I Am What I Ate...and I'm frightened!!!: And Other Digressions from the Doctor of Comedy

by Bill Cosby

From the #1 US bestselling author, the hilarious US bestselling book of original essays for the adult market focusing on themes of health and food, which explores why Americans are hooked on such bad eating, drinking and other self–indulgent and self–destructive behaviours throughout their lives. The legendary Bill Cosby, America's most well–known comic, wants food lovers and over indulgers everywhere to know that they are not alone. This is an original collection of hilarious musings and digressions about our obsessions and addictions, from hoagies to stogies, from one of the funniest bestselling authors in the world.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Comedy, Health, Biography, Memoir

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2003

About the author

William Henry Cosby Jr. is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy star, with his longest-running live-action role being that of Cliff Huxtable in the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). He also released several stand-up comedy albums and was a popular spokesperson in advertising for decades. Cosby was well known in the United States for his fatherly image and gained a reputation as "America's Dad". Since 2014, dozens of allegations of sexual assault have been made against him.
Cosby began his career as a stand-up comic at the Hungry I nightclub in San Francisco in 1961, and primarily performed observational comedy in a conversational style. He released numerous standup specials starting with Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right! (1963) and starred in the comedy film Bill Cosby: Himself (1983). Cosby still holds the record for winning the most Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, with seven wins. His acting career began with a starring role in the NBC secret-agent show I Spy (1965–1968), which broke new ground for African Americans when he made history by winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first black actor to do so.
Cosby made his film debut starring in Man and Boy (1971) followed by Hickey & Boggs (1972), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Let's Do It Again (1975), A Piece of the Action (1977), Leonard Part 6 (1987), and Ghost Dad (1990). He produced and starred in a series of television sitcoms such as The Bill Cosby Show (1969–1971), Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–1985) and The Cosby Show (1984–1992) as well as its the spin-off A Different World (1987–1993), The Cosby Mysteries (1994–1995), and Cosby (1996–2000). He hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things (1998–2000). During his prolific career he advertised numerous products including the Jell-O ice pop treats Pudding Pop.
Over 60 women have accused Cosby of rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse and sexual harassment. Those allegations gained traction 2014 after a set which made mention of them by fellow comedian Hannibal Buress went viral. Numerous allegations followed with Cosby maintaining his innocence and repeatedly denying the allegations made against him. Despite receiving numerous awards and honorary degrees, several of them were revoked following the allegations. Reruns of The Cosby Show and other programs featuring Cosby were pulled from syndication. In 2018, Cosby was convicted of aggravated sexual assault against Andrea Constand. He was imprisoned until the conviction was vacated in June 2021 by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on the basis of Cosby's 5th Amendment and 14th Amendment due process rights having been violated. In 2022, Cosby was found civilly liable for having sexually assaulted Judy Huth when she was 16.

Reviews

[Naty · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a quick read. I picked it up because it was Cosby and I'm a fan. He was too redundant trying to make a point and at the end was pointless. It has too many stories with no sense. I think I chuckled just once reading the whole thing. The only reason why I finished it was because I was hoping it would get better, but the reality is they had lost me after the introduction.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The monologues are cute. I liked the one about smoking the best. Bill Crosby talks about the days when people smoked and no one made a big deal about it - when it was acceptable to smoke in society. I liked also his anecdote about wearing a cotton high school jacket for a date in the middle of January just to impress the girl, but he had to freeze on the bus traveling to and from her house in the winter cold. This book was cute, but I know it would have been more fun hearing these stories spoken out loud by Crosby. It is not just his stories, but his delivery of them that make it that much more enjoyable. I will never forget my experience of seeing him performing live at Radio City Music Hall about 25 years ago. He told stories about his family and I still remember some of his tales today. I think that people can relate to Crosby because his stories and tales are geared to the everyman, the average person. He does not need to be vulgar or use curse words to make people laugh. He just tells stories that everyone else can relate to. This book is all about us.

[Lanae Schaal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bill Cosby says in the beginning of the book that one of his goals when he turned 65 was to write a book. About 1/4 of the way through it seems like he has run out of things to say that pertain to the topic of eating and its affect on aging/health issues. He meets his goal of writing a book by using a stream of conscious style that allows the latter 3/4 of the book to be written. Some is entertaining but most of these thoughts should have been edited out.

Listening to tapes of his live performances are a better source for Bill Cosby's humor.

[Matthew Belonio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Resonated because high blood pressure runs in my family. Other reviewers are correct if you read this with your Cosby voice you will enjoy the 21 minutes immensely. Never resolves about what he does with his social security check, and really isn't about health. Only Cosby can publish such musings and leave the reader disappointed but with a smile.

[Weaselstink40 · Rating 1 out of 5]

21/104

I saw on goodreads they were advertising a list of new black authors for Black History Month, and then I started thinking about my own collection, and how many books I have by black authors. From where I was sitting I could see into my closet where I have a small stack of books, and the only book there that fit the criteria was I Can't Make This Up by Kevin Hart.

I got up and went into the closet and did a look around at all my physical books. There were a lot of authors I didn't recognize or know the face of, so I can't be 100% but there is a chance, that all I own is 2 Bill Cosby books I got out of morbid collecting from a fantastic library sale, and the Kevin Hart book.
My bad.

Having already read the Kevin Hart book, and not having any connection to Fatherhood, I chose to give this book a try. I cannot believe this man was at one time one of the most successful comedians. This book is horrible. Maybe it's just the bias of knowing that he is an evil person, but this book is not funny in the slightest.

I think the only other pieces of media involving Cosby I've interacted with was an episode of the Cosby show (horribly unfunny, surprisingly (for multiple reasons), still in syndication), the Robin Williams movie Jack, and the Fat Albert movie, so maybe I'm not consuming his best media. Not that I feel the need to.

Happy Black History Month!

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely enjoy how the chapters flow seamlessly into the next in this humorous tale of food and it’s affect on us. There is some good info., but being it was published in 2003 it was fun to get confirmation on things I knew even thought I read it 16 years later.

Man, how you savor that last bit of writing in this book! The mood is there and I think it makes us all want to eat better, but also empathizing with that 19 year old.


********
I’ve read a few other books written by celebrities! If you liked this one and haven’t read Jim Gaffigan’s written work “Dad is Fat” and “Food: A love story” you totally should!!

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Opinions of him aside I didnt hate the book. It pointed out a lot of issues a lot of people face and gave it a sense of foreboding ghost of christmas future. The problem was he repeated himself a lot. A lot a lot. He wanted to write a book and he did, but comedy is his art and story telling well it needs work. I still recommend it though.

[Natalie E. Tolliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although now America’s favorite and most beloved comic is shamed and disgraced, the book is still a little amusing. However, you still can’t help but think about the recent events of his life as you’re reading the book. I should have read it long ago; I probably would have enjoyed it more. Still, it was a cute, entertaining, quick read.

[mwr · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this as part of some dumb bet.

I expected this to be bad, but not quite so terrible. A couple if puns aside, the "joke" seems to be that the author is an old self-important man who hates his family and treats them like servants and jailers at the same time. That's the whole of it.

[Kristen Lester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Cover: I found the book cover to be amusing and eye catching. I loved the color combo and found that the cover was really good with the story. *STAR*

Story: I found this story to be a comical read that talks about life and how true things are the older that you get. It promotes good health and what happens if you don't take care of yourself while your young. *STAR*

Author: I am a long time fan of Bill Cosby so I loved to read what he had to say. I think he does a wonderful job writing and look forward to reading more of his books. *STAR*

Characters: This story is pretty much about Bill Cosby's experience in life. *STAR*

Cleanliness: There are a few words here and there but other than that this book is clean. NO STAR

Overall Review: I'll be putting this book on my bookshelf for a reread later in life. I found the things Bill Cosby wrote about to be comical and true. He has some really deep thought provoking thoughts that makes you go yea that doesn't make since or yea sad but true. I would recommend this book to anybody who is a fan of Bill Cosby or is looking for a light comical read.

[Diah Ayu · Rating 4 out of 5]

buku ini lucu banget!!

gara2 waktu itu habis baca bukanya Nora Ephron, aku jadi agak addicted sama buku2 komedi. dan waktu akhirnya aku memutuskan pinjem buku ini, ternyata bener2 gak mengecewakan!

buku ini menceritakan gaya makan si Bill Cosby (yang seringkali adalah gaya makan kita juga), yang keliatannya wajar2 aja tp sebenarnya berbahaya bagi kesehatan. juga ttg kebiasaan2 kecil yg terasa normal saat kita masih muda tp nantinya bisa jd masalah kesehatan pas kita uda mulai beranjak tua. dan Bill Cosby menceritakannya dg sangat lucu. quotable bgt!

klo di Indonesia, selain si KambingJantan siapa lagi ya penulis buku komedi yg 'smart' macem begini?

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to be a big fan of Bill Cosby--love his 1960s records and watching The Cosby Show. His more recent fall from grace is partially why I give a two star rating. As much as I love hearing Cosby's humour, this book really fell flat. A lot of "stream of consciousness" stories about struggling to live healthy, nothing "laugh out loud" funny. I saw him tell the "Bad at Bouley" chocolate chip cookie story at a live show in October 2001, it was great. I've read several of his books but nothing compares to seeing him live 18 years ago and listening to those old 1960s records.

Thanks to COVID-19 quarantine, I read almost the entire book in one afternoon.

[Donna]

Bought this paperback copy at the 2008 Bonanza set up for $1. 184 pages. Will give to Pam for a yardsale. The book was disappointing. I thought it would be more like his stand up routines. I think I only laughed out loud twice.
Most of the book is about when he turned 65 and found out he had high cholesterol. His mother was funny as she went to great extremes to hide her lamb chops as she still wanted fried lamb chops. She was living in a house on Bill's property, so she stayed up late to cook them when no one would see smoke or smell them. She also had a refrigerator disguised as a radio so she could hide the chops from the staff. That chapter was quite funny.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cosby is a funny man especially when he is ruminating about man and the crazy things we do. He examines eating, cookies in general and cake in particular, and the effect of cholesterol on your body, smoking (which was hilarious and all too true) and other things we choose to do to our bodies all in the name of fashion, laziness, comfort, etc. I could almost hear his voice in my head as I was reading - would still prefer to see him live.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll start out by saying that I think Cos is the funniest guy on the planet and his observations on life are brilliant BUT they didn't really translate well in this book (he just didn't bring the funny).

The book was his observations on health, eating, drinking, smoking etc. etc. etc.

Worth reading if the book was a gift or you got it out of the library but if you had to spend money on it I would say you're going to be disappointed.

[Nishi · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The children are out of the house for as long as they want to stay out. Their mother welcomes them back. I call them squatters. One of them has deliberately gone out an had a child to send ahead of her. Because who wants to reject a child. She comes behind the child. But I don't trust the child either."

[Kirsi Lupton · Rating 1 out of 5]

20 pages in and it's not great. Actually, it's really quite disappointing! I have always liked Cosby's exasperated sense of humour, but it's not translating to the written word for me. Every joke lands with an obvious, heavy thud. Hm. Well, it's a tiny little book and I want to give it more of a chance than just a few pages, so I will persevere.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some laugh-out-loud moments about aging. A little hard to follow because it was written in "Cosby-speak" which sometimes works better with a verbal delivery than in prose. Regardless, if you just try to hear his voice reading this book, it won't bother you too much. Might be a great candidate for an audio book, if Cosby is doing the reading.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill Cosby has always been one of my favorite comedians and story tellers and in this wonderful little book he tells all about aging health in a way that is poignant for anyone of any generation. For anyone who has ever had an unhealthy little habit, had the doctor tell you you have high cholesterol, or that you need to change some aspect of your lifestyle this is definitely a read for you.

[Cindy May]

Fans of Cosby should enjoy this book, unless you maybe feel guilty for all the crap you eat, because then it might come as a bit of a wake up call. Still, Cosby engages humor to make his point, and makes it clear that he's just one of us who still wants his cake and to eat it too, even though it's not on his diet.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book talks about the life of Bill Cosby and starts out with his signing up to get SSI benefits. I have read many of his books throughout his life--from childrearing and now retirement.

Who doesn't love this jello-o pudding guy? Bill Cosby is a classic!

[Brian Haddad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one a long time ago. It was a really fun read, and it really woke me up to the reality that my eating habits now (even while I am young-ish) will drastically affect my body in the future.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really just meant to be a short and funny read, and if that's all you're looking for, you'll be satisfied by this book, as I was. Nothing too extraordinary - just funny. Just good ol' Bill Cosby humor here. = )

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just not what I expected. Bill Cosby's comedic style has always made me laugh, but this book just seemed subdued and downhearted to me. It had a few funny moments, but overall, not a great read.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am a Cosby fan but this book was just aweful.

[Rebecca Nead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book over several visits to barnes and noble. Hillarious!

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, as always, Dr. Cosby can get to the heart of human nature. A quick read...

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started out funny but turned out to be a humorous attempt at a diet and exercise book. I was hoping for more classic Cosby humor and this just didn't do it for me.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Earl and I reading this book outloud and it's a hoot! Then it fell apart in the middle and never recovered. Glad I only paid a dime for it!

[Michael Hargrave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the humor he uses to address such and important issue.