Diaries: The Python Years, 1969-1979

"Michael Palin is not just one of Britain's foremost comedy character actors, he also talks a lot. Yap, yap, yap he goes, all day long and through the night . . . then, some nights, when everyone else has gone to bed, he goes home and writes up a diary." --John Cleese "For Palin it has been one hell of a ride, but he seems to have maintained equilibrium all along the way. . . . In sum, it's tempting to call him a Renaissance Man. But that, as any Pythonite would be quick to tell you, would be silly." --Jonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post Book World" Michael Palin has kept a diary since he was newly married in the late 1960s, when he was beginning to make a name for himself as a TV scriptwriter, and Monty Python was just around the corner. This volume of his diaries reveals how Python emerged and triumphed, how he, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, the two Terrys--Jones and Gilliam--and Eric Idle came together and changed the face of British comedy. But this is but only part of Palin's story. Here too is his growing family, his home in a north London Victorian terrace, his solo effort as an actor," " and his writing endeavours (often in partnership with Terry Jones) that produce "Ripping Yarns" and even a pantomime. Meanwhile, Monty Python refuses to go away: his account of the making of both "The Holy Grail" and the "Life of Brian" movies are page-turners, and the sometimes extraordinary goings-on of the many powerful personalities who coalesced to form the Python team makes for funny and riveting reading. A perceptive and witty chronicle, the diaries are a rich portrait of a fascinating period. " C]harming and at times revelatory . . . A voice of (relative sanity) in the eye of a comedic storm, Palin paints so vivid a picture that the reader becomes a Python by proxy." --"The New York Times Book Review ""It is terrifically good: funny, astute, and wonderfully written. . . . "--"The Boston Globe ""This combination of niceness, with his natural volubility, creates Palin's expansiveness." ---David Baddiel, "The Times ""A real delight to read." ---"Saga "Magazine (UK) "His showbiz observations are so absorbing. . . . Palin is an elegant and engaging writer." ---William Cook, "The Guardian" (UK) "A wealth of fascinating stuff about Monty Python." ---"The Independent" (UK) "Our favourite TV explorer shows us the workings of an unstoppable machine." ---"Daily Express" (UK) "A riveting commentary to a remarkably creative decade." ---"Academy" (UK)