choose to do when you're an actor. Truth be told, *acting* is about 70 % pretending ---- but the other 30% is having the courage to dig deep into yourself and coax out of the privacy of yourself a passion that maybe you never knew you had, but that is a part of you and needs to be brought forth in order to make the work that you are doing great. That can be a terrifying thing to do, because it exposes a deeply personal part of yourself to thousands of strangers who would take any opportunity to pick your bones clean. Alan admits that he wanted fame --- every celebrity, no matter what they say, *has* to have *wanted* fame at some part in their lives, otherwise they wouldn't be where they are: they would be in grad school, or an office building, or selling half-assed used cars out of a dumpy parking lot in Sarasota --- but he also admits that the concept of *celebrity* is an intimidating, surprising, disblieving thing. It's difficult to get used to. Celebrities have to give a part of themselves over to the character that they're portraying in order to make it worthwhile to themselves as well as the audience. Therefore, when a character is a hit, and accepting into the hearts and homes of millions of people, it can be extremely taxing for the actor portraying that character, because he has to give a piece of himself up to everbody else. He runs the risk of becoming idolized, worshiped, loved, hated, despised, loved ---- *but*, as he says in the beginning of the book, *if you love* what you do, you *cannot lose*. Alan Alda loves what he does: everything that he does.
You will take a lot of inspiring messages from this book. You may love it, you may hate it, you may read it a million times, you may never read it again after you shelf it, but *you will take from it.* Alan Alda has the distinction of being one of those people whom is so masterful of our language that he knows how to bend it to his will in order to make it the most powerful when it reaches the people to whom he is speaking. If he believes in something enough to talk about it then it's worth hearing, because he knows how to say it in a way that makes you wonder why in the hell you haven't thought of that before.
Because of his first autobiography I thought I had become some kind of authority on actors ---- and judging by this tome that I have constructed I now think I'm some kind of authority on giving speeches. I don't profess to be an accomplished writer, and maybe I ramble too much to be completely well understood, but if I have learned anything else from Alan Alda is that I have to do what I love. If you don't even make it to the message at the end of this book, at least take the one from the beginning: do what you love.
I'm going to close this review with a quote, taken from the book, by a man whom Alan Alda both respected, admired, and portrayed in a Broadway play despite knowing that he could never fully make the audience understand how great a person that man was. As he was dying from cancer, the brilliant scientist Richard Feynman refused an anestetic at the end, because, as he said, "If I'm going to die, I want to be there when I do." I love that. I want to do that. But I also want to be there when I live.
Throughout the decades that make up his nearly sixty-year tenure in the acting industry, Alan Alda has been asked to give countless motivational speeches at places at which he will be the first to tell you he had no business speaking. He was asked to give these speeches for many reasons, most of them probably having to do with his recognizeable face and the character he became synonomous with in the early 1970s, but also because in addition to everything else that he is, Alan Alda is a man whose intellect reaches no bounds, and who dares to ask the questions that everybody else has always been afraid to ask. Where most people tip-toe over eggshells their entire lives, this guy tap-dances through mine-fields, daring to say the things that everybody else wants to say but can't manage it. He *gives* these speeches because, in his words, he likes to do things that scare him. Out of the hundreds of reasons to admire him that he has offered me in his two autobiographies, his fearlessness, or rather his willingness to accept fear as part of human metamorphosis, is right at the top of the list.
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself picks up where Never Have Your Dog Stuffed left off: Alan Alda having been spared death by emergency surgery on a mountain-top in Chile. "I was so glad to have not died that day that I made it my ner birthday," he says, and subsequently he was inspired to take an insightful look back on all of the things that he has done, everything that he has learned in his life, and decide whether the life he has lived has been as meaningful as it could have been. If it has then he's among the small percentage of the population who could say that. If he's not then, he asks, what can he do to "squeeze the most juice out of his new life"? In search of the answer to his questions, Alan turns to the bevy of inspirational and motivational speeches that he has cultivates over the years, and using the collection of his own words that has built up over critical points of his life, he strives to determine out of what one, or several, things comes a "life of meaning."
Now, I'm not saying that this autobiography is in any way interchangeable with the first one. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed is one of my most favorite autobiographical offerings in a long time. What *this* book *is*, though, is honest, and insightful, and candid, and witty, and filled with the things that in some dim part of the 90% of our brains that we don't use we have always known to be true, but we just needed somebody else, somebody that, for whatever reason, we have grown to trust, to tell us.
In this book Alan gets personal: and contrary to popular belief, getting personal is not such a simple thing to choose to do when you're an actor. Truth be told, *acting* is about 70 % pretending ---- but the other 30% is having the courage to dig deep into yourself and coax out of the privacy of yourself a passion that maybe you never knew you had, but that is a part of you and needs to be brought forth in order to make the work that you are doing great. That can be a terrifying thing to do, because it exposes a deeply personal part of yourself to thousands of strangers who would take any opportunity to pick your bones clean. Alan admits that he wanted fame --- every celebrity, no matter what they say, *has* to have *wanted* fame at some part in their lives, otherwise they wouldn't be where they are: they would be in grad school, or an office building, or selling half-assed used cars out of a dumpy parking lot in Sarasota --- but he also admits that the concept of *celebrity* is an intimidating, surprising, disblieving thing. It's difficult to get used to. Celebrities have to give a part of themselves over to the character that they're portraying in order to make it worthwhile to themselves as well as the audience. Therefore, when a character is a hit, and accepting into the hearts and homes of millions of people, it can be extremely taxing for the actor portraying that character, because he has to give a piece of himself up to everbody else. He runs the risk of becoming idolized, worshiped, loved, hated, despised, loved ---- *but*, as he says in the beginning of the book, *if you love* what you do, you *cannot lose*. Alan Alda loves what he does: everything that he does.
You will take a lot of inspiring messages from this book. You may love it, you may hate it, you may read it a million times, you may never read it again after you shelf it, but *you will take from it.* Alan Alda has the distinction of being one of those people whom is so masterful of our language that he knows how to bend it to his will in order to make it the most powerful when it reaches the people to whom he is speaking. If he believes in something enough to talk about it then it's worth hearing, because he knows how to say it in a way that makes you wonder why in the hell you haven't thought of that before.
Because of his first autobiography I thought I had become some kind of authority on actors ---- and judging by this tome that I have constructed I now think I'm some kind of authority on giving speeches. I don't profess to be an accomplished writer, and maybe I ramble too much to be completely well understood, but if I have learned anything else from Alan Alda is that I have to do what I love. If you don't even make it to the message at the end of this book, at least take the one from the beginning: do what you love.
I'm going to close this review with a quote, taken from the book, by a man whom Alan Alda both respected, admired, and portrayed in a Broadway play despite knowing that he could never fully make the audience understand how great a person that man was. As he was dying from cancer, the brilliant scientist Richard Feynman refused an anestetic at the end, because, as he said, "If I'm going to die, I want to be there when I do." I love that. I want to do that. But I also want to be there when I live.
February 18, 2013
Though I should have been reading other books, I simply had to sit and listen to Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself. My parents raised me to appreciate M*A*S*H, and so I've always had an interest in Alan Alda. Of course, as Alda discusses, celebrity is a strange thing, and celebrities often disappoint on closer inspection. I will probably never meet Alan Alda, so I can't say whether he would disappoint if I did meet him, but listening to this audiobook has only made me admire him more.
The title is a strange one, and means exactly what it says. In Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, Alan Alda considers various speeches he gave throughout his life, such as commencements and eulogies. He looks back at what he said then and tries to boil down them down to what he really believes and what he really wants to pass on to people about living life. While initially skeptical about this construct, it proves to be an incredibly fascinating pursuit, as he learns from his past self.
No doubt this book will also lose him fans. Alan Alda is a very political man. He has very strong opinions on things like equal rights and the environment and the arms race. I happen to agree with him on pretty much all of this, so I appreciate his candor, but those staunchly on the other side of the spectrum will likely be offended.
Alda makes several basic observations and then looks at them again and again. Still, the book managed not to come across as repetitive, though it might seem that way to those less interested in continual philosophical musings. His thoughts on the divide between the humanities and science are especially compelling.
For those looking for an in depth look at Alan Alda's life, this is not the place to get it. He does mention his family quite often and famous friends too, but they are not the point of the book. They are sometimes illustrative of an argument he's trying to make, but this is not a biography. The subjects covered are those dealt with in speeches to a public audience, so he mostly skims the surface of private life.
If you read Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, I recommend the audio highly, because, hello, you can listen to Alan Alda. He has a unique and delightful voice, so immediately recognizable as him. He's a delight to listen to, and who better to tell his story than him?
The title is a strange one, and means exactly what it says. In Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, Alan Alda considers various speeches he gave throughout his life, such as commencements and eulogies. He looks back at what he said then and tries to boil down them down to what he really believes and what he really wants to pass on to people about living life. While initially skeptical about this construct, it proves to be an incredibly fascinating pursuit, as he learns from his past self.
No doubt this book will also lose him fans. Alan Alda is a very political man. He has very strong opinions on things like equal rights and the environment and the arms race. I happen to agree with him on pretty much all of this, so I appreciate his candor, but those staunchly on the other side of the spectrum will likely be offended.
Alda makes several basic observations and then looks at them again and again. Still, the book managed not to come across as repetitive, though it might seem that way to those less interested in continual philosophical musings. His thoughts on the divide between the humanities and science are especially compelling.
For those looking for an in depth look at Alan Alda's life, this is not the place to get it. He does mention his family quite often and famous friends too, but they are not the point of the book. They are sometimes illustrative of an argument he's trying to make, but this is not a biography. The subjects covered are those dealt with in speeches to a public audience, so he mostly skims the surface of private life.
If you read Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, I recommend the audio highly, because, hello, you can listen to Alan Alda. He has a unique and delightful voice, so immediately recognizable as him. He's a delight to listen to, and who better to tell his story than him?
September 19, 2010
Another truly enjoyable book by Alan Alda, and the audio book of this one has the benefit of being read by the man himself. While Alda's first book definitely falls into the genre of memoir, this one can more accurately be described as inspiration and advice. Every chapter is based around a speech Alda has given, whether it be a public commencement speech or a private conversation with family. This isn't just a transcript of those speeches, though. Alda takes the time to set up the circumstances leading up to each talk, describing his thought-process and reasoning for saying the things he did. And through it all, not only are you indeed inspired to live your life better, you really come to understand his life philosophy as one to be admired and followed.
Alda sums up this book best in the last few pages, and I can do no better than to quote him here: "So that's it. I've told you everything I know. Think clearly and think for yourself. Learn to use language to express those thoughts. Love somebody with all your heart. And with everyone, whether you love them or not, find out if you can be helpful. But really, it's even simpler than that. After all this time, and all these talks in public and in private, I think I get it now. If I were taking my friend Arnold's suggestion and spoke from my deathbed, I think I know what I'd say. I see now that I had my meaning all along, I just had to notice it. The meaning of life... is life. Not noticing life is what's meaningless, even down to the last second."
Alda sums up this book best in the last few pages, and I can do no better than to quote him here: "So that's it. I've told you everything I know. Think clearly and think for yourself. Learn to use language to express those thoughts. Love somebody with all your heart. And with everyone, whether you love them or not, find out if you can be helpful. But really, it's even simpler than that. After all this time, and all these talks in public and in private, I think I get it now. If I were taking my friend Arnold's suggestion and spoke from my deathbed, I think I know what I'd say. I see now that I had my meaning all along, I just had to notice it. The meaning of life... is life. Not noticing life is what's meaningless, even down to the last second."
January 12, 2023
Want to get inspired-read this
Alan is very wordy but his humorous approach to life, being a great actor, as well as a writer are words worth listening to.
I really loved M A S H and I love getting a little insight of what makes Alan who he is.
Alan is very wordy but his humorous approach to life, being a great actor, as well as a writer are words worth listening to.
I really loved M A S H and I love getting a little insight of what makes Alan who he is.
September 29, 2024
I would listen to Alan Alda talk to me about anything he wants. He has a great voice that I'll always associate with watching M*A*S*H as a kid with my mom. He explains things very well. Most of all he seems to strike a great balance between principles, passion, and pragmatism.
August 30, 2012
Having seen umpteen episodes of M*A*S*H, I was surprised that Alda actually wrote with depth.
He reveals much about himself in this Memoir, mostly through the speeches he gave where he always left his audience much to think about. He was a comic through and through, and he looked at life with optimism. He passed on his positive outlook in every speech. He spoke at unlikely functions to persons who were experts in their field. He was surprised and scared when he was asked to speak to the graduating class of surgeons and physicians. He first established the fact that he plays a Doctor but in real life his knowledge is limited to knowing the the hipbone is connected to the legbone. He goes on to humorously describe how he finally came up with a speech from the heart. He gave many commencement speeches, as well as numerous other functions. He seemed always surprised that people would hire an actor to speak of such lofty subjects as Science, medicine, funerals, physiology, psychology, and such.
Alda was serious about the responsibility of speaking to the many types of groups. He wanted his listeners to have something to take away with them in addition to a good laugh.
He explains how he came to hold certain views and how his philosophy of life was developed. He tells some inside stories about acting, actors, agents and contracts. His stories about his youth are witty and reveal lessons learned and never forgotten.
He wrote about his family in a warm and engaging way. He felt his life was full of purpose and meaning. It's light reading in one way with a sprinkling of profound thoughts. I recommend this book.
He reveals much about himself in this Memoir, mostly through the speeches he gave where he always left his audience much to think about. He was a comic through and through, and he looked at life with optimism. He passed on his positive outlook in every speech. He spoke at unlikely functions to persons who were experts in their field. He was surprised and scared when he was asked to speak to the graduating class of surgeons and physicians. He first established the fact that he plays a Doctor but in real life his knowledge is limited to knowing the the hipbone is connected to the legbone. He goes on to humorously describe how he finally came up with a speech from the heart. He gave many commencement speeches, as well as numerous other functions. He seemed always surprised that people would hire an actor to speak of such lofty subjects as Science, medicine, funerals, physiology, psychology, and such.
Alda was serious about the responsibility of speaking to the many types of groups. He wanted his listeners to have something to take away with them in addition to a good laugh.
He explains how he came to hold certain views and how his philosophy of life was developed. He tells some inside stories about acting, actors, agents and contracts. His stories about his youth are witty and reveal lessons learned and never forgotten.
He wrote about his family in a warm and engaging way. He felt his life was full of purpose and meaning. It's light reading in one way with a sprinkling of profound thoughts. I recommend this book.
March 18, 2008
I listened to this on CD on a road trip this past weekend. I was astounded at the number of times Alan Alda has spoken at commencement exercises or other public forums. A lot of the book was excerpts from these "talks" he had given. I enjoyed it, though some aspects of his life he repeated many times (like his mother being schizophrenic). Not that that is a problem, but listening to it it came off as being repetitive. If I had actually been reading the book I would have highlighted several things he said. Him narrating his own book was a nice touch. He's really done a lot in his life. Seems like a great family man, and has kept on learning throughout his life.
I would recommend it, but I will note that the f bomb is dropped at one point.
I would recommend it, but I will note that the f bomb is dropped at one point.
May 8, 2009
I should have a shelf called "I knew better". This audiobook would go right in the center, if I had.
Alda's passionate, articulate, engaging but somehow I still found this book both fatuous and smarmy. I don't think it's intentional, of course. I found it desperately annoying. Maybe it's my own bias showing- if I'm deeply touched, I generally respond with humor or sarcasm (preferably both at once), and I think I am embarrassed in the presence of ingenuous emotions like Alda's. And a little voice in my head adds gratuitously, "especially at his age". It's a sincerely sentimental book full of earnestly sweet and genuinely good advice. Nevertheless, I couldn't wait for it to be over. That's more about me than Alda, isn't it?
Alda's passionate, articulate, engaging but somehow I still found this book both fatuous and smarmy. I don't think it's intentional, of course. I found it desperately annoying. Maybe it's my own bias showing- if I'm deeply touched, I generally respond with humor or sarcasm (preferably both at once), and I think I am embarrassed in the presence of ingenuous emotions like Alda's. And a little voice in my head adds gratuitously, "especially at his age". It's a sincerely sentimental book full of earnestly sweet and genuinely good advice. Nevertheless, I couldn't wait for it to be over. That's more about me than Alda, isn't it?
February 3, 2017
Mostly a review of all the commencement and other speeches he has made to various interests groups with his tips on living well. A little to rah rah for me but I appreciate the thought that went into his proclamations. Mr. Alda comes off as a down to earth and caring guy and it is easy to see why he has become such a beloved figure. I enjoyed the actual stories of his life more than the speeches.
March 17, 2010
Alda does a wonderful job of mixing his speeches with his ruminations on life all with a sprinkling of memoir. It really worked. It was inspirational, sweet, and a little sad. I just loved it. I think it would be a great gift for a graduate.
July 21, 2023
Alan Alda is a wonderful actor, director, and writer and so much more. In fact, I will go so far as to call him a "Renaissance Man," in the DA Vinci mode.
Mr. Alda's, "Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself," is a testament to the above statement. Besides being on one of the biggest TV shows ever, M*A*S*H*,he also spend eleven years as host of "Scientific American Frontiers," where he insisted on meeting and interviewing all the scientists himself. His curiosity is immeasurable and before speaking before a conference of experts on Thomas Jefferson, he went to China in the hope of finding out something about Jefferson that not even the historians knew, and he found it out in a rice field.
He is currently a visiting Professor at Stony Brook University's Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. He wrote the play "Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie" and starred and help write the play "QED" about physicist Richard Feynman.
He is an empathic and humble man and his inspirational speeches before scientific, medical, and theater students (just to name a few) is reason enough to read his book. It should be mandatory for all college graduates to read because his wisdom and knowledge about life might be more important than anything most students ever learn in the classroom.
Highly, highly recommend.
Mr. Alda's, "Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself," is a testament to the above statement. Besides being on one of the biggest TV shows ever, M*A*S*H*,he also spend eleven years as host of "Scientific American Frontiers," where he insisted on meeting and interviewing all the scientists himself. His curiosity is immeasurable and before speaking before a conference of experts on Thomas Jefferson, he went to China in the hope of finding out something about Jefferson that not even the historians knew, and he found it out in a rice field.
He is currently a visiting Professor at Stony Brook University's Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. He wrote the play "Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie" and starred and help write the play "QED" about physicist Richard Feynman.
He is an empathic and humble man and his inspirational speeches before scientific, medical, and theater students (just to name a few) is reason enough to read his book. It should be mandatory for all college graduates to read because his wisdom and knowledge about life might be more important than anything most students ever learn in the classroom.
Highly, highly recommend.
March 4, 2025
This book was not what I was expecting and I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed reading it very much.
April 2, 2016
Yesterday, I was finishing a book by a young blogger who had written a book that he clearly hoped, in some small way, would make some sort of impact on the world. He clearly and sincerely wanted to make the world a better place. My review was not very charitable. I spoke at some small length about the pomposity of each generation at that certain age (early adulthood) and I remember thinking about how bloggers are a particular breed of this condition, because they are so certain of their own significance that they can hardly see the road they walk on from their high self-set perches.
This morning I started listening to Alan Alda and I learned two things within a half hour.
1. I can be a real dick sometimes.
2. This book is what those types of bloggers are trying to do.
To the first point, it's only fair to acknowledge that there's no shortage of pomposity required to carve up someone's hopeful remarks about what's meaningful to them. It doesn't take any real skill and it's more than a little mean, even if I genuinely don't intend it to be mean. In the far core of me, I set out to write a review like that because I know the book falls short of what it could be and what it perhaps should be. Too often these days, self-publishing makes it so that a book that would have been hovered over and rewritten and reexamined by the author for years of improvement before going to the publisher, now people finish a quick draft or two and send it off so they can be a "real author". There's no question that this phenomenon is real, and reading Alda's Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself certainly highlights the difference.
Not that anyone should be trying to compete with Alda. He's one of the great comic minds of history and if you've somehow never managed to notice, he's chockablock full of deeply personal insight. Not the smug insight of philosophers or the trite insight of the young trying desperately to sound like they get what's going on around here, but a true and humble insight that always places the lessons he can learn and the good he can do ahead of everything (even the joke, which is practically sacrilege for a comic). It's not fair to compare a young blogger to someone of Alda's talent and experience. But I really don't have much choice. In this case, they are both trying for more or less the same goal (to write something about what it means to be a human being and how it truly feels to be alive). They want the same things and that poor blogger is just so terribly outclassed. Still, I could have been nicer about it. I could have gone overboard being fair to him. But I didn't.
And that's really what goes through my head when I'm reading this book right now. Because Alda is a man of many gifts, to be sure. But the greatest of them, to me, has always been the way he makes you want to be a better person. He makes you want to really look at yourself and the world and try to make the best of whatever jumble of events is sitting in front of you, to try to leave some small footprint in the sands of time that others can use to learn and grow.
Bloggers like that one could do a lot worse than trying to write the kind of thing Alan Alda might write, and while it's true that there are plenty of problems in those type of books, the goal itself is so steeped in sincerity that it simply isn't fair to focus only on the flaws. I should take a moment (as I'm doing now) to reflect on that sincerity and be glad that I live in the kind of world where even the young care about these things and try, in their individual ways, to make the world just a bit better according to whatever light they have available to them.
Also, you should read this book.
This morning I started listening to Alan Alda and I learned two things within a half hour.
1. I can be a real dick sometimes.
2. This book is what those types of bloggers are trying to do.
To the first point, it's only fair to acknowledge that there's no shortage of pomposity required to carve up someone's hopeful remarks about what's meaningful to them. It doesn't take any real skill and it's more than a little mean, even if I genuinely don't intend it to be mean. In the far core of me, I set out to write a review like that because I know the book falls short of what it could be and what it perhaps should be. Too often these days, self-publishing makes it so that a book that would have been hovered over and rewritten and reexamined by the author for years of improvement before going to the publisher, now people finish a quick draft or two and send it off so they can be a "real author". There's no question that this phenomenon is real, and reading Alda's Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself certainly highlights the difference.
Not that anyone should be trying to compete with Alda. He's one of the great comic minds of history and if you've somehow never managed to notice, he's chockablock full of deeply personal insight. Not the smug insight of philosophers or the trite insight of the young trying desperately to sound like they get what's going on around here, but a true and humble insight that always places the lessons he can learn and the good he can do ahead of everything (even the joke, which is practically sacrilege for a comic). It's not fair to compare a young blogger to someone of Alda's talent and experience. But I really don't have much choice. In this case, they are both trying for more or less the same goal (to write something about what it means to be a human being and how it truly feels to be alive). They want the same things and that poor blogger is just so terribly outclassed. Still, I could have been nicer about it. I could have gone overboard being fair to him. But I didn't.
And that's really what goes through my head when I'm reading this book right now. Because Alda is a man of many gifts, to be sure. But the greatest of them, to me, has always been the way he makes you want to be a better person. He makes you want to really look at yourself and the world and try to make the best of whatever jumble of events is sitting in front of you, to try to leave some small footprint in the sands of time that others can use to learn and grow.
Bloggers like that one could do a lot worse than trying to write the kind of thing Alan Alda might write, and while it's true that there are plenty of problems in those type of books, the goal itself is so steeped in sincerity that it simply isn't fair to focus only on the flaws. I should take a moment (as I'm doing now) to reflect on that sincerity and be glad that I live in the kind of world where even the young care about these things and try, in their individual ways, to make the world just a bit better according to whatever light they have available to them.
Also, you should read this book.
October 20, 2016
Earlier this year, I read Alda's book , which I really enjoyed.
Because of my appreciation of that first, wonderful and thoughtful memoir, I picked up the sequel, as it were, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, and it doesn't disappoint. Not by a long shot.
Following his near death encounter in South America and the book it caused him to write, Alda ponders on the meaning of life. He chooses to do so by looking at various speeches he's delivered throughout his life (commencement speeches, talks at and universities, eulogies) and spending some time, "listening" to himself, to see what he had to say.
These bits of text, some more full than others, are weaved into Alda's writing given each speech a context, both in its own time and in the book itself, and the result is a ride every bit as enjoyable and moving as the first one was.
My only fear is that Alda will stop writing after this book, as the end does give a hint of Alda having said what there is to say (in a sense) and that he might turn to other areas of interest (perhaps just living). And that would be a shame. Because he's a very fine and funny writer, who doesn't flinch from the serious side of things, and I would quite frankly want to read more by him.
Because of my appreciation of that first, wonderful and thoughtful memoir, I picked up the sequel, as it were, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, and it doesn't disappoint. Not by a long shot.
Following his near death encounter in South America and the book it caused him to write, Alda ponders on the meaning of life. He chooses to do so by looking at various speeches he's delivered throughout his life (commencement speeches, talks at and universities, eulogies) and spending some time, "listening" to himself, to see what he had to say.
These bits of text, some more full than others, are weaved into Alda's writing given each speech a context, both in its own time and in the book itself, and the result is a ride every bit as enjoyable and moving as the first one was.
My only fear is that Alda will stop writing after this book, as the end does give a hint of Alda having said what there is to say (in a sense) and that he might turn to other areas of interest (perhaps just living). And that would be a shame. Because he's a very fine and funny writer, who doesn't flinch from the serious side of things, and I would quite frankly want to read more by him.
May 16, 2012
I enjoyed this even more than Never Have Your Dog Stuffed. His first autobiography was more a retelling of his life's major events and his thoughts on them. This in and of itself was both fun and insightful. This book, however, is more a collection of ponderings in the framework of various speeches and talks he's given over the years. I have come to greatly admire Alda as I read his books. I love that he's a gentle, loving person. I love that he's eternally a child at heart. I love that he cherishes laughter. I love that he tries to live as he believes. I love that he confronts his memories, even unpleasant or unflattering ones, with an unabashed frankness, looking the truth inquisitively in the face. Even more, though, I really respect that he pushes himself to extremes. He refuses to half-bake any part of his life, constantly striving to better himself and those around him, if possible. A lot of his musings really resonate with me, too. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not saying it's a perfect book, or that he's a perfect person. It's just nice to read a book about/by someone who is very literate, a dreamer, and a decent guy.
July 14, 2008
I listened to this on CD - read by Alda, who is very good, giving you the sense he's telling this story just to you. I enjoyed it, but had a few minor issues. For one, it seems to ramble somewhat at times. The other was more with the format (the audio) than the book itself; the book is a collection of Alda's speeches, as well as his reflections on them. Because sometimes he reflects in the middle of a speech - which I'm sure in the book form is expressed through formatting or paragraph breaks, but is difficult to recognize just hearing it aloud - it can feel somewhat disjointed at times.
Still, an interesting effort by an admirable man. Sentimental at times, hilarious at others, and even heartbreaking at a few points. Definitely a worthwhile read.
Still, an interesting effort by an admirable man. Sentimental at times, hilarious at others, and even heartbreaking at a few points. Definitely a worthwhile read.
July 15, 2014
It was okay. The book consists of old speeches Alda delivered to various audiences (funerals, professional societies, commencements, etc.) interspersed with reflections and context. Since all of these talks were ripped out of their emotion context, it's not surprising many fall flat when re-delivered. Also, given that Alda often spoke outside of his area of expertise, the speeches usually verge into the cliche and trite despite Alda pointing out over and over, in so many words, that he doesn't want to give "just another boring speech." I found the meta-narrative tiresome and just enough self-aggrandizing to be annoying. It's short, though, so you really don't have much to lose. Occasionally he does offer some insight, especially when alluding to science.
June 11, 2016
I thought this was an autobiography, but it wasn't. In many ways, for me, at this time, it was even better. Alda has lived his life, and because of his celebrity has been asked to speak at all kinds of events. This book is a kind of compendium of those speeches. There's a bit of humor, a bit more wisdom, and quite a lot to think about. As my Daddy Paul used to say: "You've wasted the day if you haven't learned something." Honestly, if you boil everything in this book down, Mr. Alda is saying pretty much the same thing. I did enjoy it, and not just because it's a nice change from what I've been listening to. One last comment, Mr. Alda is one author who really can read his own book. <><
January 11, 2018
A long admirer of Alan Alda, the actor, I really wanted to know if he is as nice as he seems when on television. The short answer? Yes. And then some. This book is the sequel to "Never Have Your Dog Stuffed" and focuses on Alan's gift of life, having nearly lost it on a mountain in Chile. After an experience like that, most people will question what they really value, what is really important in life. Alan Alda took the opportunity to share when he learned when he asked those questions by writing this book. You will feel like his friend. You will wish you could sit down and share one evening breaking bread with him. He is truly amazing, kind, and insightful. The world needs more people like Alan Alda.
January 21, 2024
Everything I said I my review of 's Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned applies even more to how I feel about Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself.
I adore Alan Alda. He has been a guiding force in my life and I promise him, wherever he is, that I will do as he says: I will take his advice and live my life. Really live it. I have always tried to do just that, but I occasionally I slip off into numb-times. I am back again now, living it again, and I will keep on doing just that.
Thanks for the advice, Papa Alan. Thanks for being your beautiful self.
I adore Alan Alda. He has been a guiding force in my life and I promise him, wherever he is, that I will do as he says: I will take his advice and live my life. Really live it. I have always tried to do just that, but I occasionally I slip off into numb-times. I am back again now, living it again, and I will keep on doing just that.
Thanks for the advice, Papa Alan. Thanks for being your beautiful self.
Read
March 10, 2011I liked what Alda did with this book. It picked up right where his last book ended, but took off in a completely different direction. The book incorporated a number of speeches that Alda has given to various crowds. He not only does a great job explaining the speeches, what they mean to him, and what he thinks they can mean to others, but also gives wonderful descriptions of how nervous he was to give individual speeches and the work he did to overcome these nerves. More than taking any individual life lessons from this book, I took from Alda that if you take the time to think, research, and plan, you can always find something to say or do that may have an important impact on others.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 610 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.