Parody Books

Meant to be a comedic look at aging, the author apparently engages in some unintentional jokes. If they are not intentional, then Allred is much more subtle in his humor than it would appear. On page 21, there is the reference to your "Gaul bladder", which of course is absurd; Gaul is the ancient name for France. It should be "gallbladder." This "error" is repeated on pages 41, 54 and 76, where the references are to "Gaul Stones."
On page 22, there is the sentence ...remember the Napoleonic Wars, the Renaissance, Genghis Khan, Linden Johnson, and where you were when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, ..." Of course, it should have been "Lyndon Johnson" instead.
I found these errors to be more amusing than the other, more juvenile jokes in the book. After thinking about it for a moment, I concluded that these mistakes were not deliberate, but were due to a lack of proofreading effort.

Anyone who is about to become (or already is) "Older Than Dirt" should read this book. I enjoyed every page. Plus it gave me some usefull tips on how to deal with The IRS !!!!!

Grandpa was reading this book when he died...At least he went with a smile on his face. Some of my friends who read it weren't even offended. This will probably win a Pulitzer Prize, provided the Pulitzer people enjoy high quality booger humor. I am buying this book for all of my friends who are old and still having birthdays.

I guess it's pretty ironic that a comedy team that did over 30 films together over 16 years is most remembered for their horror spoofs that continue to be enormously popular to this day. In "The Horror Spoofs of Abbott & Costello" author Jeffrey Miller takes a look at the horror comedies the team did, with a particular focus on horror spoofs involving classic monsters. Miller provides a complete cast and credit list along with a very lengthy and detailed synopsis of each film including many of the notable lines, gags, and scenes. It also includes comments taken from cast and crew of the day and recent comments from the likes of Sara Karloff, Bela Lugosi Jr., and Paddy Costello, who were on the set of these films as children. Miller also includes information on critical reviews of the day, box office results, as well as adding his own insightful analysis of the films.

Without a doubt the most popular A & C spoof (in fact their most popular film period) was "Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein". Boris Karloff refused to appear in the film feeling it made a mockery of the monster. Lon Chaney Jr. felt the film would forever ruin the classic Universal Monsters. But time has proven them both wrong as the film works as both a comedy and a horror. It's at least as scary as Chaney's role as Count Alucard in "Son of Dracula". The fact that the film has legions of fans, including many famous filmmakers such as Quentin Tarrantino, is also a tribute to its staying power. For his part, Lugosi enjoyed himself on the set. One would guess he was probably just happy to be in a Universal production again as opposed to the poverty row films he had been doing in the 1940's. There was a lot of pranks pulled on the set...some of these outtakes are even captured on the A&C Meet Frankenstein special edition DVD. As has been pointed out on many occasions, this film would be Universal biggest moneymaker in years and virtually saved the studio from bankruptcy.

While Karloff refused to do that film, he did sign on for two others including "Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Karloff would play this famous role for the first an only time but as Miller notes, the studio originally wanted Basil Rathbone for the part. Both he and the boys were surprised at how well the film did at the box office. The other films that Miller highlights in the spoof section are "Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man" and the final spoof, "Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy". `Mummy' was their last film for Universal and by this time they were past their prime and not getting along well on the set. Universal knew it was the end of the road and did little to support the film and it's become regarded as one of their worst (although it isn't really all that bad).

Miller also looks as the teams other horror-comedies including "Hold that Ghost", "The Time of their Lives", and "Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff". "Hold that Ghost" is a particular favorite as its their version of and `old dark house' style film that was so popular in the 1930's and similar in style to the very good Bob Hope film "Ghost Breakers" "Hold that Ghost" would even have Evelyn Ankers in the cast who would go on to become one of the great scream queens of the 1940's.

Miller's research into these films is outstanding and while I'm a big fan, there were a lot of new things I learned. While very detailed it's never dry and Miller does a wonderful job at conveying the great routines of Abbott & Costello. Just beware if you have somehow never seen these films as the plot is fully described from beginning to end. By all means see the films and then pickup this book. Another fantastic book by the people at McFarland Publishing who put out some of the best books on genre film and film studies around.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

This book proclaims to be a "critical assessment," though what the author ends up with is little more than detailed descriptions of seven of A & C's films, personal asides and a desire to make odd homosexual allusions to scenes and characters. The vast majority of anecdotes on the making of the films are taken (though footnoted) from a number of previously published books and articles and the author provides little new information except for his own outlandish and baseless claims.

His "critical assessment" might more accurately be described as "judgmental musings." The author often repeatedly makes the same comments about various sight gags being "more suited to The Three Stooges," or gives his opinion on whether certain jokes work, or not. Critical, perhaps. "Bitchy," certainly and more accurately. What is never clearly established is his credibility or expertise to make such comments on the merits of A & C's material. Another annoying habit the author has is to make assumptions on the part of "most viewers." He proudly points out a bit of business, background action or technical flaw that he has discovered upon countless viewings of the films and makes the claim that "most viewers miss this." How does he know? Is it possible that the rest of the audience caught it on the first viewing and he is just now catching up?

The book is poorly written and, aside from the time it occasionally takes to figure out his point, is a quick read. One's time might be better spent watching the films and drawing one's own conclusions. Also, any of the sources cited in the author's bibliography provide all the behind-the-scenes information and more, making them a better value if they can be tracked down.

This is a great book that goes into the plot of their various A&C meet...(fill in the blank)films as well as "Hold That Ghost" and "The Time of Their Lives". There is even a brief section on their quasi sci-fi films. Each major "horror/comedy" film is detailed and behind the scenes info is given. Actor/actress backgrounds as well as changes in scripts and plots are also added for a totally enjoyable book. A section supplying background info on Abbott & Costello is given in the introductory chapter, and then it is on to my all time favorite "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein". A must for all A&C fans!

I received this book as a gift about 6 months before our wedding and have recommended it to many people. This is not a serious wedding planner. The Title and the cover should be a good indication that this is a humorous book. This is a great book for a couple planning to take the leap.

Occasionally, I would pick up this book and thumb through to an appropriate chapter and start reading .. and laughing. When you bring home a 12 inch stack of Bride and Wedding magazines [they sell them by the pound], it is easy to get caught up in the pressures of wedding planning, and this is a great retreat.

The book takes every aspect of the process [Dresses for Bride and Bride's maids, invitations, reception location .. honeymoon and honeymoon night] and gives you some funny things to consider.

Pay special attention to the Bride's schedule [counts down from 9 months before the wedding] and the Groom's schedule .. I laughed out loud!!

This is the second time I am buying this book. The first copy I read and gave away to a friend who was getting married and they loved it. Now I am buying it again for myself. No it is not a wedding planner but with weddings being such a hassle, 'reality' needs to come back into the picture. This book refocuses the whole wedding party on what is really important via humor and comedy. Buy it for that reluctant or grumpy person(s) in your wedding party!!!

This book is not what it bills itself as; that is, a guide to wedding planning. It's really more of a humorous or satirical book ABOUT planning a wedding, or a spoof on more traditional wedding guides. It won't help you plan at all, though it may make you laugh sometimes, which could be usefull if you've o.d.-ed on more conventional wedding advice. However, beware: it has an annoying tendancy to sink into hackneyed gender stereotypes-- all women want to get married and have lavish, traditional ceremonies, all men avoid matrimony unless tricked or manipulated into it by scheming women, and, once snared, they are completely uninterested in the event itself, etc., etc. If you go for that kind of humor, it may amuse you, but don't purchase it if you want practical wedding planning help

The book was in great condition. Just what we were looking for.

Catchy cover and fun as a christmas gift for a texas family or friend. One that will get a chuckle.

In 1968 when my parents moved to Texas they received this book as a gift. Inside the cover their friends wrote, "A few things are different in this great state. We just wanted to keep you posted. Hope ya'll are working on your accents!" Almost 50 years after its first printing this book is still delightful! It captures the image of Texas that, although not always true, has made it a famous state. This book means a lot to me, and this year I am buying a bunch of copies to give to my 7 nephews and nieces. Thanks for keeping this classic in stock.

This book is a total hoot. The anecdotes are wonderful but the illustrations make the book. The details on each page made me laugh aloud - and I'm dog (boxer) co-dependent. Yes, I would recommend the book and have given it as a gift to several cat friends (and the human staff). Not deep reading but life needs humor too!

I do love my cats too much but I don't need a non-cat person to tell me that. I couldn't quite put a finger on it at first until I realized the obvoious: Ronnie Sellers is not a cat person. That much I derived from the "about the author" page. He does not even profess to be a cat lover at all. This book is but a compilation of anecdotes from cat lovers from all over. Sellers says the idea of doing this book came from a cat person he met in a book shop. That woman should have been the proper author of this handbook. Jennifer Reinhardt could probably do it being a cat person herself. What remarkable talent! I found her illustrations funnier and more effective than the text that accompanied it. Each illustration captured what every cat owner (or cat owned human) has probably gone through. I give her illustrations five stars. I was thinking of returning this book but I decided to keep it anyway if only for Ms. Reinhardt's hilarious drawings.

I picked up this book to browse through at an attorney's office while my husband and I were waiting to close on our home loan. Ten minutes is all the time I had to skim through it, however,that was enough to know that I must get this book for 2 family members for Christmas or birthday. It is truly a cat lover's book.

I'm bullheaded and will finish most every book which I did here but came close to putting it down for good.
I guess the thing I got out of it was the Chinese thought of "saving face" no matter how unredeemable the
situation is.

Don't Call Me Human is a shockingly fun read filled with off-color humor and disgusting detail. The plot revolves around a shady Beijing organization called MobCom, which is desperate to vindicate China's humiliating loss at the hands of an oafish American wrestler. MobCom's search for a modern-day Chinese hero who knows the secrets of the Boxers (who, among other things, mistakenly thought they were immune to the power of firearms) finds its unfortunate object in a Beijing pedicab driver named Tang Yuanbao. Written by China's most famous liumang (low-life slacker is an acceptable translation), Wang Shuo,the novel follows the miseducation and shameless promotion of Tang by MobCom, an endeavor which requires multiple press conferences ridiculously devoid of content, ballet lessons given by an octogenarian in an abandoned art gallery, an unbelievable mock-military excercise in which Tang single-handedly defeats more than one battalion, and even an eventual sex change. The rise and fall of Tang and his backers (who manage to consume 7,000 packages of instant noodles, 100 kilos of tea, and 14000 cigarettes in their first week of hardly working) is the best-told tale of slacking off and deep national/personal humiliation you're ever likely to read.

One of the funniest books I've read in a while, "Please Don't Call Me Human" goes way beyond being a satire of Chinese nationalism--it's an hysterical condemnation of how far people will go for fame. So original, each outrageous event is a huge surprise.

I found this book to be a poor attempt at satire. Being a gun owener myself, I found this book to represent gun owners as fanatics. RIGHTS ARE RIGHTS ARE RIGHTS. Thats great and I agree with that, but put it in a mammer where people who read this dont think that all gun owners are unintelligent. The author is a radio talk show host and the book is patterned after that in your face morning talk show style. A lot of yelling and calling people supid, but not alot of substance. Also, the book is outdated.

Takes a serious subject and lets you laugh at it.. Best put down of gun control I have ever read.

Politically Correct guns is an excellent introduction to the gun control movement. Those who have not chosen sides, as well as those who have, will benefit from this book because it presents material in a humorous, easy-to-understand manner. The position of many different organizations - such as the media - as well as the positions of many individuals is covered. Furthermore, the rationales for those opinions is examined (and made fun of.) The author weighs in on more than just the gun control debate itself; failures of government agencies, policy faults, and the political corrrectness of Hollywood are also lampooned. A generous helping of cartoons - some taken from newspaper editorial pages, others from noted political cartoonists - help drive the point home. This is truly an easy reading, hilarious book. My main complaint is that it is not long enough!

First came Schott's Original Miscellany. Now comes a hilarious British parody, by the fictional A. Parody, that takes the original book one step sillier. This small volume is a compendium of off-the-wall and funny facts, mostly in the form of lists. The contents range from the factual, such as famous people with pseudonyms and the semaphore alphabet, to the fictional "7 things you can never quite remember," in which Santa's reindeer include Comic and Blitzkreig. Some of the categories are outrageously useless, such as prime numbers whose individual digits add up to 11. Some are useful, such as collective nouns for animals and a list of the aliens from Star Trek. Let's not forget such silly gems as "Ways to end a romance" and "Not wildly popular sea captains." This book even satirizes an index; the last page claims that an index should be tailored to the reader and then proceeds to explain how to construct your own. This book is witty, creative, and a great spoof. You might even learn a thing or two from it. Just remember to take its contents with a generous dash of salt! This would make a great gag gift for the trivia buff.

Eileen Rieback

This is a great bathroom read, or for urbanites, the train. If you read Mental Floss magazine, and enjoy Brit humor, then you'll probably enjoy this small, slim edition. The reading is concise and easy to digest, fun and thought provoking. Great to share with friends.

SCHOTT'S ORIGINAL MISCELLANY. What's interesting is, I found it just as dip-into-able as the original. The humor is British, so if you don't "get" British humor it might fall flat. On the other hand, it is cheaper than the original and my suspicion is that if you enjoyed browsing Schott's, you will enjoy browsing this as well.

I make sure to keep this on my desk at all times. This is a hilarious book. I bought several more to hand out to colleagues.

101 Ways to Kill Your Boss is basically just a heap of graphic violent murder scenes of usually an adult male (but occasionally female) getting killed by unique and funny methods. All are black pen (no other colours are used in the illustrations) type outline sketches. Not all seem to relate to the victim being the killer's boss either. Some are quite funny but the book lacks the higher standard achieved with his big foot autobiographies (ie In Me Own Words: The Autobiography of Bigfoot, Me Write Book: It Bigfoot Memoir and Bigfoot: I Not Dead) and his other books. With just illustrations and no words the humour of his other work just isn't achieved here.

Worth checking out from your library but not to buy.

This sequel to "Asshole No More" is not as painfully funny as Dr. Crement's first effort, but it is well worth your money. This book is a bit too factual to be funny. If you would like to learn more about us recovering assholes, this book is a must.

In this follow-up to the book, A**hole No More, we come to realize that not everyone can be cured. A decent book, but not as enlightening as the first one.