Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Audiobook By Chuck Barris cover art

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

An Unauthorized Autobiography

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Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

By: Chuck Barris
Narrated by: Chuck Barris
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About this listen

Suspense, excess, danger and exuberant fun come together in Chuck Barris' unlikely autobiography - the tale of a wildly flamboyant 1970s television producer, better known as the infamous host of The Gong Show. What most people don't know is that Barris allegedly spent close to two decades as a decorated covert assassin for the CIA.

Barris, who achieved tremendous success as the creator and producer of hit TV game shows such as The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game, claims to have joined the CIA as an agent in the early 1960s, infiltrated the Civil Rights Movement, met with militant Muslims in Harlem, and traveled abroad in order to kill enemies of the United States.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is now a movie directed by and starring George Clooney, with Sam Rockwell as the author, but the original story is wild and gripping, spiced with intrigue, sex, bad behavior, and plenty of great one-liners. It is destined to become a classic.

©2002 Chuck Barris, All Rights Reserved (P)2002 Simon & Schuster Inc., All Rights Reserved, AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.
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Critic reviews

"Though Barris' reputation as a wacky TV show host doomed this literary venture when it was originally published, it is in fact a remarkably well-crafted and entertaining book, both unflinchingly personal and at times laugh-out-loud funny. Twenty years later, it reads like a classic." (Publishers Weekly)

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Fantastic. Especially nice that the actual voice is done by Chuck Barris himself thru out.

Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind

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It was just okay - was the plot plausible - in terms of his supposed CIA work? Hard to tell. It

It was just okay

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Part of the appeal is whether parts of the story are true. My intuition tells me that this is a mix of fact and fiction. I believe that there is enough truth to make this story both worthwhile and entertaining.

Outrageous

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Overall this is a very entertaing book event though many of the scenarios seem very unlikely. Unfortunately, this is an abridged version. The book is read by the author which adds quite a bit to the experience. It's worth the listen.

Entertaining yet unlikely

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This is surely a most unusual memoir book! Interweaving his job of a top TV show producer and that of a CIA operative and assassin, the narrator is drawing a most dynamic, crazy picture of his life. That the assassin stuff is most likely a fantasy does not change the attractiveness of the story in the slightest. I did get a feeling by the end that this fantasy escape world was really important to the protagonist, in the real world maligned and cornered and stressed out. I heard a lot from my friends about the cultural phenomenon that was the Gong show, and this book fits its author. Lots of fun, exciting plot, highly recommend.
Oh, and the narrator assumes a bit of this Yiddish-affected Brooklyn/NJ/Philly accent, which really works.

wonderful wild romp

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Barris blurs the lines between fact and fantasy and the result is an entertaining and often hysterical read. The book cleverly flips between Chucky-baby's recounting of his true life TV career, and a farcical tale of his secret life as a CIA assassin. The reader is left to his wits to figure out where one stops and the other begins. Mindless nonsense, no doubt, but I highly recommend it for its cleverness, humor and novelty.

Three Thumbs Up!

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I could not stop listening to this audiobook. It took me from thrill to thrill without hesitation. Even though some parts were a little vulgar, I expected it. Raw, real, witty, relateable in many ways, I found myself making extra loops around the block to finish a chapter before I stopped to get the kids.

This guy here!!

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Non stop action and fun. But is it really true??? unbelievable story line...I loved it!

Loved it!

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Would you listen to Confessions of a Dangerous Mind again? Why?

Maybe

What three words best describe Chuck Barris’s voice?

reading, not talking

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It was hard to imagine him engaging in such violence and without much conscience.

Any additional comments?

If he was in all those places on the days of the assassinations he claimed to commit, then it seems more than a coincidence. It's a weird story yet plausible. Truth is often stranger than fiction.

Credible

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Loved the movie so I had to read the book and a great story is ruined by Chuck Barris' stiff and awkward narration. REALLY wish they had gotten Sam Rockwell to narrate!

Awful narration

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