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Review
'This combination of niceness, with his natural volubility, creates Palin's expansiveness.' (David Baddiel THE TIMES )
'Palin's style is so fluid, and his sincerity so palpable, that it is often easy to underestimate just how talented he is as a comedian, a broadcaster and a writer..... they are just too good and his is too modest.' (Ruth Cowen THE SUNDAY EXPRESS )
'a real delight to read;' (SAGA MAGAZINE )
'his showbiz observations are so absorbing..... Palin is an elegant and engaging writer.' (William Cook THE GUARDIAN )
'Palin's steady eye, contemplative bent and instinct for honest appraisal make him the perfect chronicler of a frequently insane period which saw the 'Monty Python' team become the most celebrated comedians in the world.' (John O'Connell TIME OUT )
'a slow burn, revealing its pleasures only gradually, and allowing readers the warm glow of hindsight denied its writer...... this book will be the perfect present.' (Marcus Berkmann THE SPECTATOR )
'the charting of the haphazard and often perilous ascent of the Python phenomenon up the greasy pole of fame makes for delightful and often extraordinarily funny reading.... An entertaining and at times deeply moving read. With nearly two decades of recent dairies still untapped, we may confidently sit back and wait for more.' (Michael Simkins THE MAIL ON SUNDAY )
'a wealth of fascinating stuff about Monty Python.' (William Cook THE INDEPENDENT )
'our favourite TV explorer shows us the workings of an unstoppable machine.' (DAILY EXPRESS )
'a riveting commentary to a remarkably creative decade.' (ACADEMY )
'Palin's style is so fluid, and his sincerity so palpable, that it is often easy to underestimate just how talented he is as a comedian, a broadcaster and a writer..... they are just too good and his is too modest.' (Ruth Cowen THE SUNDAY EXPRESS )
'a real delight to read;' (SAGA MAGAZINE )
'his showbiz observations are so absorbing..... Palin is an elegant and engaging writer.' (William Cook THE GUARDIAN )
'Palin's steady eye, contemplative bent and instinct for honest appraisal make him the perfect chronicler of a frequently insane period which saw the 'Monty Python' team become the most celebrated comedians in the world.' (John O'Connell TIME OUT )
'a slow burn, revealing its pleasures only gradually, and allowing readers the warm glow of hindsight denied its writer...... this book will be the perfect present.' (Marcus Berkmann THE SPECTATOR )
'the charting of the haphazard and often perilous ascent of the Python phenomenon up the greasy pole of fame makes for delightful and often extraordinarily funny reading.... An entertaining and at times deeply moving read. With nearly two decades of recent dairies still untapped, we may confidently sit back and wait for more.' (Michael Simkins THE MAIL ON SUNDAY )
'a wealth of fascinating stuff about Monty Python.' (William Cook THE INDEPENDENT )
'our favourite TV explorer shows us the workings of an unstoppable machine.' (DAILY EXPRESS )
'a riveting commentary to a remarkably creative decade.' (ACADEMY )
SAGA MAGAZINE
'a real delight to read;'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Perhaps the oddest thing about a book written by one of the foremost comedians of a generation is the lack of humour in it. But then, this was never designed to be a funny book. Rather it is the story, the journey, of how one of a group of six men became comedy icons, men who set a comedic standard that 30 years later is still to be transcended.
Comedy, we learn, is HARD WORK, not simply dashing off a sketch with a dead parrot in it and then settling back next to the pool, drinking Chateau de Chasselas and waiting for the bank to send a wheelbarrow full of money around. Rather, this book is about how the Pythons variously loved and hated each other, their doubts and egos, how they fought (and mostly, thankfully, won) their fights against censorship.
This is a diary, not a biography or a hagiography, and so we can take it as honest when Palin relates how, ten years after Python first came upon us, he still drives a Mini and how during a meal Eric Idle `reveals that three of the Pythons are broke` (although John Cleese has a `dirty Rolls`).
If you are looking for belly laughs, get a CD of Python. If you want to know about the egos and the alchoholism, the pain and the pleasure, buy this book. The book won`t make you laugh, but you may learn more about what makes Palin laugh. And what it cost him.
Comedy, we learn, is HARD WORK, not simply dashing off a sketch with a dead parrot in it and then settling back next to the pool, drinking Chateau de Chasselas and waiting for the bank to send a wheelbarrow full of money around. Rather, this book is about how the Pythons variously loved and hated each other, their doubts and egos, how they fought (and mostly, thankfully, won) their fights against censorship.
This is a diary, not a biography or a hagiography, and so we can take it as honest when Palin relates how, ten years after Python first came upon us, he still drives a Mini and how during a meal Eric Idle `reveals that three of the Pythons are broke` (although John Cleese has a `dirty Rolls`).
If you are looking for belly laughs, get a CD of Python. If you want to know about the egos and the alchoholism, the pain and the pleasure, buy this book. The book won`t make you laugh, but you may learn more about what makes Palin laugh. And what it cost him.
45 of 48 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is wonderfully vivid and engrossing - unlike so many post-Python retrospectives, which can often seem either lifeless or over-eager to grind certain axes, this takes you back to when it all happened, and also provides all kinds of delightful and insightful anecdotes about Palin, his colleagues and his comedy.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The 600 pages were apparently edited from about five times as much original material. I think the amount chosen for inclusion should perhaps have been reduced by about half again as there are many accounts of "Python" meetings and other business meetings. That said, the diaries make a gentle and pleasant read for anyone who was around during the Python years and has an interest in the making of Monty Python and other projects in which Palin was involved. There are some insights into the personalities of the Pythons and the stresses and conflicts which emerged in the years following their initial success. The book becomes more interesting as the years pass and some well-known non-Pythons like George Harrison become part of the story though the analysis of characters and current events never attains any depth. Palin comes across as a thoughtful, likeable man, who clearly makes a great deal of money during these years but for whom money is not the primary motivation. To sum up, the book is an enjoyable bed-time read, though not a book to return to once read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Being Michael Palin -- there are much worse things you could be.
According to Palin, this book contains about a fifth of the diary he kept between those years, and one inevitably wonders about the stuff that was left out. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Police informer
Pleasant lightweight company more than any form of essential reading.
Reviewing serves the purpose of concentrating the mind and finding out - maybe for the first time - where you place such-and-such an artist or writer. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Peter H
Borrrrrrrrrrrrring zzzzzzzzzz
First of all,im a huge fan of Michaels work from Python through to his excellent travelouge films he made for the BBC, but this book is as dull as dishwater. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Circles40
Fascinating stuff from a lovely talented man
I got Michael Palin's 'Python' diaries for Christmas a couple of years ago and was absolutely delighted with this present. The diaries are fascinating and beautifully written. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. Craig Henderson
Monty Pooter's Flying Circus
First - I'm a Python fan.
So this intimate look at 'the making of' is highly interesting to me. Read more
So this intimate look at 'the making of' is highly interesting to me. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Paul T Horgan
Fun and informative, with a lot of food
I've been intending to read this for some time but was intimidated by its size, however I now forced myself to give it a go and found it to be quite enjoyable. Read more
Published 21 months ago by J. R. Johnson-Rollings
A must for Python fans
I loved this book (although see my much longer review of Palin's next volume of diaries).
Published on 9 Mar 2010 by Friend of Dorothy
Took Me Ages but I Did It!
This is a long, long, long book. Took ten years to create and took me approximately seven months to read. Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2009 by Emma Peel
I Can't Wait To Read About the Next 10 Years
Michael Palin writes as he speaks, without pretension, and with a great deal of humor. These are his diaries - not initially meant for publication and thus full of honest, blunt... Read more
Published on 19 Aug 2008 by Graceann Macleod
Great, inspiring read!
Palin's diaries take in everything from Python meetings, filming, touring, and interesting analyses of the political climate of the time. Read more
Published on 30 April 2008 by S. Fuller
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