Customer Reviews (8)

"The bedroom doorpost took a swipe at me..."
Is there any way to encapsulate Graham Chapman's great comedic talent?No.But he tries in his own autobiography, anyway.A gift to those of us who truly appreciate the absurd from the master himself, this book is a must for anyone who enjoys Monty Python and those who just don't get it.After reading this book, I feel I understand this great pouf even more than watching the Python movies.

I'm just sad that his last video appearance was in an Iron Maiden video...

Very well done
Graham Chapman is a comedy genius, and this is more proof.

Makes me wish there were five volumes prior to this one
My mom got me this book for Christmas four years ago, and I could not put it down. Back then, I wasn't really reading for pleasaure, but I knew this book would really get me started! I found Chapman's autobiography to be rather silly, but serious at the same time. He has been my tied-for-first favorite Python (next to Idle) since the first time I watched any of their sketches and The Holy Grail, but this book made me love him even more. I really got to see a different side of this comic genius, and reading about his struggles to gain acceptance and respect, along with his trials when it came to put down the booze, made me only appreciate him that much more. Four years later, this is book is still in my top-three favorites of all time! I would recommend this book to any Python fan.

"Come to think of it, most people like a good laugh more than I do, but that's beside the point!"

Classic
Not your typical autobiography by not your typical writer. A Liar's Autobiography is a now-classic look at the life of Graham, written by Graham (and others) at a time when he felt that, due to his alcoholism, he was not long for planet earth. This proved to not be true (he survived another 10 years and did not die from alcohol-related causes but cancer). At turns hilarious, silly, touching and sad, "ALA" will leave the reader with a much greater sense of the looniest of all the Pythons who was, at heart, a very shy and serious man. By all means BUY THIS.

One of the best I've read in a long time.
I really enjoyed this book even though it is kind of confusing and wierd. Graham Chapman has always been my favorite Python because of his humor but this book shows antother side to him. If you don't like him before you read it you wiil afterwards. A bit after the end is touching and also very funny. This book isn't for everyone and you might not like it even if you are a Monty Python fan. If you are looking for a laugh a minute book in true Monty python style look somewhere else. Not to say that the book doesn't have some funny parts but it is also pretty serious. I also wouldn't recomend it to anyone under the age of 13 because some of the contents of the book aren't apropriate for smaller children. But if you think you will like it by all means read it because it really is a wonderful book. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

If You Can Imagine The Size Of Nelson's Column, Then This Book Is Much, Much Smaller
Of all the Pythons, Graham Chapman was the most anarchic in his comedy. He excelled at stream-of-consciousness humor and non sequitirs, and made a permanent mark on the comedy landscape with a stature rivaling anyone in the last fifty years. This book can be viewed as a companion to Graham's earlier work, "A Liar's Autobiography," as it contains a lot of material that didn't make it into that book, as well as many diverse pieces such as screenplays and correspondence, most of which appear here for the first time.

Graham was a complex person, and this book gives an outstanding view into the workings of his mind. His struggles are well detailed here, yet he always made the most of any situation, especially if wild parties with the likes of Keith Moon and Ringo Starr were involved. I was pleased that the bulk of this book dealt with Graham's life outside of Python, as that has been very well documented elsewhere.

The book itself has the feel of a mixed-media contemporary art piece as it is from so many diverse sources. I must admit that the title drew me in: it is taken from a piece on page 88 in the essays section. The essay does, in fact, make calcium much more interesting than in any chemistry class I have had, to wit: "Calcium...occurs naturally as the carbonate CaCO3 in limestone, chalk, marble, and in brothels...." Graham's medical training (he was a doctor, after all) comes through in other places as well, as on page 189 where he discusses disorders of the trachea and bronchial tree in a musical adaptation called "The Ciliary-Mucus-Escalator Dance." Of course, the weirdness doesn't stop with scientific and medical humor, but dwells in both the mundane (a pompous man who brags about his "fleet of atomic-powered Silko-Glyde lawn mowers - each with a sauna bath, a cocktail lounge with three adjoining cinemas, and a discotheque", page 235) and the surreal (an insurance salesman selling a man a "special Being Nibbled To Death by Okapia Policy," with correspondingly odd terms on page 245.)

My two favorite parts of the book are the monologues and the personal letters. My favorite monologue concerns riding down a black diamond ski slope in a "wretched wooden gondola" with the Dangerous Sports Club, a piece that opens and sets the tone for the book. (I recommend the DVD, "Looks Like a Brown Trouser Job" which recalls this among other strange occurrences.) The letters are all fairly deranged, but my favorites are the letter reproduced in the dedication, which is an apology to a pub owner ("Words alone will have to express my profoundly abject apology for my behavior in your pub last night. I will have the shelf repaired, and I have already bought a half pound fillet steak for Dennis's eye...") and the condensed letters of E.P. Snibbet, Esq., which conclude the book.

Graham was a genius and a loony, and I miss him. This is a brilliant book and is not to be missed by anyone fond of insane humor; I recommend it highly.

A genious at play
Even though he died almost 2 decades ago, Graham Chapman's comic genious continues to awe and inspire in this wonderful volume of letters, essays and skits. Chapman was always the most Pythonic of the team, a wild man who was the re-incarnated spirit of Oscar Wilde. Both were touched with erratic brilliance and a lust for living and in this book we get to see the inner workings of Chapman's "wild(e)" side at work and at play. Not everyhting in here is hilarious, some things might raise only a smile, but taken as a whole this book is an amazing collection of items that fans of Python will want to treasure--and laugh at--for years to come. "Calcium" is a welcome addition to the Python legacy and a wonderful way to spend a few more minutes with
Chapman. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Interesting story, just not well written
I found this book interesting as I did not know may of the details behind his life or the story behind the pythons but I did find the style quite distracting. The author uses a lot of direct quotes from other people which sometimes go on for pages. It was also difficult to follow sometimes who the quotes were from. Graham Chapman's life story is interesting with lots more to it than just Monty Python but may be covered in a better style elsewhere.

Like Python, pretty hit and miss
Growing up watching Pythonon PBS in the '70's, I became a big fan of their irreverent British humor, although even as a teen I saw som esketches that missed the mark or just didn't congeal fully.When Python was on, there was no other troup before or since who could touch them.At the same time, some sketches deserved the very proper appearance of Gram Chapman to halt the proceedings with the admonition that the skit was just plain silly.

The same holds true for this bio of Monty Python's resident surgeon and star of both of their greatest films, Holy Grail and Life of Brian.When the story grabs hold or explores some aspects of Gram Chapman's remarkable life, it is compelling reading.At other times, the book skips over great chunks and becomes repetitious, almost as if the author was spinning his wheels and waiting for inspiration.Unfortunately, the book reads almost as a work in progress or an incomplete biography.

The differences between the public Python and the private lives of its members can be quite astounding - Cleese as the lawyer, Chapman's work as a surgeon and semi-activist, but those inside glimpses still left me wanting more.The remembrances of Chapman's brother and co-workers, as well as his long-time lover, brought a better understanding of the incredibly complex person that was Brian, Arthur, and ultimately Graham.

A better bet is Python by the Pythons, also edited largely by this author, which offers greater depth on all the members of Monty Python (of course) and still covers the biggest portion of what is found in this book.I'd recommend it but not too highly. ... Read more

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The mass media in different countries reflects dominant concerns of contemporary societies. Concepts of "environmentalism" are often broad and imprecise, holding neither meaning nor currency. Environmentalism and Mass Media sheds new light on the diverse ideas of environmentalism, the way environmental ideas circulate, and public reaction to environmental concerns conveyed by the media. Drawing on unique interviews with journalists, media pictures, and public opinion surveys in both the UK and India, the authors outline the differing cultural, religious and political contexts against which world views form present a fascinating picture between North and South. Mass media and communication technology is in danger of locking Northern countries into a ghetto of environmental self-deception, thereby perpetuating poverty in the South. Whether or not environmentalism becomes a universal cause depends on how and to what extent such sharply contrasting world views can converge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A Tough Read
Graham Chapman was a talented, funny, complex man who had his demons. That's why I thought his autobiography (along with four co-authors) would provide some additional insight into the man. It did but at quite a cost. Parts of it are written in a Python-esque manner where the reader feels as if he is reading a script for a MP episode: footnotes, footnotes for the footnotes........tedious, to say the least.

If you're looking for an informative but tiring read, I highly recommend this book.

intercourse the penguin!
when i bid on the book from a dude from england on ebay, i thought i knew exactly what the book was gonna be about. well, i learned a lot more about my 2nd fave python (1st is eric idle) than i thought i would. i learned a lot about graham from watching monty python several times over the years, reading short biographies on websites, and seeing a few other movies he has appeared in. when i read this book, i learned a lot more about him than i ever could from watching him and reading facts about him that people have gathered, and that is learning about how he truely felt throughout the more difficult times of his life. with all the information i learned about the late graham chapman, what i knew before was only a small fraction of what i know today. this book is the best book i have ever read, and i actually got really into it too, and im not a big fan of reading. this book was hard for me to put down, and graham chapman is surely one of the greatest people in my eyes. like he once said before, "i hope i have achieved something lasting." this book is so great, and you wont regret purchasing it. i highly recomend it.

For Monty Python fans
Having just finished A Liar's Autobiography by Graham Chapman, I can tell you that Monty Python fans will love it. Not only did it offer humerous accounts of the author's life before Python, but it was often very touching as well. We learn about Chapman's journey through medical school and his struggle with drugs and alcohol, as well as his realization and acceptance of his homosexuality. The reader will also learn about his family, friends, travel experiences and good times during the many Monty Python tours, films and television episodes. Enjoy!

adds new meaning to the term 'splunge'
Obviously, Monty Python fans will want to read it, but aside from that, this is one of the most entertaining biographies I've read. Although the least successful of the Pythons in terms of solo career, Chapman may well have had the most interesting life - doctor, homosexual, alcoholic, mountaineer. By turns hilarious, angry, sad, and very silly.

The True Python
The title of this highly amusing book is both informative and misleading. Informative firstly because the "liar" part refers to Chapman tendency to drift of into fantasy land and relate stories from Bigglesbooks and other bizarre episodes as if they were part of his life. Misleading secondly because usually autobiographies are written by thesubject - whereas for this one much of the writing was done by three otherswith the occasional footnote by the author (if that makes any sense).Butthat aside this is a highly enjoyable read as well as being painfullypoignant and also thought-provoking.There is little doubt that Chapmanwas one of the great comic geniuses of our time, and this is a book thatwell represents his playful insanity. ... Read more

Product Description
This text brings together unpublished and unmade scripts by the late Graham Chapman of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Included is the rumoured but never seen 1974 script, co-written with Douglas Adams for Ringo Star. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Cobbled-together rubbish does a comedy legend no favours
What we have here is two interesting Chapman scripts padded out to book length with a few bag-of-a-fag-packet unfunny 'sketches' and some poorly reproduced photographs. Graham Chapman was a comedy legend but his memory is not well-served when the so-called 'Graham Chapman Archives' throw stuff together like this to make a quick buck.

The book is worth getting if you're a Python completist for the early 1970s unproduced Ringo Star Show script co-written with Douglas Adams and for the unbroadcast pilot of Jake's Journey, but the rest of the book is so much wasted trees. And that's 'worth getting' but not 'worth buying at full price'. Fortunately the book was very swiftly remaindered on both sides of the Atlantic.

The presentation is tatty in the extreme, including a mistake-ridden filmography copied verbatim from the internet and a grainy photo of the Pythons positioned in suuch a way that Chapman himself is invisible in the fold between pages! There's almost no context, no actual stills from Jake's Journey, nothing of any value beyond the two main scripts themselves. The other sketches are short, unfunny nothings written when Chapman was very ill and don't deserve to see print, but evidently the 'Chapman Archives' from where this stuff originates is rather sparse when it comes to good, publishable stuff.

What a shame that Chapman's papers have ended up in the possession of someone who neither knows anything about him nor knows how to edit a book.

Uneven But Still Very Funny
I didn't know what to expect when I ordered 'Ojril-The Completely Incomplete Graham Chapman', but as a lifelong Pythonphile, I was interested by any original content from Graham.

Essentially, this is a book of unpublished and unproduced scripts written by Chapman with others, notably Douglas Adams. Including the very short "VD", "Jake's Journey", a pilot for an American sitcom written immediately prior to Graham's death, the odd conceptual piece "The Concrete Inspector", and the hilarious highlight of the book written in collaboration with the equally offbeat Douglas Adams, "Our Show For Ringo Starr", which was a avant-garde script for an hour long TV show promoting Ringo's then current album "Goodnight Vienna". (The best line is when Ringo gets to say: "The concept of a four-dimensional space-time continuum inevitably suggests that the universe looks like a prawn omelette.") I found "Jake's Journey" a bit tedious and formulaic, and the Ringo piece utterly brilliant, with everything else falling somewhere in between. Also of great use to the collector is a 'Chapmanography' of videos, recordings and books in which Graham somehow contributed.

This book is a very quick read, and I recommend it to people interested in Graham or Monty Python, just realize that it really isn't a biographical work as much as a set of quirky skits.

Enter the mind of Graham Chapman
Let's face it: Graham Chapman was weird.

Which isn't to say he made no sense. I'm sure he made perfect sense to himself and other alcoholics, but a lot of times he was just plain weird. Still, it's fun to step into his mind just simply because you never know what you'll find. Never predictable, always unexpected, if you ever enjoyed Monty Python you'll enjoy this unique look at Graham's unpublished work. Personally as a Pythonite, I relished and adored it. But even a casual fan will appreciate the unusual sketches and bits that this gem contains.

Pick it up. Read it twice. You won't understand all of it, but laugh, because you're not alone.

TV Producers: Listen Up!
This is a really funny book. No kidding. Really funny. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Why doesn't some clever producer snap up these sketches and put them on TV then we'd be spared another season full of dreck!

Spotty but moments of brilliance
This book shows quite clearly exactly what Chapman's role in Python was: to show up late, do very little work, but contribute one or two outrageously out-there ideas to really stir things up. The Our Show For Ringo Starr script (too bad this was never produced!) reads much more like Douglas Adams than Python, but with occasional bizarre Chapmanisms to keep things interesting (and completely absurd.) The rest of the book echoes things that Chapman has worked on before, and even includes a few lines lifted directly from Python sketches. All that said, however, the book was a bracing, inspiring read -- a refreshing blast of insanity that makes for great (easy) (...) browsing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hard to remember - impossible to forget - I WANT THAT BOOK!

As my mid-life crisis climaxes (well at least one part of me should!), questions keep popping into my head:"How did I end up here?" "Are these kids mine?" "Where is my Monty Python Book?!?"

Of all the purchases I made in my formative years, it seems that this one, perhaps along with Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", was the most discriminating. Which makes it all that more annoying that I can no longer find the book! Did it simply disappear? Did one of the various flat-mates and visitors of the time borrow it? Was it a victim of a certain-member-of-my-family's value judgement about suitable bookshelf material for our home?

I find it impossible to forget some parts of the book: the colour page; bloody tennis; the M page; but the rest is getting harder and harder to remember.

Checkingout Amazon for professional reasons (web design), I casually typed in "Monty Python". There in the HUGE list of titles, down towards the end, was the bok (sic). Web-design ?!?! This site is brilliant! "(Hard to Find)" - How did they know? I WANT THAT BOOK! ... Read more

Product Description
Never before seen or heard Pythonesque sketches by master Britwit Graham Chapman are now captured in Graham Crackers, his last written work. The book describes in hilarious detail his very unconventional life, his exploits with the Dangerous Sports Club, Keith Moon, his thoughts on the Python team, and more.Amazon.com Review
Graham Chapman--you remember him as Brian, King Arthur, and innumerablecharacters from the BBC Monty Python series--died of throat cancer in 1989, yet he still manages to write a funny, nostalgic book.It's a pretty neat trick. Graham Crackers is not a sequel to A Liar's Autobiography, Chapman'scult classic.It is, however, a loose confederacy ofsketches, reminiscing, and true-life escapades. Here's a memory from thefilming of Life of Brian:

Let me say here that the matter of genital exposure is no particularproblem to me--I am a doctor after all--but there was a problem in thatwe had this crowd of Tunisian extras--some 300 people posing as 600--andhalf of that number were women. And Muslim women are forbidden by Muslimlaw to see such things. It's absolutely forbidden for them to even thinkof viewing naughty bits. So when I flung open the shutter, half thecrowd ran away screaming! That had a profound effect on my psyche. I'dlike to think it was their religion...Yes, I'm sure that it was.

Customer Reviews (35)

This is a disgrace.
As a lifelong "alternative" comedy and Python fan, I wholeheartedly agree with the reviewer who acknowledged this book as "astoundingly bad" - this book has nothing to do with Graham Chapman. It was not written by him and it does not reflect him as the keen wit or comedic genius he was. Why anyone would want to cheapen Chapman's memory with a poorly edited, ghost-written collection featuring bits of his worst material as well as completely fabricated material I do not know. It clearly isn't making them much money. I am not sure why this is not illegal.

I also find it terribly low and dispicable that the author is clearly reviewing his own book. Do take a look; it's fairly obvious. I also noticed on another book by this author he had his own relative "reviewing" the book thus again upping the number of stars one sees when browsing for books. Don't fall for it.

Track down a copy of A Liar's Autobiography instead.

A disgrace to Graham Chapman's memory
This waste of paper is so astoundingly bad as to make one's jaw drop. It's another nail in the coffin of Graham Chapman's literary estate as those responsible continue to 'edit' and 'publish' any old scraps of rubbish which they can find. Chapman was a great comic talent and deserves something much, much better than this. If I could give it no stars at all, I would.

Graham Crackers (a rubbish title which demonstrates in itself how at odds with Chapman's own style of humour this book's 'editor' is) consists of scrappy, unfunny, rejected bits of Chapman material cobbled together with fake Chapman material by the 'editor'. It's not funny, it's not interesting, it's dreadful. Surely Chapman's family can stop this sort of thing.

I think it's very telling that no respectable publisher would touch this 'book' and it ended up being put out by a company which specialises in career guidance! And in the UK, I note, it couldn't find a publisher at all.

It is also obvious to those who know his distinctive style that many of the five-star reviews of this book here are actually the 'editor' posting from various e-mail addresses. Dear oh dear...

Freshness Straight Up
Written in first person this book gives new meaning to the word "ghostwriter".

A good book for anyone who watched Python and liked it!
Have you ever had those moods where you wanted to read something simple, that wasn't nessisarilly an awsome book, but a good one to miander through? This is one of those books. It was fun to read and had me chuckling throughout! Learn how they came up with The Ministery of Silly Walks scetch, and even scripts that have never been released! Great book. If you have watched python and liked it, this book is for you.

A correction
Below someone said 'tall tales from the tallest python,' which is not true.The tales may be drawn out inlength, and so may the subject, but as far as pythons go, John Cleese was the longest. ... Read more

Product Description
This enthralling volume tells the story of one of the world's greatest cultural heartlands - the Indian subcontinent. It shows how geological movements moulded the land of this unique cradle and how they still impact on it; from the early settlers, the great Mogul Empire and the British Raj, through the impact of railways, the development of irrigation systems on the economy and the spread of representative democracy.Discussions are woven around the three major forces of integration. These are 'identitive' forces - bonds of language, ethnicity, religion or ideology; 'utilitarian' forces - bonds of common material interest, and 'coercion' - the institutional use or threat of physical violence. By studying these forces, Professor Chapman shows how the organisation of territory - as states and empires, as monarchic realms and as representative democracies - has been central to the region's historic, cultural, linguistic and economic development. Anyone who is planning on carrying out research in South Asia or indeed anyone who simply wishes to understand more about this cultural heartland should read this book.In addition to the material on the Northwest frontier, Afghanistan and Kashmir which was added for the second edition, the Northeastern borderlands are also now examined in this fully revised third edition.The current geopolitical state of the region is completely updated and greatly enhanced. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

As much fun as the movie!
This is a very large paperback that includes both the full script from the movie and a scrapbook of scenes and excerpts. I laughed as hard reading the script as I did at the movie itself -- in part because I now understood what they were saying! Brian was the best Python movie -- the only one with a complete story, and fine mistreatment of Christianity. This book is a great way to remember it.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Don't confuse this large-format trade paperback (isbn 0448165686, 11x14") with the small mass-market paperback (no isbn, 4x7") with the same title which contains only the script (no scrapbook).

Great book from the GREATEST film!
This book has great photos, illustrations, and EVEN DELETED SCENES like one where Brian is trying to pass as a preacher, and rants about variousthings people do wrong ... "...and join false sects..." "What? Enjoy forced sex? "

This book is NOT to be missed.Ifyou can find it that is. I have one, but it is falling apart due tomediocre binding. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

CLASSIC!
...This is a really great CD. I never realized how funny Graham Chapman was until I heard this. I mean, without a script or props, just as a funny person. He tells a lot of great stories here--a natural storyteller--that will leave you rolling! It's a shame he's no longer with us as I'd like to hear more. A classic comedy record, highly recommended! ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first part in a two-volume survey of the patterns, causes and consequences of urbanization in Asia - currently a process resulting in mass migration and major changes in lifestyle. ... Read more

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The Ganges basin is home to 10% of the human race - 500 million people - and the environmental problems are enormous. Many of the region's problems such as deforestation, soil erosion, pollution and droughts, are directly related to the role of water in the economy and environment. This text examines the complexity of this region's dependence on water. This title is part of a series aimed at a multidisciplinary readership. The issues addressed are viewed from a variety of perspectives: social; economic; political; historical; and environmental. The series stresses two major themes: globalization as a major trend affecting contemporary development and fundamental patterns of environmental change. ... Read more

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Among the many blackguards who left their bloodstained mark on history, the foulest of them all was the pirate Yellowbeard. His name struck terror into the hearts of gentlefolk - the same area into which he plunged his dirk - in the days when Queen Anne was a monarch rather than a table. According Graham Chapman, the late comedian-actor-writer-Monty Python, Yellowbeard tells 'the true story of Treasure Island, all the bits that Robert Louis Stevenson didn't want to tell. Yellowbeard is a vile buccaneer so scurrilous that he makes Long John Silver look like a tinhorn. He puts the 'rat' back into pirate'. The idea for Yellowbeard came from one of Graham's closest friends, the late Keith Moon, drummer for The Who, who urged Chapman to attack the pirate genre with his renowned comedic thrust. The results were a novel (Chapman's one and only), and a cult film starring a bodice-ripping cast of comedy actors from the Pythons to Cheech and Chong, via David Bowie. This edition brings together the novel and screenplay for the first time, along with exclusive materials from the Graham Chapman Archives.For anyone who likes pirates, pythons or beards, here is the ultimate Yellowbeard collection. ... Read more

Product Description
CROSS REF DEV STUDIES Both Africa and the Middle East have sought alternatives to Western models of development. The last twenty-five years have seen political independence for the states of Africa and increased economic dependence on external aid. The Middle East, resource rich and water poor, continues economically robust but politically unstable. In both regions, widespread poverty continues as does the involvement of the West.
Clearly illustrated with basic maps of the countries discussed, The Changing Geography of Africa and the Middle East presents a systematic review of twenty-five years of development. The book will prove an invaluable guide to the physical, economic, social and political environments of contemporary Africa and the Middle East.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The changing Geography of North Africa and The Middle East
I will submit it after recieving the book ... Read more

Product Description
This volume, along with its companion volume, aims to provide a panoramic survey of the patterns, causes and consequences of urbanization in Asia - a process which is resulting in the biggest migration of people and the greatest changes in lifestyle ever to have occurred . The chapters provide not only case-study material of particular cities, but also introductions to many different analytical perspectives. Volume I addresses the more physical aspects of urbanization, whereas Volume II deals with the human and environmental impacts. ... Read more