The Pythons: Autobiography by the Pythons

The Pythons: Autobiography by the Pythons
by Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Bob McCabe

The Pythons: Autobiography by the Pythons
List Price: $60.00
Our Price: $29.75
You Save: $30.25 (50%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.27 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Bob McCabe, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-10-07
ISBN: 0312311443
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Summary of The Pythons: Autobiography by the Pythons

Over thirty years ago, a group of five Englishmen and one wayward American, re-wrote the rules of comedy. Monty Python's Flying Circus, an unheralded, previously unseen and practically unprogrammed half hour of sketches, hilarities, inanities and animations first appeared on the BBC late one night in 1969. Its impact on the world has been felt ever since.

From its humble beginnings as late night entertainment on a British TV channel that went off the air before midnight, it blossomed into arguably the most influential movement in modern comedy. They found the Holy Grail, they detailed the life of the Savior-also-ran Brian, and when we were lost, they explained The Meaning of Life.

Now, those purveyors of dead parrots and silly walks are going to tell us something more: Their story. In their own, intimate, never before heard words.

The Pythons by The Pythons is the definitive word on all things Pythonesque (the only word invented by a modern comedian which is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary.) 30 years of insight, hindsight, and bad sight - now told for the first time. Stuff they're never remembered before alongside stories they'd forgotten to say, coupled with things they couldn't say then and even more things they can't pronounce now (with a healthy dollop of things they would never have said in the first place if any others had been in the room at the time.)

The Pythons by The Pythons is a unique look at arguably the most important comic team of the modern age, lavishly illustrated with 1000 photographs and illustrations, many culled from the teams' own personal collections, many seen here for the first time. A tome, a tombstone, the definitive word on all things Python, as told by all things Python - do you want Spam with that?

Python fans will need to clear a large space on their bookshelf or coffee table for The Pythons--a big, vital autobiography of the comedy troupe. This is an oral history by the six members (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) from birth to--in the case of Chapman--death. We get reminisces about childhood, university days, early successes, and rich details about the landmark Flying Circus TV series and subsequent films. The voices are fresh (with expectation of Michael Palin's insightful diary entries), not just complied from earlier publications. "Due to his insistence of being inconveniently dead," Chapham's voice is heard through his longtime partner David Sherlock, his brother and sister-in-law (and some archival materials). As a whole, the six impart a refreshing ability to deal honestly with the frustrations that arose over the years and it comes out in the text even when events are recalled differently. The book is not a light read (figuratively and literally), perhaps a smaller size would have been better for the amount of text; a cursory glance at the coffee table is tough. What does fill the book is an abundance of photos (over 1,000), most never published and many from the troupe's private collections. Along with concept sketches, Gilliam's drawings and doodles, and a few correspondences, this is a keepsake memento of the legendary group. --Doug Thomas

Music Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Music Books
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain ImageMusicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
by Oliver Sacks
Knopf Publishing Group; Published: 2008; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.13
Listen ImageListen
by Joseph Kerman, Gary Tomlinson
Bedford/St. Martin's; Published: 2007-02-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $23.00
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century ImageThe Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century
by Alex Ross
Picador; Published: 2008-10-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.27
Price in other shops: $19.00
Forever Young: Photographs of Bob Dylan ImageForever Young: Photographs of Bob Dylan
by Douglas R. Gilbert, Dave Marsh
Da Capo Press; Published: 2006-10-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.55
Price in other shops: $18.95
Heroes And Villains: The True Story Of The Beach Boys ImageHeroes And Villains: The True Story Of The Beach Boys
by Steven Gaines
Da Capo Press; Published: 1995-08-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.15
Price in other shops: $17.95
Handbook for Sound Engineers, Third Edition ImageHandbook for Sound Engineers, Third Edition
by Glen Ballou
Focal Press; Published: 2002-01-21; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $125.95
Jazz Anecdotes ImageJazz Anecdotes
by Bill Crow
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1990-05-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.18
Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams ImageLovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams
by Paul Hemphill
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2006-08-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.94
Price in other shops: $16.00
How to Train Singers/Book and Tape ImageHow to Train Singers/ Book and Tape
by Larra Browning Henderson
Parker; Published: 1991-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $29.95
Price in other shops: $44.95
I, Tina: My Life Story (icon!t) ImageI, Tina: My Life Story (icon!t)
by Tina Turner, Kurt Loder
It Books; Published: 2010-06-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.05
Price in other shops: $13.99
Similar Books and other products
The First 28 Years of Monty Python, Revised Edition ImageThe First 28 Years of Monty Python, Revised Edition
by Kim "Howard" Johnson
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 1999-06-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.98
Price in other shops: $21.95
Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years ImageDiaries 1969-1979: The Python Years
by Michael Palin
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2008-11-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: $21.99
The Complete Monty Python's  Flying Circus 16 Ton Megaset ImageThe Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus 16 Ton Megaset
A and E Home Video; Release date: 2005-09-27; DVD
Best price: $40.00
Price in other shops: $99.95
Monty Python: Almost The Truth [Blu-ray] ImageMonty Python: Almost The Truth [Blu-ray]
Universal Studios; Release date: 2009-10-27; Blu-ray
Best price: $14.34
Price in other shops: $34.99
Diaries, 1969-1979: The Python Years ImageDiaries, 1969-1979: The Python Years
by Michael Palin
Thomas Dunne Books; Published: 2007-09-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.99
Price in other shops: $29.95
Monty Python's Life Of Brian - The Immaculate Edition ImageMonty Python's Life Of Brian - The Immaculate Edition
Sony; Release date: 2008-01-29; DVD
Best price: $5.97
Price in other shops: $14.99
Halfway to Hollywood: Diaries 1980--1988 ImageHalfway to Hollywood: Diaries 1980--1988
by Michael Palin
Thomas Dunne Books; Published: 2011-03-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: $32.50
Monty Python Speaks ImageMonty Python Speaks
by David Morgan
It Books; Published: 1999-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.25
Price in other shops: $13.95
The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus; All the Words Volume One ImageThe Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus; All the Words Volume One
by Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, John Cleese, Michael Palin
Pantheon; Published: 1989-11-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus : All the Words, Volume 2 ImageThe Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus : All the Words, Volume 2
by Monty Python, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gillian, Terry Jones
Pantheon; Published: 1989-11-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops: $19.95
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories