How to Talk Dirty and Influence People Audiobook By Lenny Bruce, Lewis Black - preface, Howard Reich - foreword cover art

How to Talk Dirty and Influence People

An Autobiography

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

How to Talk Dirty and Influence People

By: Lenny Bruce, Lewis Black - preface, Howard Reich - foreword
Narrated by: Ronnie Marmo
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.19

Buy for $25.19

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

During the course of a career that began in the late 1940s, Lenny Bruce challenged the sanctity of organized religion and other societal and political conventions; he widened the boundaries of free speech. Critic Ralph Gleason said, "So many taboos have been lifted and so many comics have rushed through the doors Lenny opened. He utterly changed the world of comedy". Although Bruce died when he was only 40, his influence on the worlds of comedy, jazz, and satire are incalculable. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People remains a brilliant existential account of his life and the forces that made him the most important and controversial entertainer in history.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 Lenny Bruce (P)2016 Hachette Audio Entertainment & Celebrities Performing Arts Funny Witty
Honest Storytelling • Social Commentary • Extraordinary Performance • Timeless Relevance • Hilarious Autobiography
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
Lots of rambling, insufferable series of intro.s that add nothing, and a play by play of the courtroom drama that should have been a quarter as long. Once you get past this, you see what made him great. The experiences, the storytelling -- top notch when he's on his game. And of course, there could be no such thing as a modern edgy performer if Bruce didn't open that door and Carlin didn't keep it open.

Superbly narrated by Ronnie Marmo whose Lenny Bruce impersonation could not be more perfect. *Chef's kiss*

Like listening to the man himself

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It has been years since I saw or heard LB in any recording but RM seemed pretty damn spot on. Impressive nuance and timing throughout. The matter itself feels so inevitable, like a friend one knows well and one is actually never surprised by what he says because you know his depth of irony and the life he has lived, but nowadays those friends are rare and perhaps they were always rarer than they seemed and LB just excelled at being an everyman whereas he so well embedded in that persona insight, irony, perception, wisdom. Wish it was more prevalent today. Listen and absorb a dosage to inoculate against today's sycophants. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the legal transcripts!

A needful antidote wonderfully narrated

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enjoyed this very much—we stay on the same problems and can’t seem to solve any of them.

Like I was hearing Lenny Bruce

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
First of all, Ronnie Marmo’s performance is extraordinary. It feels like listening to Bruce himself. The book itself is funny, and still very relevant.

Wow

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you consider the audio edition of How to Talk Dirty and Influence People to be better than the print version?

I enjoyed the honesty and humor that Lenny Bruce portrayed. He went through a lot of trials and somehow through his interpretation, he did it with clarify, humor, and a bit of leveled hope.

What did you like best about this story?

This was one book that was on the wishful bookshelf for a long time. I understood Mr. Bruce to be pioneer of comedy. However, I now know him as someone who fought very hard for freedom of speech and ideals. In many ways, He reminds the reader to be very aware of the message he is sending but also delivers to be honest about one's shortcomings and mistakes.

Which character – as performed by Ronnie Marmo – was your favorite?

I found that Mr Bruce had a way of describing the events in his life like catching up with old friend. Better yet, his delivery sometimes came more off as a confession in someone he could trust. Although I know the history of this book to be originally publicized through Playboy, I will still what secrets he has confided in me to myself. :D

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I think it would be a stretch to find something wrong about the performance but if there must something: I guess I say that he read Lenny Bruce's song All Alone rather than sing it.

Any additional comments?

I first saw this when I first saw 'Pump up the Volume'. I wish I had a chance to get to it earlier.

Appreciating the use of a four letter word

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A really compelling story. Overall I really enjoyed it but after a while Reich's attempt at impersonation becomes annoying. He sounds nothing like Bruce and more like Larry from the Three Stooges.

fascinating story, annoying narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
an amazing man and one of the greatest co.edians ever. Lenny salaried the real world in a way few can. He championed the fight for free speech for all of us and preselected it. highly recommend for anyone who lives comedy and even if you don't to get a glimpse into life after the war and one man's journey to understanding himself and humanity.

Masterful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It's totally okay to not agree or like everything someone talks about or represents. It's still an intelligent idea to listen to some you may not agree with to understand their perspective to find a common ground. Though I'm generally a fan of Lenny (and am blown away by how much the narrator sounds like him), I don't agree with absolutely everything, but it's not hard to see how unjustly he was treated and how unrelenting he was in expecting honesty in a world that is anything but and what a price he paid. This is well worth your time, but keep your mind open, listen to the ideas more than the words, and see what you find.

just excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An entertaining if sometimes challenging listening. Lenny Bruce is as relevant today as ever.

An honest man.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed 90% of this book. Plus the reader sounds like we’d think Lenny would now. The last bit of the book is the reading of court proceedings which is a little thick but non the less a great listen!

Lovely

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews