Thanks For Nothing by Jack Dee

Jack Dee has written a book and true Jack Dee style it's all about him.
What a bloody selfish bastard.
Dee is, what we in Australia affectionately (but not really affectionately, there's the joke) call, a whinging Pom. His grumpy-man act has packed theatres for years, made him a regular guest on many British panel shows and given him his own television series, Lead Balloon which is now filming its fourth season.
His book starts out as one would expect any autobiography to start out, with a dedication. However, there are no mentions to loved ones, family members or life long friends, instead Jack dedicates the book to himself, "without whom none of this would have been possible." Rightly so when one comes to think about it.
Dee navigates us through many of his daily niggles; from plumbers, house-selling vicars, book clubs - all with hilarious anecdotes. He tells us about is trouble-causing time at school, a brief stint in market research, the time he spent as a chef at The Ritz and his realisation that he suffered from depression. At one stage Jack Dee was going to be a priest. Thank god he didn't.
While it seemed at a time that he might stay in the restaurant industry forever, one night in 1986 changed all that. In 1986 Jack found his way to the Comedy Store and did his first stand-up gig at an open mic night.
I'm pretty sure that this is the first autobiography I have ever read. I do have a bad memory so it's quite possible that I've read one every week since I was born, but I doubt that. If this one is anything to go by then I will be reading more very soon.
For fans, it is a must read; for anyone who doesn't yet know what they want to do in life, it is very inspirational. The last few chapters gave me goosebumps as Dee found his calling - a thing that few of us truly get to do in life.
As the pages go on and we learn more about the real Jack Dee (which is in fact, his twitter name) we soon find out that this cranky-pants wearing, broody exterior is just that; a facade, an act albeit a brilliant one.
It ends as it begins, with a Dee-ism; an index that reads:
Dee, Jack 1-377
Of course it is.
I look forward to the day that I've forgotten that I've read it and I get to read it again.
If you haven't seen Lead Balloon do something about it.
I wish he'd tour Oz soon.
: )