Best of
Comedy

2000

What Ho! The Best of P.G. Wodehouse


P.G. Wodehouse - 2000
    This anthology of stories, novel-extracts, working drafts, articles, letters and poems gives a fresh angle on the twentieth century's greatest humourist. In his introduction, Stephen Fry writes: "What a very, very lucky person you are. Spread out before you are the finest and funniest words from the finest and funniest writer the past century ever knew... Without Wodehouse I am not sure that I would be a tenth of what I am today... He taught me something about good nature. It IS enough to be benign, to be gentle, to be funny, to be kind."

The Truth


Stephen Briggs - 2000
    Allegedly. William de Worde is the Discworld's first investigative journalist. He didn't mean to be - it was just an accident. But, as William fills his pages with reports of local club meetings and pictures of humorously shaped vegetables, dark forces high up in Ankh-Morpork's society are plotting to overthrow the city's ruler, Lord Vetinari.

Humongous Zits


Jerry Scott - 2000
    Cartoonists Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman have captured the humor of that challenging time with Zits, in which they chronicle the life and times of the typically exasperating yet ever lovable Jeremy Duncan.In this first Zits treasury, a compilation of Zits and Growth Spurt, faithful fans of Jeremy's world will get a glimpse behind the scenes with never-before-seen sketches and the stories behind the strips. Sunday cartoons appear in full-color, highlighting the strip's acclaimed drawing style.Even though the teenage terrain is rocky, Zits is warm and sympathetic. "The highest compliment we hear from readers is, 'You must have a camera hidden in our house!'" says Borgman.

Assorted FoxTrot


Bill Amend - 2000
    Fans of all ages can find something in creator Bill Amend's work with which they're familiar, from the outrageous sibling rivalries between ten-year-old Jason and his teenage siblings, Peter and Paige, to marital squabbles over golf between parents Roger and Andy.FoxTrot's appeal, in large part, comes from Amend's talent for finding humor in contemporary topics and issues. Readers enjoy a delightful ride as the Fox family members give their takes on the latest in pop culture. It's sometimes surprising and always entertaining to see just how different members of the same gene pool can be.Universal Press Syndicate newspaper feature:*FoxTrot

Azumanga Daioh, Vol. 1


Kiyohiko Azuma - 2000
    Teacher Yukari Tanizaki is oblivious, immature, emotional and one of the people shaping young minds. Her students face difficulties in school that most never imagined. For example, as one pupil starts to ask a question, Miss Yukari cuts him off, stating she won't talk about her bra size. Another group of students are ready for their lessons, but instead of learning about social studies or science, they learn how Miss Yukari spent her weekend. Maybe that's not so bad, considering Miss Yukari's not the brightest bulb in the bunch and has her students correcting her on many technical points. Her students aren't sure how to react, but their bewilderment is half the charm of this manga. Like the 1980s TV series Head of the Class, Azu has an eclectic mix of pupils ranging from child geniuses to sports enthusiasts to tough girls; each possessing much more than meets the eye. The precocious child genius may be great at academic subjects, but she still draws like a little girl and has the emotions of a kid. The unemotional tough teen melts for tiny animals and longs to have a pet of her own, even if all of the creatures she comes in contact with seem to hate her. The art is simple and minimalistic, but adequately conveys the thought and emotion behind each strip. Azuma's cast has depth, dimension and character, and their story heartily entertains.

The Gods Trilogy (Discworld, #7,13,20)


Terry Pratchett - 2000
    It rides through space on the back of four elephants* which, in turn, are standing on the shell of an enormous turtle.But just because it is being borne through space on the back of a turtle, doesn't mean it doesn't need gods...The Gods Trilogy is a bumper volume containing the complete text of three of Terry Pratchett's celebrated novels:PYRAMIDSIt isn't easy, being a teenage pharaoh: you're not allowed to carry money; uninhibited young women peel grapes for you and the Great Pyramid has just exploded because of paracosmic instability . . .SMALL GODSBrutha is the Chosen One. His god has spoken to him, admittedly while currently in the shape of a tortoise; and Brutha now has a mission.HOGFATHERIt's the night before Hogswatch . . . and it's too quiet. There's snow, there're robins, there're trees covered with decorations, but there's a notable lack of the big fat man who delivers the toys . . . He's gone.*There used to be five, but that's another story entirely

Captain Underpants Boxed Set


Dav Pilkey - 2000
    Also includes a sticker sheet with all-new art!Now you can have the first four books in one boxed set-along with a super-cool sticker sheet featuring your favorite characters! The award-winning Captain Underpants books have received rave reviews across the nation and have been translated into numerous languages, including Spanish, Italian, Korean, Greek, Norwegian, Dutch, German, and Hebrew. "It'll make kids laugh until soda comes out their noses."-Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Snake and Bacon's Cartoon Cabaret


Michael Kupperman - 2000
    A collection of comics presents the exploits of such characters as the mannister, two-fisted Poe, Mister Bossman, Cousin Grampa, and underpants-on-his-head man.

ごくせん 1


Kozueko Morimoto - 2000
    Unfortunately for her, she's assigned by the school board as the homeroom teacher for class 3-D, which happens to be the class of delinquent students. When the class attempts to make a living hell out of Yankumi's career, they fail as her persistence and aggression gain her respect. However, little does anyone in the school know that Yankumi is actually heir to the Kuroda Ikka - one of Tokyo's most powerful yakuza clans.

The Twits: A Play


David Wood - 2000
    The monkey's cruel incarceration in a cage is avenged when the birds trick the Twits into believing the world has turned upside-down. The Twits join in, aided by the birds who drop glue on their hair, and the audience is encouraged to play their part in freeing the monkeys.

Bill Bryson: The Complete Notes


Bill Bryson - 2000
    back to the States for a while. But before leaving his much-loved Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around old Blighty, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had for so long been his home. The resulting book, Notes from a Small Island, is a eulogy to the country that produced Marmite, George Formby, by-elections, milky tea, place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowels, Gardeners' Question Time and people who say, 'Mustn't grumble'. Britain will never seem the same again.Once ensconced back home in New Hampshire, Bryson couldn't resist the invitation to write a weekly dispatch for the Mail on Sunday's Night & Day magazine. Notes from a Big Country is a collection of eighteen months' worth of his popular columns about that strangest of phenomena - the American way of life. Whether discussing the dazzling efficiency of the garbage disposal unit, the exoticism of having your groceries bagged for you, or the mind-numbing frequency of commercial breaks on American TV, Bill Bryson brings his inimitable brand of bemused wit to bear on the world's richest and craziest country.The Complete Notes combines two of Bill Bryson's best-loved travel books in one volume, It demonstrates his unique take on life - from either side of the pond.

E.


Matt Beaumont - 2000
    . . but before I go there are some things you should know . . . !!!! Set in a London ad agency desperate to land a coveted big account, e follows the bureaucratic bungling, cutthroat maneuvers, and outrageous sexual antics of a group of Miller-Shanks employees as they scheme, lie, lust, and claw their way up (and down) the company ladder.Written by a former advertising copywriter, this hilarious, dead-on-target novel marks the debut of a hip and exciting new voice in contemporary fiction. With the click of a mouse, Matt Beaumont brings the novel of letters into the twenty-first century, turning his merciless, unerring eye on today's Machiavellian corporate culture-with uproarious results. Rachel Stevenson, Personnel-1/5/00, 3:09 pm to: Chandra Kapoor cc: David Cruttonre: Urgent: Please delete Carla Browne's ID from e-mail with immediate effect. Thank you.

Reader's Digest


Reader's Digest Association - 2000
    You'll discover original profiles of inspiring people, real-life dramas, insightful essays, and news roundups that get you up-to-date fast on the issues you care about. All the features and departments from the print edition are here, including the jokes and funny true stories, along with our famous Word Power column-now with automatic scoring and audio pronunciations. Each issue is enhanced with exclusive cartoons, videos, slide shows, animations, and useful Web links-all in a well-designed, easy-to-navigate interface.

The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius 1


Judd Winick - 2000
    What does a ten-year-old boy do with a 350 I.Q.? Any thing he wants. Cranky, egotistical, arrogant and foul-mouthed, Barry in general wants to conduct his experiments and be left alone, but it never seems to work out. Hurdles that Barry must outmaneuver range from time warps, to art thieves, to accidentally turning his best friend into a dinosaur.

Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe


Tom Batiuk - 2000
    Visit Lisa's Legacy Fund to learn more or to make a direct donation.A story from the comic strips that will make you laugh and cryTom Batiuk spent several years as a middle school art teacher before creating the comic strip Funky Winkerbean in 1972. Originally a "gag-a-day" comic strip that portrayed life in high school, Funky has evolved into a mature series of real-life stories examining such social issues as teen dating abuse, teen pregnancy, teen suicide, violence in schools, the war in the Middle East, alcoholism, divorce, and cancer.In 1999, Lisa Moore, one of Funky's friends and a main character, discovered she had breast cancer. Batiuk, unsure about dealing with such a serious subject on the funny pages, decided to go ahead with the story line. He approached the topic with the idea that mixing humor with serious and real themes heightens the reader's interest. Lisa and husband Les faced the same physical, psychological, and social issues as anyone else dealing with the disease.After a mastectomy and chemotherapy, Lisa was cancer free. She finished her law degree, opened a practice, and had a baby daughter, Summer. Then, in the spring of 2006, the cancer returned and metastasized. Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe is a collection of both the 1999 comic strips on Lisa's initial battle with cancer and the current series examining her struggle with the disease and its outcome. Additionally, it contains resource material on breast cancer, including early detection, information sources, support systems, and health care.

Daily Splashes of Joy: 365 Gems to Sparkle Your Day


Barbara Johnson - 2000
    And she's seen how a simple message of hope uplifts a life that's left in tatters.In these pages you'll find a daily dollop of Barbara's favorite jokes, heartwarming stories, witty cartoons, and heartache-survival strategies. Share a moment each morning with the Geranium Lady, and soon you, like Barbara, will realize you've been "blessed to be a blessing."

Jambalaya for the Soul: Humorous Stories and Cajun Recipes from the Bayou


Jesse Duplantis - 2000
    Readers will also enjoy the compilation of Duplantis family cajun recipes.

Laugh With Laxman


R.K. Laxman - 2000
    It is here that Laxman's sense of parodyand satire find some of their finest expressions. A selection of these rare and masterly cartoons which comment caustically on our social and political character were togethter in the first volume of "laugh with Laxman", and proved to be immensly popular. This is the second volume in the series replete with timeless gems that continue to amuse.

The Deer on a Bicycle: Excursions Into the Writing of Humor


Patrick F. McManus - 2000
    It is intended for those who write humor or have ever wanted to.

The Vicar of Dibley: The Great Big Companion to Dibley


Richard Curtis - 2000
    Meet the parishoners and fall in love with Dibley as the scripts of the television programme are published here in a "prayer-book" format.

Telling Tales


Alan Bennett - 2000
    When war breaks out in 1939, the Bennett family is on a tram heading down Tong Road as Neville Chamberlain addresses the nation. 'So, not quite partaking in the national mood and, as ever, unbrushed by the wings of history.'The precocious Alan yearns to see the places and lead the life he reads about in books, but not even the war provides the excitement he longs for. This is an ordinary childhood - hiking in the Dales on Sundays, trips into town with Mam - recalled with wry observation and ironic understatement, which is by turns moving and hilarious.These beautifully rendered snapshots, which include poignant portraits of his parents, confirm Bennett at the forefront of contemporary writing. Presented here as a new edition, Telling Tales will delight Bennett fans and enchant a new generation of readers.

Snatch: The Shooting Script


Guy Ritchie - 2000
    A diamond heist gone helter-skelter, the rough and tumble world of bare-knuckle boxing, an unpredictable Irish gypsy and...a dog. Writer-director Guy Ritchie's highly anticipated comedy takes the gangster genre into another dimension—hilarity. The colorful ensemble cast features Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Jason Flemyng, Vinnie Jones, Brad Pitt and Jason Statham. Double-crossing, double-bluffing and double-dealing abound as various parties pursue personal agendas—all of them illegal, some of them farcical and most of them involving an 86-carat diamond. As plans go haywire and tempers fray, dogs, diamonds, mobile homes, boxers and assorted weaponry get swept up into a chaotic free-for-all. Who will emerge with the stone? Snatch premiered in England in September 2000 to rave reviews and huge box office! This Newmarket Shooting Script® edition of the book includes the complete shooting script, an introduction by Ritchie, stills and credits.

Wilma's Wicked Revenge


Kaye Umansky - 2000
    When Wilma is denied the opportunity to become a Wicked Queen even though she has earned her Grade Three Magic certificate, she decides to get her revenge by devising a cunning plan that involves a girl named Snow Drop.

This is Spinal Tap: Official Companion


Karl French - 2000
    Largely ad-libbed by lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), lead singer David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), and bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer)-as well as a succession of drummers whose careers were cut short by spontaneously combusting, drowning in somebody else's vomit, or other untimely deaths- This Is Spinal Tap chronicles the band's latest American tour in a cunning satire of rock and roll culture.Now, just in time for the theatrical re-release of This is Spinal Tap, as well as the ensuing video and DVD release, comes The Official Companion, featuring: Fully illustrated textA complete transcript of the film (much of the film was ad-libbed, so an ordinary screenplay can lack entire scenes) Never-before-seen stills from cut footage A comprehensive A-to-Z Guide featuring everything you've ever wanted to know about This Is Spinal Tap Don't miss the chance to see behind the scenes of one of the most riotous and memorable satires of our time!

The Theory of Cat Gravity: Being Robin's Pet Theory


Robin Wood - 2000
    And, for just as many years, the people who have been listening and laughing have been asking for it to be all written down in a book. Well, finally, it is! The Theory of Cat Gravity, which is my Pet Theory, is all written out for your enjoyment, with decorations by Diana Harlan Stein who has been nominated for the Hugo Award several times. (I asked her to do it, because I can't do that many pictures in any reasonable amount of time anymore.) In it, I explain just what Cats are doing in those Window Ledges, and what that has to do with being immobilized by having a Cat on your Lap, and why things pile up under your bed and on your dining room table, and why it gets harder to move the older you get, and many other puzzling things. And it's all part of the same Unified Pet Theory. And not only that, but since the illustrations are all black and white line drawings, you can use it as a coloring book! If you have a cat, you are going to love this book. If you don't have a cat, you need it anyway to give to your friends who have cats. (But read it first, so that you are Warned! )

Eyeheart Everything


Mykle Hansen - 2000
    "Somewhere between the laughtrack of Mark Leyner's work and European surrealism, Hansen's stories shock, titillate, and bombard the reader with dark shards of comedy." - KEVIN SAMPSELL, author of Creamy Bullets

Dork Covenant


John Kovalic - 2000
    From dragon-filled dungeons to star treks, from comic book conventions to internet naughtiness, Dork Tower is the comic that put the "cult" back into sub-culture. Join Matt, Igor, Ken, Gilly the Perky Goth and Carson the Muskrat in their uproariously dorky adventures.

Leaking Laffs Between Pampers and Depends


Barbara Johnson - 2000
    Soon hordes of happy readers were flooding Barbara's mailbox with their own favorite jokes, touching stories, and hilarious tales of female misadventures.Now Barb has packed that amazing collection of wacky wit into this boisterously funny new book that's full of "laff leaks" about every stage of a woman's life?from diapers to dentures. No matter what stage of the "hormonal cesspool" you're splashing through, there's something here to touch your heart. You'll love Barb's quirky empty-nest de-cluttering strategies, her joyful insights on stress-soothing, husband-handling, kid-corralling, and parent-parenting in chapters like these:Having a Baby Is Like Writing a Book?Lots of Whining, Begging, and PushingWho Are These Kids, and Why Are They Calling Me Mom?I Finally Got My Head Together?Then My Body Fell ApartWe Started Out With Nothing?and Still Have Most of It LeftLeaking Laffs Between Pampers and Depends is a heart-warming ride over the waves of humor in God's endless sea of love.

NippleJesus


Nick Hornby - 2000
    NippleJesus was his own contribution, featuring "a bruiser (who) finds out that guarding modern art is far more hazardous than controlling the velvet ropes at a nightclub".

Further Stories from the Jatakas: 5 in 1 (Amar Chitra Katha)


Anant Pai - 2000
    Siddhartha, who later became the Buddha, is said to have gone through numerous births as a Bodhisattva to attain that status. The Bodhisattva came in many forms-man, monkey, elephant, deer and lion and in each form lived a virtuous life to spread the message of justice and wisdom, tempered with compassion. This wisdom of right thinking and right living has been preserved in the stories of the Jatakas.

うしおととら 第1巻 ワイド版


Kazuhiro Fujita - 2000
    Ushio accidentally unsealed the cave Tora was trapped in.

Monkey Business: The Lives and Legends of The Marx Brothers


Simon Louvish - 2000
    From Groucho Marx's first warblings with the singing Leroy Trio, this book brings to life the vanished world of America's wild and boisterous variety circuits, leading to the Marx Brothers' Broadway successes, and their alliance with New York's theatrical lions, George S. Kaufman and the 'Algonquin Round Table'.Never-before-published scripts, well-minted Marxian dialogue, and much madness and mayham feature in this tale of the Brothers' battles with Hollywood, their films, their loves and marriages, and the story of the forgotten brother Gummo.

In Search Of The World's Worst Writers


Nick Page - 2000
    This volume is a celebration of bad writing - a journey into the lives of writers so wonderfully awful, they have unwittingly arrived at genius from the other direction.

Harpo Speaks...About New York


Harpo Marx - 2000
    For a kid on the streets in 1902, every day demanded wit and improvisation. Beyond the door of the tenement at 179 East 93rd Street lay rival gangs, lucky breaks, failed hustles. While his mother, Minnie, was occupied elsewhere—planning her unruly brood’s ultimate destiny—Harpo roamed the streets doing what any self-respecting second-grade dropout would: grabbing the family’s one left-foot skate and heading to Central Park, preparing for the bonfires of a Tammany election night, and hopping on the El to watch “the Gods in Valhalla—which is to say, the New York Giants in the Polo Grounds.” With an unforgettable cast of characters, and set against turn-of-the-century Manhattan, Harpo Speaks . . . About New York overflows with the optimism and sweetness of the kid who, on the off-chance that “Sandy Claus” just might remember him, never forgot to hang his stocking in the airshaft on Christmas Eve.

Autobiography Of A One Year Old


Rohan Candappa - 2000
    From full and frank explanations as to why he sometime blows snot bubbles through his nose (because he can) to the mystery of the stalker (if someone had just explained to him about mirrors). From the frustrating stupidity of his parents (Hairy and Smooth) to delights of running around naked on the kitchen table, it's a truly enlightening and delightfully funny read. To every parent who's ever wearily wiped food from the floor and said 'Is this your idea of a game?' - beware. The One Year Old is about to reveal just how much he's been playing with you.

Live Long & Die Laughing


Mark Lowry - 2000
    Using material from his email newsletter, along with responses from its nearly 40,000 subscribers ("reMarkable,"www.marklowry.com), Lowry underscored the idea that God tirelessly loves and looks after his believers, no matter how quirky we are!

The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Novel for Serious People


Charles Osborne - 2000
    This edition contains substantial excerpts from the original four-act version which was never produed, as well as the full test of the final three-act version, selections from Wilde's correspondence, and commentary by George Bernard Shaw, Max Beerbohm, St. John Hankin, and James Agate.

Great Comedians Talk about Comedy


Larry Wilde - 2000
    Each engaging interview was painstakingly elicited by the author, who spent years researching, collecting the material and recording these intimate one-on-one conversations.

Unplugged


Selçuk Erdem - 2000
    

The Tick and Arthur #1


Sean Wang - 2000
    1 contains the complete 'Thorn of Oblivion' storyline from Tick and Arthur 1-3. A total of 100 pages with all 3 color covers from the original series included!

Groucho: The Life and Times of Julius Henry Marx


Stefan Kanfer - 2000
    Fields refused to follow it; the unprecedented Broadway success of The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers; the cinematic triumphs of Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera; and the marvelous come-back career as king of the game show hosts with You Bet Your Life. Here, too, is the man himself: a lonely middle child who aspired to be a doctor; a man who sabotaged three marriages; a father alternately indulgent and cruel. Intelligent and thorough, hilarious and sad, Groucho is a spectacular biography of the century’s most influential comedian.

Simpsons Comics A-Go-Go


Matt Groening - 2000
    Is Lisa really drifting helplessly toward bohemianism?Is Homer really a hitman in a Parallel-Universe Springfield?Can Marge manage her own day care center without provoking a bloodbath?Read on...

The Collected Plays, Vol. 1: We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! and Other Works


Dario Fo - 2000
    This courageous and controversial choice indirectly expands the modern definition of literature to include the power of the spoken word."Volume One includes:We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!ElizabethArchangels Don't Play PinballAbout Face

2.5 Minute Ride and 101 Humiliating Stories


Lisa Kron - 2000
    Best known for her ongoing work as a member of The Five Lesbian Brothers, Kron's solo pieces are very personal examinations of both herself and her family history. This is singularly clear in 2.5 Minute Ride, where her writing deftly maneuvers between the tragic drama of the Holocaust and the wry comedy of her family's attempts to pursue pleasure at the local amusement park. This critically acclaimed work played to sold out audience for over six months at New York's Public Theatre. Also included is the riotous 101 Humiliating Stories, which first premiered in 1993, and in fact only consists of seventeen tales but each, as the author observes, has several humiliations. It recounts the adventures and misadventures of a self-described Big Lesbian as she tests the boundaries of decorum in social and professional situations.

Never Mind Pants (Ozy and Millie, Book 2)


D.C. Simpson - 2000
    

GURPS IOU: Welcome to Illuminati University!


Elizabeth McCoy - 2000
    College would have been more fun if you were allowed to blow up the instructors. And you really would have liked to major in Military Biology, Anti-Social Sciences, Double-Entendre Bookkeeping, or Computer Wizardry. Too bad you didn't know about IOU. Illuminati University is THE best place to learn Things Man Was Not Meant To Know. With departments like Weird and Unusual Science and Engineering, Inapplicable Mathematics, Misanthropology, and Zen Surrealism . . . not to mention extracurricular activities like Democrats for Cthulhu, Moopsball, and food fights that set off nuclear alerts . . . this is college as it should have been. And gadgets? Everything from the Crockpot of the Gods to the Enigmatic Alien Device Button-Pushing Table. Illustrated by the one and only (two and only?) Phil and Kaja Foglio, this book supports three different campaign styles . . . Silly, Weird, and Darkly Illuminated. GURPS IOU takes you from creating a character to enrolling in classes, to study, finals, and the occasional academic blood feud, all the way to graduation. If you survive.

The Forgetting of Wisdom: A Humorous Collection of Thoughts about Gods, Cockroaches, Kissing and the Meaning of Things


Paul McDermott - 2000
    

Me Talk Pretty One Day


David Sedaris - 2000
    His family is another inspiration. You Can't Kill the Rooster is a portrait of his brother, who talks incessant hip-hop slang to his bewildered father. And no one hones a finer fury in response to such modern annoyances as restaurant meals presented in ludicrous towers of food and cashiers with six-inch fingernails.

Mrs. Dot; A Farce in Three Acts


W. Somerset Maugham - 2000
    Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

The Complete Goodies


Robert Ross - 2000
    

Crossdresser Therapy- Make Me a Shameless Bottom


Taro Kawayuka - 2000
    But, the incident also left him hungering for taboo pleasures... Driven by the raging conflict between his mind and body, Kei visits a crossdresser "massage" parlor. There, he finds himself opening up completely to a "gal" named Nana, despite knowing there's a guy under those clothes. Kei's overwhelmed at first by his body's sheer sensitivity, but he soon starts wanting it... deeper. Blushing and hesitant, he musters the courage to spread his legs for Nana...!"We only just met, and my finger's practically making you melt... Oh my god, Kei. You're coming so hard with your whole body."An innocent college student with a weakness for pleasure seeks a lesson in bottom play from a masterful crossdresser!

That Was Satire That Was: Beyond the Fringe, the Establishment Club, Private Eye, That Was the Week That Was


Humphrey Carpenter - 2000
    The first teenagers were ripe to exploit an austere, recovering Britain, which they saw as stale and complacent. Enter the Bright Young Things: Alan Bennett, Richard Ingrams, Willy Rushton, Jonathan Miller, David Frost, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. Their combined energies gave rise to now-legendary endeavours such as Beyond the Fringe, the club The Establishment, That Was the Week That Was (TW3) and Private Eye. For the post-Goon generation, these young satirists tore up the rulebooks with a sneer worthy of their Restoration precursors. Ribald, clever undergraduate humour touched nerves people didn't know they had, and within weeks, hundreds of unsolicited scripts were being received from hopeful sixth formers. Everyone wanted to be funny. Today, everyone is. "Satire is now an industry," laments one, the producer of Have I Got News For You. It's hard now to imagine the impact such irreverence made, but author and broadcaster Humphrey Carpenter does his best to bring the era alive. The halcyon days of the Satirical 60s were short, primarily between 1961, when Beyond the Fringe opened, and the end of 1963, when the BBC took TW3 off air. Drawing on personal interviews, scripts and assorted memoirs, Carpenter pieces together the creative processes, the different personalities and the inevitable frictions. Lurking among the soundbites, sideswipes and reappraisals is the ghost of Peter Cook: the most natural star, inspirational, yet doomed to a frustrated, alcoholic demise. Carpenter does not have space to do detailed personal justice to these complex, fascinating figures (see Harry Thompson's superb Peter Cook: A Biography), but his sympathetic eye keenly picks out the fine details of these disparate talents, who paved the way for shows such as Monty Python and Spitting Image. He ends this agreeably nostalgic account by describing how an Internet search engine throws up a hairdressers in Leeds, Alan Bennett's hometown, when he enters the phrase "Beyond the Fringe". Now that's beyond satire. --David Vincent

The Somewhat True Tale Of Robin Hood


Mary Lynn Dobson - 2000
    This VERY tongue-in-cheek version of the legend pits spoon-wielding Merry Men against the Prince John and his evil sidekick the Sheriff of Nottingham in one silly situation after another. Prince John plans to prevent Robin's do-gooding by capturing Maid Marian and marrying her off to the Sheriff of Nottingham. Will Robin win the day? That depends on if he remembers his bowling shoes.

A Stranger Here Myself: Being The Life Story And Revelations Of Mister Rab C. Nesbitt Of Govan


Ian Pattison - 2000
    

うしおととら (2) (Ushio and Tora #2)


Kazuhiro Fujita - 2000
    Ushio accidentally unsealed the cave Tora was trapped in.

A Local Book for Local People (The League of Gentlemen)


Mark Gatiss - 2000
    Viewers of the program saw the Local Shop attacked by a mob from Royston Vasey and burnt to the ground. Local Shopkeepers Tubbs and Edward were last seen engulfed by flames and falling masonry. But unbeknown to Edward, Tubbs had been keeping a scrapbook of things she had found on the moors, which she called "a local book for local people." Recovered from the smoking ruins of the building, 4th Estate now presents an exact facsimile of that scrapbook. It contains fold-out maps, photographs, brochures, guides to sites of local interest, Herr Lipp's pink pomplet, Val and Harvey Denton's toad-themed wallpaper, and much, much more.

Best of Friends


Pirkko Vainio - 2000
    Hare is little. Bear is big. Hare likes carrots. Bear prefers fish. Despite their differences, they are friends. They help one another. They laugh together and play together and share special moments together. They are friends--"Little Hare and Big Bear.

Little Book of Living Green


Mark Hegarty - 2000
    Witty and concise, Hegarty offers practical tips like donating your gently used items to charity or using baking soda and vinegar instead of harsh chemical-based solvents that are toxic to the environment. The book teaches rather than preaches by including humorous asides and line-drawn cartoons also sketched by Hegarty. The book is printed on recycled paper with sustainable soy ink.

Steven Appleby's Encyclopedia of Personal Problems


Steven Appleby - 2000
    So don't be shy, take this book and make use of the clever alphabetical filing system to track down your very own unpleasant personal problem! You'll feel relief wash over you as your 'difficulty' pales to insignificance when compared to: possession by the devil, foot-in-mouth disease, husbands, fear of toasters, and much, much more. . .Copiously illustrated and punishingly funny, Steven Appleby's Encyclopedia of Personal Problems is a must have, even for those rare creatures without a personal problem (see "Denial," page 94).

Clinton & Me: How Eight Years Of A Pants Free Presidency Changed My Nation, My Family And My Life


Michael Graham - 2000
    From the murder trial of Leonardo diCaprio (did you miss that) to intimate notes between Bill and Hil, Michael Graham's happy-go-lucky cynicism is a reader's delight.

It's All True


Jason Sherman - 2000
    Art and politics collide when the goverment padlocks the doors of the theatre on the opening night of Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock. The director, Orson Welles, marches the actors and most of the audience down Seventh Avenue and finds another theatre, and in one brilliant stroke makes theatre history.

To Russell My Brother Whom I Slept Wi


Bill Cosby - 2000