Alan Alda

And Other Things I've Learned

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed

Sarah Sammis

Let me start this review off with a little disclosure. I am a complete and utter Alan Alda fangirl. My grandmother was a Robert Alda fan and I remember comparing notes with her during those few M*A*S*H episodes where the two acted together. So when I heard Alda on the radio back when Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned I've wanted the book. Mom got me a copy for last Christmas and my inner fangirl squeed with delight.

Was the book worth the wait? Yes! I tore through my copy in about a day and I enjoyed it start to finish. If you are looking for facts and figures and geeky trivia, this book isn't for you. If on the other hand you want to see what makes the man tick and get a very personal recollection of his life, then this is the perfect book.

Don't expect much about his time on M*A*S*H, it (like everything else in the book) gets one chapter. As the book is short, the chapter too is short (under 20). If you're specifically looking for information about the TV show, I highly recommend making a trip to UCLA to look at the Larry Gelbert papers in the Film and Television special collections.

I have to admit that I was glad that M*A*S*H didn't take up much of the book's length. I can sing along with every episode and I know that piece of his carrier well; probably most fans my age do. The one thing I wish he had mentioned that wasn't in the book were his post M*A*S*H films (and my favorite Woody Allen film Manhattan Murder Mystery).

I liked his first memoir well enough that I have his second memoir in my reading queue: Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself. I'll be reviewing it in late July or early August.

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed And Other Things I've Learned

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