The Pythons: Autobiography

by Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, John Cleese, et al.

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312311443
• ISBN13: 9780312311445
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 5.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 10.2" x 12.6"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful book

The Pythons were like the British Marx Brothers, Anti-authority, subversive, surreal, and very very funny. Particularly interesting are the Python's accounts of their childhood and pre-fame days. It seems "A Careful Reader" wasn't so careful after all. The picture of Dudley Moore (and it is most assuredly him) is on page 68 NOT 88. Here's a clue for ACR...he's about 30 years younger than he was when he appeared in the movie "10." Thank you and good night!

Weighs a ton, but that's half the fun! (what an awful joke!)

But it's my only line!.....I recieved this recently as a "early Christmas" present, and have gotten about 140 pages into it. I can't sleep, I haven't left the house in days, the book is keeping me from escaping, I must continue reading....Okay, maybe not, but I am quite into the book as of this posting, and I can safely say that this is ESSENTIAL for any Python nut. The mere collection of photos alone is worth it. And the interviews are well-done (though some of it seems lifted almost directly from the "Monty Python Speaks" book of a few years back, I imagine they just haven't thought of any different ways to tell certain stories). This is the Pythons themselves, telling their story from birth to death (and yes, Python without Graham Chapman is not Python). This is the "Holy Grail" of Python collectibles, and you won't find a better documentation of the group's history (George Perry's "Life of Python" is also good for those not willing to invest so much in this book, though it's much harder to find).Excellent book, from an excellent bunch of guys (one of whom has ceased to be). Five stars!

Say no more!

This is a really big book, in nearly every sense. It won't be easy to carry it to the beach, but the Python fan will definitely find enough within these hard covers to keep her entertained and informed for a good long time.The book consists almost entirely of excerpts from interviews with the Pythons. In that sense, it is indeed an autobiography. The Pythons go in depth about their pre-show lives, what it was like doing the program, and the process of making the movies, live shows, and other Pythonalia. It's not a *funny* book in the sense of being full of deliberate jokes. But they people themselves are all entertaining, and the references and many, many photos -- including personal snaps and show outtakes -- will certainly trigger countless happy memories.As I say, the interviews go very in depth about a lot of things, and so it can get just a little tedious at times, with details about movie shoots, legal arrangements, and the rest. At the same time, they don't seem to be holding anything back, and the force and nature of each man's personality really comes through. It's interesting not only to see how mix, and clash, of characters shaped the Python product, but also to see personal tensions wax and wane over the years.If there is a drawback to this book, apart from the occasional tedium and the sheer weight of the thing, it's some of the chapter headings, captions, and other material not written by the Pythons themselves. People who write about Monty Python seem afflicted by a need to try to be as funny as the Pythons themselves, and it seldom works. And so we get chapter headings like "In Which the Pythons Meet the Pythons" or "In Which We All Become Starlets" -- it just gets a little tiresome.Apart from that, though, it's hard to imagine any Python fan not coveting this book, and carefully preserving it next to his copy of "Thirty Days in the Samarkand Desert with the Duchess of Kent" by AEJ Eliott, OBE. It's definitely worth the price to purchase (and the effort to carry around), and is sure to be treasured.

The last word on Python

I was excited to read this book. After enough books had been written based on excerpts from obviously longer interviews, I was ready to read the definitive word on Monty Python and I was not disappointed with The Pythons.True, they may not describe the writing of every sketch, but that would make the book impenetrable and probably triple the length. This is an examination of the group as a whole and I was pleasantly surprised by it. I thought I knew my Python history but it was nice to finally see how things fell into context, particularly the troupe's early, pre-Python work as well as some of the fine details of the making of the records and books, which have gotten short shrift in other books.It's not always an easy read, which almost goes without saying. Some lasting enmities come out in the interviews and they can be discomforting to read. However, it goes without saying that without that if they had been removed, the book would have been lacking.If I have any criticisms of the book, it would be some of the layout choices. Like many similar books, the designers went a little overboard in some of their color schemes, using dark colors behind black text or complicated background that distract the eye from what you're reading, both very distracting. But that's a relatively minor quibble for what is, essentially, the final word on most (if not all) things Python. It's well worth the wait, the weight and the price.

No. 1: The Larch

The Pythons is every fan's dream (unless of course they have a bad back...this thing weighs a ton!).This new book is an inside look at the Pythons from childhood to the present. The best part of it is, though, that it is written by the Pythons themselves. This is no second hand fan book, it is THE comprehensive reference to one of the century's funniest comedy troupes. I was a bit skeptical that The Pythons might just be a cash-in by the Python gang, but I was wrong. The book is beautiful and complete.As a fan, I was delighted to see that The Pythons included recaps of my favorite bits, while also giving me the background story behind them. Reading what John Cleese has to say about coming up with the dead parrot sketch is almost funnier than the sketch itself.For casual fans, The Pythons is an amazing starting point and for die-hards the pictures (it's LOADED with them) and the behind the scenes access makes this a must-have.