Humor Books

It is a joy reading Cacophony. I've found Elliott Eli Jackson to know the nature of men, women, fathers, mothers and children. He knows the nature of true friends, lovers and acquaintances. The evidence lies in his work, taken from his life. I can tell this man knew many and gaining his wisdom from his experiences is apparent as his word flows effortlessly throughout this book which he calls Cacophony. Cacophony means jarring and discordant, yet the most jarring force of Mr. Jackson's words are far from discord. They are truly sweet euphony, bouncing me from memory to memory in sheer elegance.

His poems paint vivid scenes such as Avante Garde, a poem about a woman who sees beyond all the games men play and Dad's Chair, where the universal fantasy of pretending to be Dad lifted my imagination by jettisoning the gentle, yet playful minds of his brothers and sisters pretending to be Dad. Something truly universal. Many precious and enduring moments seeming to be suspended in time are brilliantly executed from moment to flickering moment, page after page. Mr Jackson's heart and mind are clearly connected and because of this he executes his work as a true artisan of word.

I must admit, I did not think modern poetry could be so good. This poet and book could reengerize interest in poetry. I would recommend this book to anyone.

When I read this collection of verse about life, love, and spirit; I thought it had been written for me, about me, and concerning me. It is almost as if this Elliott Eli Jackson and I are one. I believe every home in the world would benefit with Cacophony contained in their librate assemblage of polite literature. A must read as well as a must give to every person you know!

Elliott's poems are chocked full of life experiences and depth of feelings. We are very grateful to have been able to share our store with him and are very proud to promote his book of poems.

Elliott Jackson is a breath of fresh poetic air.

This compilation of poems to me, was not only new but old at the same time. One may wonder, what does this mean? New, in the fact that I have never heard such heartfelt realism, passion, and insperation broken down in three catagories LIFE, LOVE, SPIRIT. A Cacophony of words so jumbled, and yet make so much since. Old, in the fact that these are catagories mankind has dealt with since the beginning of time. This book will make one ponder on life and the things gained or lost during the journey. Love, how it is discovered, lost, infatuated, or distroyed and kept in a persons soul like a lockbox with one key. That key, SPIRIT.

I highly recommened this book to all Gods creatures, and eagerly wait for Elliott E. Jackson's next performance. encore!!!

My husband and I have listened to Baxter for years and I resently purchased a book and a CD for his birthday .The order was easy to get thru Amazon , the price was good and the merchandise was delivered on time. Thanks Amazon, Jean

My son in-law LOVES this book. It was a gift to him from myself and my husband. He can't get enough of this author and absolutely LOVES these books.

A few years ago I awoke to National Public Radio's Morning Edition and to the voice of some easy going, homespun cowboy reading a poem that had me in stitches by the third verse. As I read "Cactus Trails..." I could hear Black's easy voice utter each word. While his departure from veterinary medicine is a loss to that community, it is a clear gain for easy going, common sense, sanity seeking people caught in the cross hairs of our cell phone, pager, eEVERYTHING society. Thanks to Baxter Black's commentary and writings we have an excuse to slow down a bit each day and get in touch with the basics. Will Rogers would love this guy!

Back to basics, the way life IS in America, without all of the Political poles, lies, and propiganda as spread by the media. should be classed as "Must Read"

My husband can't put this book down! Baxter Black's clean and side-splitting "talk" is entertaining for all audiences. My mother, my husband, and my best friend have all loved this book.

My dad and Charlie were in business during their undergraduate days at UPenn. Dad would go out and take orders and Charlie would draw custom Christmas "and other special occasion" cards. I thought this was pretty neat. Nearing his deathbed, my dad finally confessed the he'd go out and take very specific instructions, gather photos, descriptions, etc. and bring other sordid details back to Charlie, who would then draw "pornographic" cards based on those orders. That revelation got me looking at Wednesday in a whole new light! It was enjoyable to read that Charlie was like that all his life.

One of the most commonly asked questions of cartoonists is, "Where do you get your ideas?"

And of course when the cartoonist is Charles Addams, this question leads to unrivaled speculation and disinformation, which over the years created its own brand of peculiar mythology.

Now comes an impressive new biography by Linda H. Davis. In "Charles Addams: A Cartoonist's Life" Davis takes on the stories that Addams slept in a coffin and drank martinis with eyeballs in them. Instead, what emerges is a surprising portrait of an amazing artist who led a full and colorful life.

Yes, Addams certainly had quirks and odd obsessions. But he was also universally loved, and so charming that he dated the likes of such luminaries of his time as Greta Garbo, Joan Fontaine and Jackie Kennedy Onassis (along with untold numbers of others). He drank hard, raced cars, and no party or social gathering was considered complete without him. His fan base ran the gamut from the criminally insane to Sean Connery and Alfred Hitchcock.

In this first ever biography of the subject, Davis charts Addams' meteoric rise and more than 50-year career as the most esteemed cartoonist at The New Yorker. With his cartoons, Addams became a significant cultural force by combining horror and humor, a genre that continues to flourish today. His impact and influence on generations of cartoonists is impossible to calculate, but it's fair to say that Gary Larson's Far Side would not have existed without him.

Addams' own unique creation of The Addams Family began as print cartoons which went on to inspire a popular TV series, animated cartoons and two Hollywood feature films. With these characters, Addams provided role models for eccentrics and nonconformists everywhere. The message of the Addams Family was simple: Namely that love and laughter can--and does-- flourish everywhere, even within families and social groups that seem outside society's norms.

An esteemed biographer whose previous subjects have included Stephen Crane and Katherine White, Davis spent over six years on this book and interviewed more than 130 persons who knew Addams well, or as well as anyone could. Although Addams died in 1988, Davis had exclusive access to his personal effects and papers that had been in the possession of his wife Tee until her death in 2004. Addams' two other wives also participated in helping Davis to define the man nicknamed "Chill" by his friends.

Davis provides a wealth of detail, but wisely avoids drawing hard conclusions or offering up pseudo-psychoanalysis. Instead, the dichotomy between the artist's urbane and cheerful public persona and his morbidly dark humor are presented in a way that leaves the reader, if nothing else, even more appreciative of Addams' depth, genius and mystery.

With this approach Davis reframes the question of "where" Addams got his ideas to that of "why." Addams was unlike anyone else, and so it is only natural that his ideas would be unlike those of others. As for why he was the way he was, that's a question Addams seems to have taken to the grave with him. In "A Cartoonist's Life" we see that just as one question is put to rest, another rises up - a conclusion that Addams himself would have no doubt enjoyed.

Who was Chas (Charles) Adams? While you won't know by the time you finish this revealing biography, you'll certainly expand beyond the line sketch you probably have now of his life. If you are a New Yorker fan, you'll know him from his hundreds of cartoons and dozens of covers that expressed a most unique and other worldly perspective. If you are a fan of celebrities, you may know more about him as someone who drove classic cars, dated high-profile women, and favored allusions to death and dying. If you are a classic television fan, you'll know that his cartoon characters were the foundation for The Addams Family. If you favor camp, you know about his armor collection, his preferences for cross-bows, and other lethal items which he liked to display in public.

The biography also reveals a kindly man who was patient with everyone, including those he didn't particularly like. You'll also learn of his fascination with the Morticia appearance (based on having married two women who met the bill). More surprisingly, you'll find him to have been victimized by his second wife . . . even long after they were no longer married. The book also portrays a heterosexual version of Truman Capote who fascinated many of the most desirable women.

Most pleasingly, Ms. Davis does a delightful job of portraying the development of his cartooning style and art . . . including dozens of prime examples that are well reproduced. Even when there's no reproduction, Ms. Davis is good at capturing the essence of an image in a few words. She also provides a history of 20th century New Yorker cartooning, including how many of the final cartoons represented the influences of many people other than the artist who signed the final version.

While each of those aspects is well and thoroughly portrayed, the core of the man doesn't quite make it through. Addams seems like a case of arrested development in many ways, but his willingness to be kind and considerate of others displays greater maturity than his preferences for self-indulgence and his cartooning approach suggest. In today's world, he would clearly be just another clever self-promoter . . . except that his stunts seemed aimed at creating joy rather than a higher income. Clearly, he didn't take himself too seriously, yet he did take his work seriously. Ms. Davis has, however, done readers and cartoon fans a great service by writing this biography which will undoubtedly stir up other sources and perspectives to flesh out the man who shortened his first name because it looked better that way on a cartoon.

Addams has always been my favorite cartoonist and I snatched a copy of this book as soon as I saw it. Reading this book led me to have even more admiration for this man, who had a rather energetic personal life (although not of the sort some might imagine) and who also served in the Army as, what else, an illustrator.

A must-have for anyone interested in Addams' work and a damn good read even if you aren't. Also, I thought the cartoons picked to illustrate the book were a perfect for this work.

"Charles Addams: A Cartoonist's Life" is a warm and tenderly written biography in which the essence of the man behind the dark side of his cartoons is gently exposed. Author Linda H. Davis has offered a comprehensive look into Charles Addams's life and it has a few surprises.

Addams, born into relative prosperity in Westfield, New Jersey just prior to World War I, could have lived a rarefied life (and in some ways he did) were it not for his penchant for seeing the world in a different way from most of us. Davis points out that Addams, although never admitting to liking children and never having any of his own, nonetheless gravitated toward children at parties and visits to friends' homes. He was wildly popular with the children he got to know and that childlike quality is evident in the cartoons he drew. He disliked the word "macabre" in describing his work and as the author points out there is never any outward blood and gore in his cartoons. The ghoulishness is implied and having been treated to several of Addams's cartoons in this book I would agree with Addams himself....his best cartoons are uncaptioned.

Charles Addams's personal life was another matter. Married three times, his second wife, Barbara Colyton, had the most and longest lasting effect on him. Control and money were her issues and she dominated the cartoonist for years after their divorce. Yet as Davis points out, Addams never had too much of an axe to grind with her or other women in his life. Indeed, he had many women as confidants...something most men eschew.

It is surprising to see how little money Addams made in his life, relatively speaking. He seemed to care about other things and one of the great loves of his life was his dog, Alice. Remarkably, too, Addams lived in an age where, at the New Yorker at least, cartoonists were mostly given ideas from which to draw something. It appears that his originality came later rather than earlier in his career.

Linda Davis has done a fine job in taking us through the life of this wonderfully warm, if complicated man. As his friend, the writer Philip Hamburger remarked on Addams's death in 1988, "Charles Addams was 'sui generis'". Without a doubt he must have been. I think Addams would have been a lovely dinner guest, replete with humor and full of attentive, quiet listening to his fellow guests. I wish I had met him.

I must confess- I didn't follow the chelsea boys saga before I got this Book; Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down!
I caught myself Laughing out loud late at night like a lunatic.
The characters are beautifully illustrated and developed. I feel like my friends and I have traits from all the characters, Which makes it more fun, sometimes scary.
To ME is like a GAY- SEX AND THE CITY.
KUDOS to Glenn and Allan's talent.
I Can't wait for this wonder duo's new book.
Again, this one is a perfect gift for any Occasion (Im getting a few books for those last minute emergency gifts)
Buy this book and give it away, anyone could use a bit of laughter this days.

Chelsea Boys is a very funny tale of 3 main characters that defies the norm we're used to seeing in the gay community. Rather than limit themselves to dating and sex(fun things never the less),the authors have tackled loss of parents, gay parenting and racial issues.This isn't your grandma's strip. Even though this format is known as a comic strip, I like to think of it as a complete story. Every strip follows the characters as they negotiate life with each other and with the greater community at large. Where else do we see such diversity in the gay community. Blonde and buff, short and jewish, black and sassy. On the surface, these may seem like stereotypes but if you read into their stories, they have to face many complex issues in their lives. Even though the story takes place in the neighborhood of Chelsea, it really represents all of Manhattan with it's wit and humanity.

I have been following the Chelsea Boys for years and am thrilled to see that they have finally gotten their stories together in a book. In my opinion, this is the only strip out there in which the characters open themselves enough to expose the reasons for who they are. The boys deal with real issues that face all of us (and I mean all of us - gay or straight) in real life and gives depth and "realness" to gay people.

The writing by Allan Neuwirth is insightful and poignant. And, as always, Glen Hanson's illustrations are brilliant. I look forward to future additions to the Chelsea Boys library.

Neuwirth and Hanson use the lighthearted medium of a comic strip to deliver deeper and more serious messages about the reality of being a modern gay man. Every strip has a lesson to ponder and the authors smash sterotypes wide open. Ironic indeed that the strip is named Chelsea Boys given the author's overwhelming proven point that sterotypes are rather silly given the fact that noone indeed ever lives up to the expected ideal.

Neuwirth and Hanson add a work of great relivance and importance to the cannon of gay literature. This is a must have for every gay man's libray! A great gift for friends too!

Hanson and Neuwirth have created warm, acerbic, witty, and utterly human characters who totally defy the Chelsea Boy stereotype. So don't let the strip's title fool you. These guys are universal-just like gay men from Pasadena to Poughkeepsie. This is a great collection, both for the terrific drawings and the wonderfully inclusive stories about these three gay roommates and people of ages, races, and sexual orientations in their lives.

El buen sentido del humor se encuentra, encerrada entre las cubiertas de este libro !
Nomás abrelo, amigo !

que regula tu estado de ánimo y la que al disminuir te manda derechito al ABISMO DE LA DEPRESION, AUMENTA CON LA RISA...
Y este libro ES UN BUEN PRODUCTOR DE SEROTONINA

PORQUE CON ESTE LIBRO...¡INVIERTES EN LA COMPRA DE ALEGRIA Y CARCAJADAS !

Y LA RISA NOS HACE FALTA...
Aqui está, encerrada entre las cubiertas de este libro !
Nomás abrelo, amigo !

QUINCE DÓLARES POR DOS HORAS DE RISAS CONSTANTES...SE ME HACEN MUY BARATOS !

Reviewed by Mary Durfor for RebeccasReads (8/08)


This story is told in first-person (make that first-cat!) and it is really a fun, light read. Chloe Anne (the cat) tells her story in a compelling way, first detailing her rather pedestrian existence in her first home, where her moniker was Penny. She had to be left behind when her people moved. Penny overheard the preparatory conversations - The Humane Society? She felt it sounded like a place where other cats with breeding and style might congregate, possibly to do good works.

The reality hits Penny as she joins the other prisoners in the lock-up. She remembers the made-for-TV women in prison movies she had seen in the past, and hopes she will be adopted quickly. The guards, Penny found, were kind and gentle and full of compliments to the prisoners. She played coy with the visitors, until she met Valerie, her new mom. Valerie immediately renames her Chloe Anne and brings her home to her wonderful Jewish home to be a friend to Cinders, the cat Valerie inherited when her mother passed away. Chloe Anne is ecstatic to now be a part of the Chosen People. The author works in the celebration of The Seder - the food preparation, the recounting of the exact dishes, which are cooked and served, the actual proper way of observing the ceremony, which is integrated into the dinner. Additionally she cleverly refers to many television and movie stars and shows.

Chloe Anne recounts her first solo experience outside the house - with a duck, which lives on the lagoon outside their home. Since Chloe Anne is declawed, the experience is both inherently dangerous and forbidden. She also recounts a dream sequence (part of her detailed discourses on sleeping) where she is a contestant in Dancing with the Stars, her partner, Antonio Banderas, and she expertly execute the steps of the rumba and then samba off the stage. The author has the inside Hollywood scoop and gossip, which she weaves into the story. She easily contrasts the personalities of the three judges and the process used in the actual television show.

Several more interesting occurrences round out the book, and the finale gives more insight into the type of cat personality Chloe Anne possesses, as well as that of Cinders and Valerie. Any animal lover will appreciate the wit and humor of this cat tale, especially cat lovers, of course. Lighthearted and funny, it is a treat to read and enjoy.

Chloe Anne - Force of Nature is the endearing true-life story of the self-assured, well-fed, and thoroughly beloved pet cat Chloe Anne, told directly from Chloe's point of view. She has no qualms about expressing her feline feelings to author and de facto cat mother Valerie Oblath. The result is an engaging chronicle of Chloe Anne's adventures, including imprisonment in the Big House, her inquisitive exploration of the washing machine, her encounters with ducks, and much more. An episodic delight to read in quick bursts, or all at once (perhaps while one's own purring pet demands obligatory lap time), Chloe Anne - Force of Nature is highly recommended for cat lovers everywhere.

If you've ever wondered what might be going on in your cat's mind, this is a wonderful story to read. Chloe Anne is a beautiful, savvy, sophisticated (and somewhat voluptuous) cat who tells the story of her adoption and life with her new mom from her own point of view. She touches upon all of the most important feline subjects: eating, sleeping, grooming, and of course curiosity.
This is a truly touching story, and especially a must-read for cat-lovers!

Meet Chloe Anne - a voluptuous, long-haired kitty. Full of curiosity and charm, she knows she's "too beautiful for words."

Chloe Anne begins life as Penny, before being incarcerated at the Big House, and before author Valerie Oblath adopts her. Living with her new Mom and sister, Chloe Anne never runs out of ways to amuse herself and find trouble. But despite her mischief, she's secure in the knowledge that her Mom loves her, and she'll never have to worry about ending up in the Big House again.

This humorous tale of Chloe Anne's adventures is a joy to read. Even though it's impossible to tell what a cat is really thinking, Valerie Oblath has created a convincing chat with this delightful feline. But even more than that, she shares her own warmth and devotion to the cats who share her home.

Anyone who's ever lived with and been loved by a cat will enjoy reading this book.

Reviewer: Alice Berger
Bergers Book Reviews

Sent to the Humane Society when her owners had to move, Penny the cat is soon adopted and her new mom renames her Chloe Anne. Chloe loves her new mom and home, but can't help being a bit adventurous. Many of her adventures are harmless - befriending a duck for example; some are messy (it's not a good idea to explore fireplaces); but some are scary (Chloe decides to investigate how a washing machine works). Chloe doesn't mean to upset her mom, but she is a cat after all. Is it her fault that her brother and sister aren't as adventurous as she is?

Told in the first person by Chloe Anne, "Chloe Anne: Force of Nature" is a delightful, very funny book. Chloe Anne belongs to author Valerie Oblah, who clearly loves and understands cats. If cats could really write and think (besides about food and sleep) they would no doubt think like Chloe Anne. Chloe Anne never means to get into mischief, it's just that there's so much to explore and the world is a pretty big place. The humor throughout the book is at times laugh out loud funny (I especially liked the parts when Chloe goes out to explore something, falls asleep in the middle of exploring, then wakes up and goes on as if uninterrupted). Anyone who has ever been owned by a cat will have experienced their cat doing at least one of the things Chloe Anne does and will now know what their cat was thinking while doing it!

Cat lovers will enjoy "Chloe Anne: Force of Nature".

The title of this book was the question I was contemplating of my own life at the time. Its reassuring to know that other people are too. Kari did a great job with this book,even self published, good for you and better for us the reader that you got it to print. I laughed and identified with her self-doubt and over analysis many times. But mostly I laughed. She's honest in her concern and quest for finding recognition of just what she's contributed in her lifetime and is there merit to it. The journey for both reader and Kari provide a catharsis to reconsider our definition of "mediocrity" or just getting on with life. Great things don't always happen in a big way but little by little.

Kari Breed is masterful with the quip. She brandishes it like a fine-tuned sword that has been honed by life and polished with humor.

It's hard not to laugh most of the time that you are reading this book, whether it be funny-ha-ha laughing, or oh-dear-god-I-know-what-you-mean kind of laughing. The writing is from the perspective of an average gal talking about living an average life and being okay with it, but there is nothing average about the book itself.

Her writing is to the point, very funny, and above all, very relevant. Have you ever wondered what Douglas Adams' next book would have read like if instead of dying, he had a sex change and took plenty of estrogen pills? Okay, maybe it's just me, but I think Kari's book is a pretty good representation of what I had in mind.

She makes you realize that we are not alone, that we are all indeed very normal, or at least, we are all the sane kind of crazy.

Have you ever thought "am I the only one this is happening to?" The author has a clever ability to bring humor to life's annoying nuances. There is something in this book everyone can relate to. This is a refreshing and honest funny voice on the scene today. Buy it, read it, LAUGH!

It's funny, it's poignant, it's real. And it's one of the best books I've read in a very long time, and I can see me reading it again and again.

Very funny and provocative at the same time. a must read for those who think they are normal and those who know they are not. Kari's description of her life's travel is hilarious. Looking forward to the next chapter of her life. Start writing Kari!!!

This is one of the funniest compendiums I have ever read. Gloriously, delightfully, and devastatingly accurate caricatures by the great Ronald Searle bring to life the hysterical adventures of the fearsome, loathsome nigel molesworth, the curse of st. custards, his grate frend peason, the oiks, cads, MASTERS and of course his own bro molesworth II chiz chiz chiz. the late author, Geoff Willans, was an for a short time a schoolmaster, and he obviously recorded EVERYTHING he saw while he was at it.

Maybe it's larking on an esoteric subject you have to have experienced to see the funny side - in which case it would be totally lost on those outside the English grammar school system of twenty years ago and more - but for my money there is no funnier book around. What's more I think JK Rowling owes Willans and Searle a debt - surely it is no coincedence that she named her legendary school of wizardry and witchcraft "Hogwarts" after a fictional Molesworthian Latin play?

Totally, utterly recommended.

The Molesworeth books made me laugh when I was the same age as Molesworth, and they still make me laugh now I ma probably the same age as headmaster GRIMES chizz chizz chizz. Delightful to find all four books in one volume, and encounter again Molesworth himself, and Peason, Fotherington-Thomas who sa hello clouds, hello sky and skip like a girlie, Sigismund the mad Maths master, and all the rest. Willan's hilarious prose and Searle's marvellous drawings complement each other perfectly. Like a previous reviewer, I too would like to knwo what the Mrs Joyful prize looks like, but you can't have everything. As for another reviewer worrying about spelling Willan's name wrong, well, who knows how to spell Willan anyway? For years and years I thought his name was Williams! Spelling is for girlies anyway.

It is uterly wet and weedy, but I sa as long as there are clouds and sky (dere Fotherington-Thomas), and skools and MASTERS and noble brave fearless BOYS - and GURLS as well! chizz chizz, and lat. french, geog. hist. geom. peotry and even swots, bulies, snekes,oiks and greedy guts; then, my deres, there MUST also be the timeless prose encountered in 'The Compleet Molesworth'. This heady reference work is kindness of that worthy scribe, Geoffrey Willans and the unassailable art of Ronald Searle, master of the scratchy pen illustration. Noone else in the world space universe could draw Molesworth 1 & 2, gillibrand, peason, grabber, et al with such fearsome accuracy. As long as we have this rich chronicle on education to dive into, then our future generations of skoolchildren shall be uterly safe.
As any fule kno.

Ol' Nigel is the topp of the whizz Its Jokes are really weird chizz But oh surprise,don't you know whence comes the name of th'school of tooday's top of the show? Read at page 131 or so (Penguin edition) a little piece named ...shiver whit anticipation the Hogwarts!...hem hem,so well, doesn't that ring a little bell?

I am the proud possessor of Down With Skool, How to be Topp, and Molesworth's Guide to the Atomic Age in original bindings. I say "possessor" because I've highjacked them from my mother and brother. Needless to say, knowing that a re-print is out there is proof positive that dere Santa does exist. 'Pon my soul, darling Arabella, but life may not be as tuough as it seems. What I hadn't known until I ran across the factoid some years ago is that Searle began drawing while in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, with burned matches. Since then I've always wondered to what extent that experience informed his views of st custards.
Anyone who enjoys eccentricities and eccentrics simply must have these works in his library, right alongside Wodehouse and Betty McDonald. There is nothing like them.
Just one question: What exactly does the mrs joyful prize actually look like?

This was a lot of fun for getting down into the intricacies of some of the sketches. You catch things that make you laugh at the memory of watching them.

I've seen "Monty Python's Flying Circus" so many times that I can recite long stretches of it. But those guys are always using weird accents and manic deliveries ("My neeples explode with delight!"), and sometimes they're hard to understad.

Fortunately for those times, Python fans have "The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words," a series from the second half of the classic comedy skit show. These are only trascripts (a bit lacking in details), but still enormous fun and full of delightfully quotable lines ("And now my lords, my ladies... your LUPINS!").

It opes with the weird "Conquistador Coffee" sketch, in which a boss berates his employee for changing the brand's name to Conquistador Instant Leprosy. ("The tingling fresh coffee that brings you exciting new cholera, mange, dropsy, the clap, hard pad, and athlete's foot." "It was a soft sell, sir.")

And then it contains plenty of others: the cheese shop with no cheese, films with giant teeth, spam spam spam, cannibal undertakers, Njorl's it's-not-that-terrible saga, the BBC's financial troubles, the Money Programme, the pantomime horse, hairdressers climbing Everest, the war against pornography, Gumbys, Dennis Moore, kamikaze highlanders, and the golden age of ballooning ("I am so excited I can hardly wash!").

The dialogue to each one is carefully outlined, with each character identified as being played by one of the guys (like "Interviewer (JOHN)"), although we usually don't get to hear much about Terry Gilliam's mad animations. Most of these episodes are one long continuing sketch that spills from one scenario to the next, but occasionally we'll have different ones patched together.

These guys had a rare, crazy talent -- these sketches are crammed with glorious dialogue ("Drop your panties, Sir William. I cannot wait till lunchtime") and bizarre insults ("you cloth-eared heap of anteater's catarrh"). Not much description of the action in places, although in a few we get plenty of detail when it's called for (such as the weirdness convention).

The problem is that this should only be read after you've seen the series. If you don't, it all seems like a befuddling string of of stream-of-consciousness comedy numbers, full of in-jokes and surreal twists. You have a better chance of finding Ilchester in a cheese shop than understanding this without seeing the skits first.

In case you couldn't understand what Eric Idle was bibbling in one episode, or John Cleese was screaming in another, "The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words Volume 2" will tell you what is going on. No time to lose!

This item was purchased for my daughter and she absolutely loved it. It was received in good order and in a timely manner

The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words, Volume 2 is the second half of a set containing the scripts of the entire series (45 episodes). This book, volume 2, contains scripts for episode 24: "How not to be seen" through episode 45: "Party Political Broadcast". This book is more fun than an endless supply of "lupins". Both volumes make great companions to the MPFC video/dvd collection ("There you go, can't be bad.") and also unlike the DVDs, there are no edits, these are the original words. So that horrible "m" word that Graham said in episode 31: "The All England Summarize Proust Competition" is in this book. Enjoy!

Yours etc., Brigadier Mainwaring Smith Smith Smith etc., Deceased etc.

FYI-This is the same as the review of Volume 1. There was no real sense in distinguishing the two.

As a fan of MPFC since it first aired on PBS in 1973, these two volumes sort of put a cap on a 30 year fascination with the team. Maybe like me, you've watched every Python-Marathon or taped every show, but having these scripts really is the icing on the cake.

What's striking to me is the simplicity of the scripts. When you watch the episodes, the gags seem so complicated. Then to see The Dead Parrot sketch reduced to just a few pages, you realize how brilliant those guys were in terms of compression, and in terms of acting. An added plus, for me at least, was to finally see the words and phrases that I never quite "got" because they were unique to British English. From there, I logged on to a few websites on British slang and, boy, I realized what MPFC got away with...some of it was pretty raunchy. Anyway, this is two-volume set is priceless for any fan.

From The Rebel Housewife to One Madcap Mom...I felt an instant kinship with Kathryn Mahoney. She writes fast-paced, clever essays on universal truths and embarrassing secrets of motherhood -- and the lady is funny. From totally relate-able riffs on Reality TV, modern-day children's birthday parties, and our eerily number-ized society to WYSIWYG Woman (which I whole-heartedly support!), CRACKED AT BIRTH offers fantastic diversion and out-loud laughs to overwhelmed Moms everywhere -- CRACKED AT BIRTH would be a great gift to those women in your life.

-- Sherri Caldwell, Humor Columnist & Reviewer,
Co-Author, The Rebel Housewife Rules: To Heck With Domestic Bliss!

Kathy was funny in high school and she has gotten funnier! She is a modern Erma Bombeck. My husband picked up the book and started chuckling as he began to read. We need to keep a sense of humor in the midst of the chaos of family life. Kathy has a knack for putting the adventures into words that we all can relate to and laugh at. A great read for Moms (and Dads too!)who are trying to maintain their sanity through the ups and downs of everyday life in the trenches.

This book is just great... true to life stories with a humorous twist! A good read when traveling for any parent!

A friend gave this to me as a "baby #3 gift". It was so nice to just sit and laugh about all the craziness of motherhood. It's nice to know I'm not alone!

Some lives were just made to be made fun of. Some lives are so wacky, so silly, so undeniably cracked up, you just can't help but chuckle. Kathryn S. Mahoney is living one of those lives.

Kathryn Mahoney, who thinks she was CRACKED AT BIRTH, takes time to sit back and good naturedly marvel at the absurdity in her life. And, like the next door neighbor who keeps us in stitches with her zany tales, Mahoney shares the absurdity with us - one laughable story at a time.

CRACKED AT BIRTH is a collection of Mahoney's essays from her humor column, "Sunny Side Up," which has been running in six newspapers published by Nashoba Publishing of Devens, MA, since 2001. In this lighthearted essay collection, Mahoney tackles such hilarities as:

*Attempting yoga with children in the house

*The feeling of being invisible

*How to make your husband leave the room

*Household mishaps

*Valentine's Day romance failures

Mahoney seems to have mastered the art of being funny without being too sarcastic. Her style is refreshing and fun, and nearly all of her essays end with a feeling that, given the choice of any other life and family on the planet, she'd still choose the life and family she has. Her essays are warm and endearing, with just enough silly thrown in to make them irresistible.

While CRACKED AT BIRTH is consistent - none of her essays are weak or boring - Mahoney's funniest work revolves around her husband and the relationship between the two of them. Far be it from Mahoney to engage in man-bashing - she'd rather lovingly poke fun at the things that make her hubby so adorably male. This slant on love, marriage, and romance is a refreshing style for all those women who adore their hubbies but sometimes just can't help but shake their heads and chuckle over something they've said or done. Mahoney should follow CRACKED AT BIRTH with another humor book ("Cracked at Marriage," perhaps?) filled with nothing but marriage and romance-related essays.

Make no mistake, however; CRACKED AT BIRTH points out the sunnier side of so much more than love and marriage. Mahoney has no qualms ribbing her kids, her mother, even herself! It is this quality that gives her work tantalizing breadth.

Good for a light read and perfect for the bookshelf of any aspiring humorist, Kathryn S. Mahoney's CRACKED AT BIRTH will tickle your funny bone and maybe even make you look at your own cracked life in a little sunnier light.