This is the memoir of comedian/actor/TV star George Lopez. I picked it up from my store's Memoir section more or less on a whim, and ended up finding it more interesting than I expected. Lopez grew up in a severely disfunctional family, raising by a grandmother who was incapable of showing love or even expressing approval. "Why you crying?" was, evidently, her stock phrase in response to any expression of little George's unhappiness or disappointment, and it's a line he incorporated into his comedy.

The book works well in describing the despondency of Lopez's early life, and his self-loathing and destructive behavior in early adulthood. Lopez gives a lot of credit in his eventual rise as a person and as a comedian to his wife, Ann, who stuck by him during some very dark times. Even the accounts of Lopez's rise to fame and success are interesting, although one comes to distrust some of his claims. Every audience, once he becomes successful, if packed with "adoring fans," for example. And Lopez makes some bold assertions about the popularity of his long-running sit-com, George Lopez. (Wikipedia says, "Never a big Nielsen hit in prime-time, the show became a surprise success in syndication.") It's hard to know, however, how much of that is actually Lopez and how much is his "as told to" collaborator, Armen Keteyian.

Lopez was, indeed, the first Latin American to star in a network show since Freddie Prinz starred in Chico and the Man back in the 70s. Some of the best writing in this book deals with the inspiration the young and struggling Lopez gained from Prinz's success and the devastation he felt when Prinz committed suicide at only 22 years of age.

It is also the case that Lopez has won a lot of recognition for his humanitarian work, especially within the Mexican American community. And while I could have done without the shot-by-shot description of Lopez's first appearance in the Pebble Beach Celebrity Pro-Am Tournament, mostly I enjoyed reading this book, and I found it quite interesting.

This book is a good light read. In between chapters are some transcripts from George's stand-up routines. He talks about his past and how it has made him what he is today. It will be interesting to anyone who watches the George Lopez show or his stand-up comedy routines. He talks about the development of both of those. ( )