READ THIS: American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson

Notice among our 70 plus columns and 1,700 posts, not one is about comedy clubs...HOWEVER, in this case we can't get enough. Craig Ferguson makes us laugh so hard we forget our proper Connecticut manner and the champagne bubbles fly out our nose! He should be on the 11:30pm time slot now, and if he were we would stop turning off our tv then. American on Purpose is an absolute work of art to be enjoyed and Craig's own unique version of the American Dream. Whom You Know strongly STRONGLY recommends this book, and of all of the books we have reviewed to date this is Peachy Deegan's most favorite.

He begins with the story of how he performed at the Bush (second) White House and then takes us back to the West Coast of Scotland to color in every white spot to inform us of how he as a character became so colorful himself. Although Peachy has not met Craig, she seems to identify with his personality in that by just being himself, people find him hilarious.

Many Americans take their lives here for granted, and you know we are true patriots here at Whom You Know with our support of Go America, GO! and the like that has been mentioned in our posts including this year's 4th of July trip to Liberty Island where the mayor and the governor reopened the Crown in the Statue of Liberty. From Craig Ferguson's first trip to Manhattan, it was love at first sight. He states on page 40:

"Now that...that was love at first sight. I loved it then and I love it still. Even now, overloaded with sanitized bullshit Trump glass towers and condo-yuppie pseudoculture, it is still a complete mindfuck. As a Scottish schoolboy that first time, New York City was the Big Rock Candy Mountain. It was smoggy, bright-hot, filthy and wonderful. It was Disneyland, Oz, and fucking Jupiter. It was noise and smell and lights and people looking like they were in a movie...We took a ferry to Liberty Island and climbed to the head of the statue. It was wicked hot inside the metal goddess-110 degrees the raspy, sweating Fiersteinesque tour guide told us gleefully as we trudged slowly up the iron stairs....I made a promise to myself and told my dad. 'One day I'm gonnae live in New York, Da.' He nodded and did that half-smile thing of his, but he believed me."

The dream did not die but with every coming chapter, as Craig becomes of age you wonder at what stage will he stop being his own worst enemy to progress and making this dream come true to the level of achievement he has now. Now, Craig Ferguson is proud to be Craig Ferguson and has every right to be! He has had a long journey to the Late, Late Show and his story is not only one of persistence and luck but it is more importantly the story of hope and hard work.

We do not want to give too much away, but here are more important reasons why you should read American on Purpose:

*Learn how Gunka Jim got to be beyond cool
*Find out what Eldorado was
*You'll be able to distinguish between Just Winching and Upstairs/Downstairs Insidies/Outsidies
*Find out how Killer Ducks are in Scotland (Craig how about the Mighty Ducks in California?)
*Learn all about Bing Hitler
*Sherry at Christmas can make all the difference
*February 18, 1992 shows you people can change for the better
*The last Chapter 45 should be the clincher for when Craig Ferguson runs for office in America

As one of America's newest citizens, Craig is brutally honest and outrageously funny throughout this memoir that traces his roundabout path to the American dream. In AMERICAN ON PURPOSE: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot (Harper; On Sale: September 22, 2009; $25.99; Hardcover), the Scottish-by-birth and American-by-choice entertainer chronicles his journey from humble Glasgow to Hollywood stardom with the same irresistible mix of humor, charm, cheekiness and humility that keeps millions of loyal viewers tuning into his program five nights a week.

From the time he was a pudgy kid growing up in Scotland, Ferguson had a fascination with all things American. But it would be decades before his fantasy of making it big here became a reality. Far from an overnight success, Ferguson toiled as a punk rock drummer, an apprentice electrician, a bartender, a construction worker, a modern dancer and a stand-up comic, even as his ambition took a backseat to the drug and alcohol addiction that nearly destroyed him. In fact, at one point he had his suicide carefully plotted out, only to get sidetracked when a friend poured him a tall glass of sherry.

Finally sober after a stint in rehab, Ferguson felt ready to give the States his best shot and headed to the comedy mecca of Los Angeles in 1993. Enduring his share of disastrous auditions, harsh rejections and creative disappointments, he eventually nabbed his breakout role on The Drew Carey Show, where what started out as a three episode guest spot led to an eight-season run. His winning streak continued when he landed the hosting gig on CBS’s The Late Late Show.
His professional and personal life in order, Ferguson finally pursued his ultimate goal: U.S. citizenship, which he obtained in 2008. It was as a proud patriot that he agreed to headline that year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner and his one-on-one chat with then-President George Bush at the gala stands out as one of his most surreal encounters to date…right up there with the evening he imagined he was being chased by killer ducks during a bad acid trip. With AMERICAN ON PURPOSE, Ferguson reflects on the colorful, defining experiences—the highs (natural and chemically induced), the lows (ditto) and everything in between—that have made him the kilt-wearing, flag-waving original he is today.

Craig Ferguson is the host of The Late Late Show and author of the critically acclaimed novel Between the Bridge and the River. He lives in Los Angeles.

The work of a born storyteller, AMERICAN ON PURPOSE manages to be both heartfelt and hilarious and is fully endorsed by Whom You Know.