Eve
You can dip in and out of this book whenever you need cheering up.
John Cleese
'Savage, brilliant,funny, tremendously intelligent.'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was given this volume of writings and transcriptions of Bill Hicks by someone who was under the mistaken impression that I was a fan of Hicks. So I read it, and found it of greater interest than I had anticipated.
One thing that struck me was that comedy was really only a secondary feature of Hicks' work. Primarily, he was a social critic and something of a philosopher. He was a relentless critic of politicians, the media and of hypocrisy in all its guises. He had a complete, and possibly naïve, faith in the essential goodness of humankind, blaming capitalism for the problems in American society. He also talked about God a lot, and referred often to the teachings of Jesus, often to point out the ways in which organized Christianity deviated from the teachings of their prophet. He saw his own task as being to force his audience to hear their own inner voice of reason, beneath the incessant hum of the agenda-driven and fear-mongering mass media. Another central theme for Hicks was drugs: he wanted them legalized, on the grounds that alcohol causes more destruction than any illegal substance. Hicks' politics did not help him win mainstream media coverage in the USA, and his fame in his own lifetime was greater in Britain.
This volume also contains the original treatment for Hicks' intended TV show for Channel 4, "The Counts of the Netherworld"; a bizarre affair, highly ambitious, quite pretentious, with little apparent humour. It features a manifesto in poetic form from Hicks, proclaiming himself to be "the Voice of Reason/ In a world gone mad, adrift on banal seas". Hicks was nothing if not earnest, bringing an evangelical zeal to his mission to "enlighten people to think for themselves". He was cynical about society, but he never extended this to people. He never really explained why, either, if people are so good, society is so, in his view, bad. He had, I think, a psychological need to believe in the goodness of people and the meaningfulness of life. This becomes even clearer in his last writings, when he knew he was not far from death. He becomes almost sentimental. He never seems to have stopped looking for his parents' approval, either, still trying to convert them to the music he liked on his death bed. The deadpan persona hid a sensitive, insecure individual who longed for acceptance and fellowship. But his foremost allegiance was to truth and in his pursuit of this he certainly showed himself to be a man of integrity, and integrity is the one thing we look for in our cultural icons these days. As to whether he was a genius, I'm not so sure, unless one can be said to have a genius for integrity. Many in Hicks' wake have faked this characteristic successfully enough, but Hicks was the real thing, one cannot deny him that.
One thing that struck me was that comedy was really only a secondary feature of Hicks' work. Primarily, he was a social critic and something of a philosopher. He was a relentless critic of politicians, the media and of hypocrisy in all its guises. He had a complete, and possibly naïve, faith in the essential goodness of humankind, blaming capitalism for the problems in American society. He also talked about God a lot, and referred often to the teachings of Jesus, often to point out the ways in which organized Christianity deviated from the teachings of their prophet. He saw his own task as being to force his audience to hear their own inner voice of reason, beneath the incessant hum of the agenda-driven and fear-mongering mass media. Another central theme for Hicks was drugs: he wanted them legalized, on the grounds that alcohol causes more destruction than any illegal substance. Hicks' politics did not help him win mainstream media coverage in the USA, and his fame in his own lifetime was greater in Britain.
This volume also contains the original treatment for Hicks' intended TV show for Channel 4, "The Counts of the Netherworld"; a bizarre affair, highly ambitious, quite pretentious, with little apparent humour. It features a manifesto in poetic form from Hicks, proclaiming himself to be "the Voice of Reason/ In a world gone mad, adrift on banal seas". Hicks was nothing if not earnest, bringing an evangelical zeal to his mission to "enlighten people to think for themselves". He was cynical about society, but he never extended this to people. He never really explained why, either, if people are so good, society is so, in his view, bad. He had, I think, a psychological need to believe in the goodness of people and the meaningfulness of life. This becomes even clearer in his last writings, when he knew he was not far from death. He becomes almost sentimental. He never seems to have stopped looking for his parents' approval, either, still trying to convert them to the music he liked on his death bed. The deadpan persona hid a sensitive, insecure individual who longed for acceptance and fellowship. But his foremost allegiance was to truth and in his pursuit of this he certainly showed himself to be a man of integrity, and integrity is the one thing we look for in our cultural icons these days. As to whether he was a genius, I'm not so sure, unless one can be said to have a genius for integrity. Many in Hicks' wake have faked this characteristic successfully enough, but Hicks was the real thing, one cannot deny him that.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Bill Hicks was one of the last true comic geniuses we had. This may be a bit repetitive for old fans who already know most of the stand-up material in the first two thirds of the book, but this is supposed to be a collection of Bill's best routines, along with other philosophical thoughts, letters and creative writing. It is the thoughts and Bill's own writing on smoking, drugs, abortion, love, politics, conspiracies, evolution and enlightenment etc towards the end of the book which show the depth of his imagination. These thoughts are inspirational, open minded and much more positive than those shown throughout his so-called 'comedy of hate'. Really, as shown at the end of the book, Bill was a man who believed in love, but just didn't know how to show it in the conventional way. This free thinker will truly be missed - but at least he will have evolved to a better place.
45 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ok, so this is a pretty good book. Its not supposed to be an edited text of Bills work. It does exactly what it says on the tin. It's a collection of his letters lyrics and routines. Including all his recorded material. If you have his CD's then you will also notice that he tends to repeat himself, albeit with slightly different takes and slants from gig to gig. This is what happens when you perform stand-up and is not a 'cynical attempt to pad out the book'. Its also interesting to fans like myself to pick up on subtle nuances and how stuff evolved. It's meant to be a book for the Bill freaks of which I am one. It's so we can have his words in written form to quote at our friends and nemeses to make ourselves look clever and look cool. It's also for those who want some extra Bill stuff never seen before. Like letters and scripts. So get off yer high horse Welsh bloke, American Scream was a Bio not a comprehensive collection of routines. How the hell does this capitalise on that? In the same way the CD's do I suppose..Love all the people is a welcome addition to the body of work on Hicks. The bloke was a genius comedian and a social commentator the likes of which could have a made a difference in todays paranoid, cartoon world had he not been cruelly taken. Anything which helps spread the word can only be a good thing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Repetition
I should have enjoyed this book, as I agree with most of Bill Hicks' opinions. Unfortunately it became more and more irritating to read the same jokes time and time again. Read more
Published 19 days ago by M. Wheatley
What you reading for?
If you are a fan of Bill then this book is a must. If you're new to the rants, opinions, philosophy and insights of the man this is a great companion to his live work. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Angus
visionary
Another of our messiahs cut down in his prime , has anyone else noticed that the radicals in humanity get cut short,bill, bob marley ,jfk etc .... bills message was clear ..... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Daze
Brilliant A true truth hero
The quote from Henry Rollins on the back of this book says it all, "He was hilarious, brilliant, brave and right about everything. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Rebel
Bill Hicks Deserves Better
As a fan of Hicks I was disappointed in this book. To say that the author was scraping tha barrel would be an understatement as even a review from Bill's high school newspaper is... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mr. A. Cunningham
Love All The People-Review
Love All The People is a compilation of the work of William Melvin Hicks, one of the greatest prophets, truth tellers, and seers that ever lived. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ronat
Thorough Exploration
I really enjoyed this. It is very thick and quite a lengthy read but bear in mind that Hick's routines are frequently repeated. Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. Cooper
Slightly flawed yet essential
I received this book as a present years ago, then lent it to someone at a party who I never saw again. I bought the book recently and read it again. Read more
Published 13 months ago by S. C. JONES
Funniest book I've ever read.
Never heard of Bill Hicks prior to reading this book, in fact I only bought the book because it was a bargain buy. Read more
Published 15 months ago by maladjusted
Laugh. You'll only cry otherwise
Like almost all anti-establishment figures who died before their time, Bill's premature death served to seal his reputation as an almost godlike figure. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Steve M
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