I have loved the three previous volumes of Michael Palin's diaries. He is way behind though as this only covers 1999 to 2009 so we will have to wait some more years for his thoughts on Covid. Without even trying, he comes across as such a thoughtful, deeply caring person with strongly held views. I was very moved by his affectionate portrait of a dying George Harrison and there are some telling insights. I enjoyed reading about his relationships with the other Pythons who have difficulty agreeing on anything. Michael Palin leads an extraordinary life and loves to share it. But too many people are refrerred to by initials. Okay, they are identified at the start, but surely the reader shouldn't have to refer back to see who they are. Maybe I should remmeber but you can't really read diaries in one sitting and you don't remember such things. Anyway there are over 500 pages in this book.
THE FOURTH VOLUME OF MICHAEL PALIN'S BESTSELLING DIARIES
A new millennium, and a new chapter for Michael Palin unfolds. With a Hemingway travel project testing his confidence, doubts creeping in about his abilities as a writer, the death of his great friend George Harrison and the last of his children leaving home, the dawn of the twenty-first century sees Michael at his most reflective yet.
Over the next ten years, we watch through Michael's eyes as the world reels from the successive shocks of September 11, the 7/7 bombings and the global financial crash. With the warmth and gentle empathy…
I have loved Willie and Waylon and Johnny Cash and Kris Kiristofferson for years and this is a fabulous book on how they all came together as the Highwaymen and made highly successful appearances and albums. It's tremendous that the author can really take you backstage and the interactions between the four musicians is both hilarious and revealing. For example, before I read this book I assumed that Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson would be the best of buddies ...but they're not. Some great one-liners. When the singers were on a health kick, harmonica player Mickey Raphael said, "Willie's lost six ounces." When Kris Kristofferson moved to Nashiville, he got a letter from his mother telling not to associate with "that durg fiend Johnny Cash". Kris showed the letter to Johnny who said, "It's always nice to ge a letter from hiome." And when they got Country Song of the Year with 'The Highwayman', a song abut reincarnation, Waylin asked, "Which country?" .
The tragic and inspiring story of the leaders of Outlaw country and their influence on today's Alt-Country and Americana superstars, tracing a path from Waylon Jennings' survival on the Day the Music Died through to the Highwaymen and on to the current creative and commercial explosion of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Tyler Childers, Jason Isbell, and the Highwomen
On February 2, 1959, Waylon Jennings, bassist for his best friend, the rock star Buddy Holly, gave up his seat on a charter flight. Jennings, 21, joked that he hoped the plane, leaving without him, would crash. When it did, killing all…
I've no idea how big Rich Hall in America, but he is an acquired taste in the UK although once you've acquired it, you're hooked. I've ssen him several times and he has stunning one-liners. For example, he came on stage at the lavish St George's Hall in Liverpool and said, "I feel like I'm appearing in Liberace's intestines.." This book is like 200 pages of stand up and his debut in Las Vegas in one of the funniest things I've ever read and has a fabulous rant about Winnebagos. This leads to be him being loaned one for three months as the company executive is sure he will love it. How about this for a stunning joke? “I ordered breakfast at a German restaurant. The waiter brought me two small dots on a plate. I said, ‘I’m sorry. I ordered an omelette’.” Rich Hall asks why bull riders who fall off, pick up their hats and sweep the dirt from their boots. "Why did they do that when they have nearly been crippled by a bull? Because it's the only dignity they have left."
'An uproariously funny collection of true stories from one of the comedy greats' - BILL BAILEY
'I loved this book. Absolutely adored it. I devoured it and savoured every word. A wild and wonderful love letter to comedy' - ADAM HILLS
'It's rare for comedians to be as funny on paper as they are on stage, but Rich Hall nails it' - CARL HIAASEN
A collection of hilarious and often absurd epiphanies in the legendary comedian's life that defined him - more in a for worse than for better kind of way - and all delivered in his unique deadpan…
