The Tao of Bill Murray: Real-Life Stories of Joy, Enlightenment, and Party Crashing Kindle Edition

I got this originally for my son who is seventeen so he could do a book report. I gave this a four star rating only because it was a slow paced book and while entertaining, I had to make myself read it at times. I have been a fan of Mr. Murray for years and loved the vignettes that others shared about him. If I learned anything from the book it was that you ought to live life in the moment with joy. It seems that most of us are caught up in the planning of our futures to the point that we don't enjoy the present. Bill Murray has the ability to see the hear and now as the gift it truly is and enjoy every moment. For all of the randomness this seems to permeate Bill's life, one thing seemed to come through very clearly to me; Bill Murray is first a family man and second a public figure. That says a lot about a man's character. Thanks Mr. Murray for being you, no one else can do you better.

A number of funny Murray stories for people who love the guy. But after a while, the stories become a little less memorable and interchangeable with stories you hear about your wacky uncle. The lengthy recap of all of Murray's movies tend to devalue the grandeur and excellence of Murray when you realize how many awful movies he has been in.I love the guy, so this was must-read for me. But not something that I would consider a moveable feast and something I will cherish. I will get as much, if not more satisfaction from watching him at Pebble Beach or by popping in dvd of one of his last movies.I will say for those Murray fans who want some sleeper movies to see beyond the biggies he has done, there are descriptions of "Broken Flowers" and "St. Vincent". Definitely two of my favorites.

A book almost as charming as its subject. I went in expecting a compilation of some of the enigmatic, wacky stories that seem to surround Mister Bill Murray, and that's what I got. The book felt stretched a bit at the end when Edwards rattles through a list of every movie appearance Bill has made, with barely enough inside commentary to make the section worth it. I was actually surprised to see Edward's list of credentials at the book's close, as I felt the writing was bordering on amateur at points. But overall an enjoyable read.The book really does give you an excellent glimpse at the modern day Hermes himself. The great trickster, purveyor of madness, and eminent karaoke enthusiast. Bill is one of those people you can't help but notice living entirely in the moment. If you're always thinking of the whys and hows, are you ever really living? Maybe not. Bill needn't worry over that particular philosophical quandary though, as this book makes clear. Bill is a presence felt, the life of the party while somehow always remaining beneath it all; and keeping his ego checked and composed. He somehow achieves that oh so delicate balance between fun and going too far, almost always landing on the right side of the scale. Bill embodies fun, and it seems that some of the most remembered souls on this earth requested nothing more than that from life; fun.

Such high hope for this to be good and it felt way short. It starts off pretty solid, providing some great backstories but quickly unravels. It is terribly unorganized and poorly written with a parenthetical hijacking nearly every other sentence for no real reason. You'll get a few stories of Bill Murray interacting with the world, but they don't provide anything special that you wouldn't have found by a quick Google search for Bill Murray. The last half of the book is an author's commentary and summary of Bill Murray's films with very little to no commentary from Murray himself or co-stars. This book read like it was pulled directly from a blog with little to no editorial oversight.

The calculus on this one is pretty simple. If you like Bill Murray and enjoy quick, fun stories about Hollywood personalities, you will probably enjoy this book. If you are expecting grand meditations on philosophy, you're going to have a bad time.

I have been an SNL viewer since the 80’s and I believe in the Tao of Bill! Being an Italian Catholic from Chicago, yet raised in LA and having attended public schools, my whole existence has been watered down and lacking in the midwestern city-life mentality represented by the likes of the best comedians such as Bill, so I therefore appreciate the humor and antics of Mr. Murray and his cohorts unabashedly! Read this book to lighten your load and your life!

There are two kinds of people in this world, those that have met Bill Murray and those that wish they could. I am still hoping to meet Bill, but this book does a great job while I wait. Enjoy this read, recall your memories of this unique individual, actor and comedian, while you laugh out loud.

I wasn't too sure of what to expect from this book. But I ended up having such a great time reading it. I was smiling and laughing from beginning to end. It is a must read for anyone who considers themselves a fan of his. I hope so much to have an encounter with the man like any of the many takes shared. I also loved,I the last part with the summaries of his movies. It provided me with a list of movies I need to get caught up on.

This is the second time I’ve bought this book (I moved to a different country and left my original copy and I needed it back in my life). Gavin Edwards does a great job of taking some of the best -and confirmed- Bill Murray stories, some of which he got personally from the people who lived them, and using them as examples for each of the Ten Principles he’s devised. Ten Principles to make your life more easy going by being more present to yourself and others, which is what the myth and legend of Bill are all about. He even starts out with a short biography on Bill, talking about his influences like Del Close and G. I. Gurdjieff (definitely check them out if you like Bill, google Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way).It also does a great job in adding to Bill Murray’s philosophy but also humanising him, adding commentaries and stories about people who have met him and have had a fallout (like Harold Ramies) so he doesn’t idolise or idealise Bill.As Jay Duplass said, if you have ever wondered “what would Bill do?”, this book has the answers.

The whole secret to Bill Murray is improvisation. Wherever he is, whatever the situation, Bill Murray looks at it as an opportunity for improv. He can do anything he wants, anywhere, to anyone. If there are consequences, he can either duck them or pay for them. If it’s just him alone, it’s a new improv experience, usually with people he does not know and will never see again, as in crashing party or a series of them. Or it could be with an individual, as when he comes up behind a pedestrian and covers their eyes with a “Guess who!” followed by a “Nobody will ever believe you.” And he simply walks away. He likes to touch people’s lives in a totally noncommittal ways. It gives him pleasure, stokes his ego, and he gets to mark it up as having made another difference in this world. Welcome to the Tao of Bill Murray.Edwards has collected a small hillock of Bill Murray stories from the people affected by them – victims, witnesses, co-conspirators and coworkers. There about a hundred pages of these incidents, preceded by a biography and followed by an appreciative filmography. The anecdotes are sophomoric, and moronic - things that adults don’t do. Murray lives in the moment – the spur of the moment, and little else matters. He never buys a return ticket. He will be late for everything, annoy his employers, frustrate his friends and thrill total strangers. Bill Murray lives Animal House.Edwards divides the stories into ten “principles” of Murray’s – things like loving spontaneity, including everyone in the party, and so on. These principles allow Edwards to gather stories with similar facets. Murray’s experience in improv gives him the ability to evaluate an environment instantly, understand a dynamic immediately, and find a way to leverage or destroy it instinctively.Murray is a lucky man. He is rich enough and famous enough to live the life he wants, as honestly and as straightforwardly as he wants. He reports to no one. He is forgiven for everything because he is a known humorous and harmless quantity. The Tao of Bill Murray demonstrates it thoroughly.David Wineberg

Good

I like Bill Murray and this was very funny and seemed to capture what I like about Bill's "way". If you like Bill Murray, you will like this book.

Its good, its funny the theme of tao, but its that a biography only that.Biography,Bill MurrayFunTv