A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned »

Michael J. Fox first gained attention as Alex P. Keaton, on the hit sitcom Family Ties. Since then, his career has been a nonstop success story, with blockbuster movies like Back to the Future, The Secret of My Success, Doc Hollywood, and the popular Stuart Little films, for which he voiced the title character. Michael has won numerous awards, including five Emmys, four Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a People's Choice Award. He retired from his award-winning role on Spin City to establish the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which has become the leading private funder of PD research in the world.

Michael is the author of two New York Times bestselling books, Lucky Man and Always Looking Up. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, the actress Tracy Pollan, their four children, and their two dogs.

Michael J. Fox abandoned high school to pursue an acting career, but went on to receive honorary degrees from several universities and garner the highest accolades for his acting, as well as for his writing. In his new book, he inspires and motivates graduates to recognize opportunities, maximize their abilities, and roll with the punches—all with his trademark optimism, warmth, and humor.

In A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future, Michael draws on his own life experiences to make a case that real learning happens when "life goes skidding sideways." He writes of coming to Los Angeles from Canada at age eighteen and attempting to make his way as an actor. Fox offers up a comically skewed take on how, in his own way, he fulfilled the requirements of a college syllabus. He learned Economics as a starving artist; an unexpected turn as a neophyte activist schooled him in Political Science; and his approach to Comparative Literature involved stacking books up against their movie versions.

Replete with personal stories and hilarious anecdotes, Michael J. Fox's new book is the perfect gift for graduates.

Contents

Finally ... the Beginning....................1
Two Schools....................7
When Am I Ever Gonna Use This Stuff?....................15
Economics....................27
Comparative Literature....................37
Physics....................43
Political Science....................51
Geography....................55
Pay Attention Kick. You Might Learn Something....................63
Victims of Pomp and Circumstance....................79
The Beginning ... Finally....................97