About the Book
A comprehensive and hilarious guide to understanding the many Monty Python jokes and allusions
Throughout their five seasons on British television (and well into the troop's movie sequels and assorted solo projects), Monty Python became a worldwide symbol not only for taking serious subjects and making them silly, but also for treating silly subjects seriously.
Monty Python provided a treasure trove of erudite "in" jokes, offering sly allusions to subjects as diverse as T.S. Elliot's "Murder in the Cathedral" (as part of a commercial for a weight loss product) and how to conjugate Latin properly (as explained by a Roman centurion to a Jewish zealot painting anti-Roman graffiti on a wall). It was this combination of the uniquely highbrow but silly humor that inspired countless followers (Saturday Night Live, to name one). This hilarious and helpful guide puts Python's myriad references into context for the legion of fans, scholars, and pop culture aficionados that still strive to "get" Monty Python.
About the Author :
DR. BRIAN COGAN is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Communication at Molloy College. The author of The Encyclopedia of Punk, he has also written numerous articles on punk rock, comic books, and the intersection of politics and popular culture.
DR. JEFF MASSEY is professor of English at Molloy College. He is the vice president of MEARCSTAPA, the coeditor of Heads Will Roll!: Decapitation in the Medieval and Early Modern Imagination, and the author of sundry articles.
Review :
The authors clearly know their Python, and they also know how much the Pythons themselves knew about virtually everything, up to and including the Spanish Inquisition. The New York Times
The authors get the jokes as well as the anger behind many of them...With helpful books like this one, readers may be more alert to the persistent absurdities of modern life and to the bracing anarchy preached by Monty Python. The Washington Post
Excellent...The focus on the important bits, the ones that really break the wall down, is where this work really shines. San Francisco Book Review
A clever concept [and] an interesting take on the Pythons. Kirkus Reviews
Here devoted Python fans Cogan and Massey suggest that what made the show unique was its many in-jokes and references to history, philosophy, politics, pop culture, the arts, the sciences, and . . . well, pretty much everything[...]Their argument is undeniably persuasive: as anyone who's spent the best years of his or her life becoming a word-perfect reciter of Python sketches will tell you, there's a lot to be learned, if you just pay attention. Booklist
Monty Python fans will applaud the efforts of fellow fans Cogan and Massey who introduce the surreal comedy group to the uninitiated by exploring the historical, political, literary, artistic, and even religious contexts for many of the troupe's sketches. Publishers Weekly
As a lifelong Python fanatic, I've read just about everything ever written about them. How refreshing to see a new take on the phenomenon the educational value of Monty Python! Everything I Needed to Know About __I learned from Monty Python proves something that I always suspected Monty Python is good for you. Well written, thoroughly researched and often very funny, I couldn't put this book down. (Note to authors: please make the paperback version less sticky) Jason Lamb. cohost The Morning Zone, The Zone 91-3, Victoria, BC, Canada
"
The authors clearly know their Python, and they also know how much the Pythons themselves knew about virtually everything, up to and including the Spanish Inquisition. "The New York Times"
The authors get the jokes as well as the anger behind many of them...With helpful books like this one, readers may be more alert to the persistent absurdities of modern life and to the bracing anarchy preached by Monty Python. "The Washington Post"
Excellent...The focus on the important bits, the ones that really break the wall down, is where this work really shines. "San Francisco Book Review"
A clever concept [and] an interesting take on the Pythons. "Kirkus Reviews"
Here devoted Python fans Cogan and Massey suggest that what made the show unique was its many in-jokes and references to history, philosophy, politics, pop culture, the arts, the sciences, and . . . well, pretty much everything[...]Their argument is undeniably persuasive: as anyone who's spent the best years of his or her life becoming a word-perfect reciter of Python sketches will tell you, there's a lot to be learned, if you just pay attention. "Booklist"
Monty Python fans will applaud the efforts of fellow fans Cogan and Massey who introduce the surreal comedy group to the uninitiated by exploring the historical, political, literary, artistic, and even religious contexts for many of the troupe's sketches. "Publishers Weekly"
As a lifelong Python fanatic, I've read just about everything ever written about them. How refreshing to see a new take on the phenomenon the educational value of Monty Python! "Everything I Needed to Know About __I learned from Monty Python" proves something that I always suspected Monty Python is good for you. Well written, thoroughly researched and often very funny, I couldn't put this book down. (Note to authors: please make the paperback version less sticky) "Jason Lamb. cohost The Morning Zone, The Zone 91-3, Victoria, BC, Canada""
"The authors clearly know their Python, and they also know how much the Pythons themselves knew about virtually everything, up to and including the Spanish Inquisition."
--"The New York Times
""The authors get the jokes as well as the anger behind many of them...With helpful books like this one, readers may be more alert to the persistent absurdities of modern life and to the bracing anarchy preached by Monty Python."
--"The Washington Post
""Excellent...The focus on the important bits, the ones that really break the wall down, is where this work really shines."
--"San Francisco Book Review
""A clever concept...[and] an interesting take on the Pythons."
--"Kirkus Reviews
""Here devoted Python fans Cogan and Massey suggest that what made the show unique was its many in-jokes and references to history, philosophy, politics, pop culture, the arts, the sciences, and . . . well, pretty much everything[...]Their argument is undeniably persuasive: as anyone who's spent the best years of his or her life becoming a word-perfect reciter of Python sketches will tell you, there's a lot to be learned, if you just pay attention."
--"Booklist
""Monty Python fans will applaud the efforts of fellow fans Cogan and Massey who introduce the surreal comedy group to the uninitiated by exploring the historical, political, literary, artistic, and even religious contexts for many of the troupe's sketches."
--"Publishers Weekly
""As a lifelong Python fanatic, I've read just about everything ever written about them. How refreshing to see a new take on the phenomenon -the educational value of Monty Python! "Everything I Needed to Know About __I learned from Monty Python" proves something that I always suspected -Monty Python is good for you. Well written, thoroughly researched and often very funny, I couldn't put this book down. (Note to authors: please make the paperback version less sticky)"
--Jason Lamb. cohost The Morning Zone, The Zone 91-3, Victoria, BC, Canada
"Excellent...The focus on the important bits, the ones that really break the wall down, is where this work really shines."
--"San Francisco Book Review
""A clever concept...[and] an interesting take on the Pythons."
--"Kirkus Reviews
""Here devoted Python fans Cogan and Massey suggest that what made the show unique was its many in-jokes and references to history, philosophy, politics, pop culture, the arts, the sciences, and . . . well, pretty much everything[...]Their argument is undeniably persuasive: as anyone who's spent the best years of his or her life becoming a word-perfect reciter of Python sketches will tell you, there's a lot to be learned, if you just pay attention."
--"Booklist
""Monty Python fans will applaud the efforts of fellow fans Cogan and Massey who introduce the surreal comedy group to the uninitiated by exploring the historical, political, literary, artistic, and even religious contexts for many of the troupe's sketches."
--"Publishers Weekly"
"A clever concept...[and] an interesting take on the Pythons."
--"Kirkus Reviews "on "Everything I Ever Needed to Know About _____* I Learned from Monty Python
""Here devoted Python fans Cogan and Massey suggest that what made the show unique was its many in-jokes and references to history, philosophy, politics, pop culture, the arts, the sciences, and . . . well, pretty much everything[...]Their argument is undeniably persuasive: as anyone who's spent the best years of his or her life becoming a word-perfect reciter of Python sketches will tell you, there's a lot to be learned, if you just pay attention."
--"Booklist "on "Everything I Ever Needed to Know About _____* I Learned from Monty Python
""Monty Python fans will applaud the efforts of fellow fans Cogan and Massey who introduce the surreal comedy group to the uninitiated by exploring the historical, political, literary, artistic, and even religious contexts for many of the troupe's sketches."
--"Publishers Weekly "on "Everything I Ever Needed to Know About _____* I Learned from Monty Python
""Cogan nicely succeeds in producing a useful resource illustrating the urgency and importance of punk rock from its mid-1970s start to the movement's vitality in the present day."
--"Publishers Weekly" on "The Encyclopedia of Punk
""The book is unique. . .[and] will be appreciated by those who are curious about punk and its origins, and what punk's been up to lately."
--"Booklist "on "The Encyclopedia of Punk"
"Here devoted Python fans Cogan and Massey suggest that what made the show unique was its many in-jokes and references to history, philosophy, politics, pop culture, the arts, the sciences, and . . . well, pretty much everything[...]Their argument is undeniably persuasive: as anyone who's spent the best years of his or her life becoming a word-perfect reciter of Python sketches will tell you, there's a lot to be learned, if you just pay attention."
--"Booklist "on "Everything I Ever Needed to Know About _____* I Learned from Monty Python
""Monty Python fans will applaud the efforts of fellow fans Cogan and Massey who introduce the surreal comedy group to the uninitiated by exploring the historical, political, literary, artistic, and even religious contexts for many of the troupe's sketches."
--"Publishers Weekly "on "Everything I Ever Needed to Know About _____* I Learned from Monty Python
""Cogan nicely succeeds in producing a useful resource illustrating the urgency and importance of punk rock from its mid-1970s start to the movement's vitality in the present day."
--"Publishers Weekly" on "The Encyclopedia of Punk
""The book is unique. . .[and] will be appreciated by those who are curious about punk and its origins, and what punk's been up to lately."
--"Booklist "on "The Encyclopedia of Punk"
"Cogan nicely succeeds in producing a useful resource illustrating the urgency and importance of punk rock from its mid-1970s start to the movement's vitality in the present day." --"Publishers Weekly" on "The Encyclopedia of Punk"
"The book is unique. . .[and] will be appreciated by those who are curious about punk and its origins, and what punk's been up to lately." --"Booklist "on "The Encyclopedia of Punk"
