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It's Not a Runner Bean...: Dispatches from a Slightly Successful Comedian
 
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It's Not a Runner Bean...: Dispatches from a Slightly Successful Comedian (Paperback)

by Mark Steel (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 216 pages
  • Publisher: The Do-Not Press; New edition edition (13 Sep 1996)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1899344128
  • ISBN-13: 978-1899344123
  • Product Dimensions: 21 x 13.6 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 496,002 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

From the Publisher

A truly funny and revealing book
Mark wrote 'It's Not A Runner Bean' before he started writing a newspaper column - in fact the book was almost certainly responsible for getting him the job. Unlike 'Reasons to be Cheerful', which concentrates on his political exploits, '…Runner Bean' mainly follows Mark Steel's progress to become (in his words) 'A slightly successful comedian'. From angry young poet to angry older left-wing comedian with his own Radio 4 programme, Mark Steel's rise was peppered with many revealing and very funny incidents. There is surprisingly little crossover between the two books (I spotted just two incidents, taking up less than a paragraph each) and so together these two magnificent volumes provide a well-rounded and indispensible portrait of Mark Steel, the man. I advise everyone whose name is not William Haigh to get both books, or at the very least 'It's Not A Runner Bean', if only because it's cheaper and because The Do-Not Press is a small independent publisher in South London, and Scribner are not. There are people who might say, 'Well, I would say that, wouldn't I?' And they'd be right. Press that button now and add this book to your shopping basket. You'll be glad you did.

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It's Not a Runner Bean...: Dispatches from a Slightly Successful Comedian
41% buy the item featured on this page:
It's Not a Runner Bean...: Dispatches from a Slightly Successful Comedian 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
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£4.83
Vive La Revolution
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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Mark Steel at his best, 11 May 2001
By A Customer
I came across Mark Steel through his Guardian column and later Independent columns and then via his Radio 4 series to his stand-up show. There's no doubt that he is a very funny man. Then a friend recommended 'It's Not A Runner Bean', which is very possibly the best thing he's ever done. Told in short chapters, it offers snap-shots of Mark's rise and rise as a comedian. Best bits are encountering Jim 'Bullseye' Bowen on a TV talk show and the BBC producer who wouldn't change the words 'Radio One' to 'Radio Four' in his introduction because the scriptwriter had gone home. Funny, revealing and very rewarding....
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Laughed out loud, even at the sad bits, 23 Mar 2002
By A Customer
They say you have to start out small, but not this small, surely. Steel joined the Foreign Legion of comedy, starting in Sierra Leone or Djibouti, whatever is the equivalent of pubs in the north where no one can hear your best lines, and even if they did, they wouldn't think they were funny. But he is amazingly funny. It might just be me, but the best bits are when he leaves the glam comedy stage to spend the night on some stranger's hard cold floor trying to avoid old discs of cat sick.
Now he's a giant of Brit journalism, which makes it even funnier, actually.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Honest, no-frills account of a stand-up comedian., 1 Jun 2002
By A Customer
Really honest account of a stand-up comedian on
tour. Steel is a master of his craft and it shows in this book. He has some gems of stories
from his UK and Ireland tours. A great read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Bite Sized Wisdom
I knew Mark through politics in the 80s, though I doubt he knew me. He just has the most fantastic ability to catch and then communicate ideas. Read more
Published on 25 Sep 2005 by Mr. J. Winney

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