by Clive James
|
by Clive James
|
by Clive James
|
by Clive James
|
by Clive James
|
See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.
|
Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links(What is this?) |
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Review
British humorist and literary and TV critic James collects the "postcards" - or lively travel notes - he wrote over a seven-year stint with the London Observer. James' humor rarely builds; rather, it maintains a steady level of amused observance of his own obsessive compulsiveness, beginning with his long crush (from childhood upward) on planes and flight. First spellbound by early piston-driven airliners flying over his home in the Sydney suburbs, it wasn't until cheap mass travel was introduced that he got airborne on a flight to Milan. ". . . I was petrified when we took off, largely because I had made the mistake of looking out of the window at the moment when the pilot arrived by Jeep. He was wearing an eye-patch, walked with a stiff leg and saluted the aircraft with what appeared to be an aluminum hand. Around his neck the silver brassard of a Polish award for bravery gleamed in the weak sunlight." (Just a touch of Perelman in that travel drama!) As a stunt, James describes going around the world in three days by jet - and putting on "a net gain in weight of about 10 pounds for the trip. Of the 18 men who survived Magellan's voyage, few would have had the same complaint." He sketches funny pictures of being in the press entourage accompanying Queen Elizabeth on her 1983 tour of the States, and of how the royal party endured an overly massive entertainment thrown by Twentieth Century-Fox on one of its sound stages - a show which included too many Frank Sinatra - Perry Como duets. He also is brilliantly amusing about airports, flight films, foods, and folks in Russia, New York, Japan, Rome, Salzburg (where even the cakes are baked in the shape of Herbert Von Karajan's head), China, Disney's Epcot and Jerusalem. The naked girls at Paris' Crazy Horse Saloon proved to an audience consisting exclusively of Japanese businessmen "that human flesh can look exactly like wax fruit in the right light." Consistently spirited ironies. (Kirkus Reviews)
British humorist and literary and TV critic James collects the "postcards" - or lively travel notes - he wrote over a seven-year stint with the London Observer. James' humor rarely builds; rather, it maintains a steady level of amused observance of his own obsessive compulsiveness, beginning with his long crush (from childhood upward) on planes and flight. First spellbound by early piston-driven airliners flying over his home in the Sydney suburbs, it wasn't until cheap mass travel was introduced that he got airborne on a flight to Milan. ". . . I was petrified when we took off, largely because I had made the mistake of looking out of the window at the moment when the pilot arrived by Jeep. He was wearing an eye-patch, walked with a stiff leg and saluted the aircraft with what appeared to be an aluminum hand. Around his neck the silver brassard of a Polish award for bravery gleamed in the weak sunlight." (Just a touch of Perelman in that travel drama!) As a stunt, James describes going around the world in three days by jet - and putting on "a net gain in weight of about 10 pounds for the trip. Of the 18 men who survived Magellan's voyage, few would have had the same complaint." He sketches funny pictures of being in the press entourage accompanying Queen Elizabeth on her 1983 tour of the States, and of how the royal party endured an overly massive entertainment thrown by Twentieth Century-Fox on one of its sound stages - a show which included too many Frank Sinatra - Perry Como duets. He also is brilliantly amusing about airports, flight films, foods, and folks in Russia, New York, Japan, Rome, Salzburg (where even the cakes are baked in the shape of Herbert Von Karajan's head), China, Disney's Epcot and Jerusalem. The naked girls at Paris' Crazy Horse Saloon proved to an audience consisting exclusively of Japanese businessmen "that human flesh can look exactly like wax fruit in the right light." Consistently spirited ironies. (Kirkus Reviews)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet. Create your own review
| |||
Video reviews
|
 |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
Fun for Everyone |
More From Clive James
Unreliable Memoirs: Autobiography 'I was born in 1939. The other big event of that year was the outbreak...
Read more
|
Up to 50% off Dental Care |
Treat Someone
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). |
|||||||
| |||||
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
You have no recently viewed items or searches.
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session. |
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
| ||||
Amazon Home | |
| International Sites: United States | Germany | France | Japan | Canada | China | |
| Business Programs: Sell on Amazon | Fulfilment by Amazon | Join Associates | Join Advantage | |
| Customer Service | Help | View Basket | Your Account | |
| About Amazon.co.uk | Careers at Amazon | |
| Conditions of Use & Sale | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates |