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Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander

Review

Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander

The A&E program “Duck Dynasty,” which has taken the country by storm and seems to be gaining steam with every passing week, now has its family members busy writing their memoirs. Fans just can’t get enough of the Robertsons and are hungry to hear about more about the folks behind their famous logo, “faith, family, and ducks --- in that order.”

Phil Robertson is the 66-year-old head of the Robertson clan, and this biography/autobiography is his story from his birth to the current year of 2013. Readers will appreciate his homespun, honest forthrightness that flavors every single one of the 14 chapters in HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY. He offers his specific Rules for Living Happy, Happy, Happy, which include: simplifying your life (throwing away cell phones and computers), don’t let your grandkids grow up to be nerds, learn to cook (it’s better than eating slop), don’t try to figure women out (they’re strange creatures), always wear your shoes (your feet will feel better), put the bottle down (you’ll thank me in the morning), buy a house near water (it’s a lot more fun), never sell yourself short, it’s cheaper to hire your relatives, if you’re going to do something do it right, suck the head of a crawfish, learn to forgive, share God’s Word, and read the Bible.

"Each of these hilarious and completely fascinating chapters detail life as Robertson experienced it growing up, then running wild, starting the Duck Commander business, and how his faith altered his life 180 degrees."

Each of these hilarious and completely fascinating chapters detail life as Robertson experienced it growing up, then running wild, starting the Duck Commander business, and how his faith altered his life 180 degrees. Readers will find lots of informative tidbits of insider information on Robertson, Miss Kay, brother Silas, and the four Robertson boys, Alan, Jase, Willie and Jep. The Duck Commander doesn’t mince words as he shares the good, bad and ugly of his early years when he was a young husband and father who cared more about drinking and duck hunting than anything else. He details the depths to which he fell before Miss Kay took him back and told him plainly that he needed God or his life would continue to swirl downward. He listened to his long-suffering wife and became a Christian at age 28.

From that momentous time forward, Jesus Christ took over as Robertson’s commander in chief, and he now travels throughout the U.S. speaking in churches hundreds of times each year. Lest readers think that Robertson confines his text to the topics of faith and family, let them be assured that he offers ample chapter space on the subject of all things related to ducks and duck hunting. Somehow, given his expertise and sense of redneck humor, Robertson makes even his text on duck primer 101 information an interesting read.

For readers who had questions that had been unanswered or newbies who just want to know what all the fuss is about, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY is the book to read. Robertson writes like Miss Kay cooks --- with zest, zeal, and overflowing with kindness and hospitality that is good for body and soul.

Reviewed by Michele Howe on June 14, 2013

Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander
by Phil Robertson with Mark Schlabach

  • Publication Date: May 7, 2013
  • Genres: Christian, Nonfiction
  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Howard Books
  • ISBN-10: 1476726094
  • ISBN-13: 9781476726090