Off the Shelf: Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man

Yeah, the title is a bit off-throwing, but I promise it's not anything x-rated.

Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man
Tim Allen
210 pages

Honestly, I don't actually know much about Tim Allen as a stand-up comic, but I grew up watching Home Improvement as a kid, and I've also seen his Last Man Standing, so I was intrigued as to what kind of book he would write.  Starting off, you have to keep in mind that this man is not a professional author.  If you're looking for a clean-written biography, look for something else.  This is more an autobiography mixed with a bit of diarrhea of the mind/keyboard.  While not overly long, the fact that he seems to be a bit of a stream-of-consciousness writer does tend to complicated the reading a bit, so I just took it slow.

However, he is a comic who uses real-life situations to find the funny, and it shows in his book.  While I can't say I agree with everything he has to say, he does give some interesting insight in the male mind, using comedy as an offensive/defensive tool, and he puts an interesting spin on it.  For instance, just in the intro, you'll get to see such interesting things as saying the main reason he finally got off his duff and wrote the book is that his publisher kidnapped his cat, and this wonderful quote:

"The truth is that writing is a challenge.  It's great to see your stuff in print.  I also desperately wanted to see the words "fart lighting" and "sack" on a page." ~ ... Naked Man, pg 4

This book is an interesting mix of male/female worldviews, autobiography, comedy, history, parenting, and growing-up.  It's not all in chronological or even subject-cluster order, so that can be off-putting to some readers, but the honesty and hilarious first-person view is great.  I would recommend this mostly for adults, mainly those into autobiographies, or those with any interest in Tim Allen at all.  Also, if you're looking for just a glimpse into a male mind (as a female, that was intriguing to me) and what puberty and awareness can be like, it's not bad.

Is the book for all audiences?  No.  I think males may get more out of this book than women, though I do think it opens an insightful door that makes it good for either gender, and this book is definitely better suited to adults, or maybe college-level young adults.  Do I think it was worth the read?  Yes.