The Greedy Bastard Diary: A Comic Tour of America

The man who brought you the anthems "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" and "Sit on My Face and Tell Me That You Love Me" shows his naughty bits — and so much more.

A stunningly witty exploration of the American landscape — not to mention a brilliant comic's mind — this diary is chock-full of everything you ever wanted to know about Eric Idle, Monty Python, America, and sleeping on a bus. In these pages the sixth-nicest Python is cheeky, touching and funny when recounting the riotous tales of his beginnings, his school days in a Dickensian academy for boys, and his affectionate reminiscences of fellow Pythons, traveling the world, as well as his longtime friend, George Harrison.

Astonishing, moving, at times even amusing, this chronicle of Idle's road trip during his Greedy Bastard Tour will improve your sex life dramatically. After only a few pages you will begin to feel intelligent, charming, and clever, then aroused, then funny. And after a few chapters whatever personal or health problems you are experiencing will immediately vanish. So come experience 80 days, 15,750 miles, and 49 cities as you never have before!

"During his eponymous tour, playwright, novelist and 'third tallest member of Monty Python' Idle posted a daily Internet diary — 'a lap dance across America via laptop' — whose entries he's polished and updated for this book. Taking readers from Vermont to Vegas as he attempts standup for the first time, and writing with wit and honesty, Idle mixes memoir and tales from his tour bus, which is, he says, 'like traveling in your own suitcase.' With the 80-day expedition through 49 cities neatly niched into 80 chapters, Idle offers a Pythonesque pastiche of goofy observations as he analyzes audiences, dissects his nightly performances and recalls showbiz friendships. He also muses on the passing landscape ('In the chasm of the glacial valley we travel through the deep blue of the morning, staring up at awesome pillars of mountain piled high into mighty citadels'). The travelogue is punctuated with puns and Cockney rhyming slang, but it's not all fun and games. Idle offers a moving account of his mother's death and a harrowing description of a bleeding George Harrison struggling in 1999 against a knife-wielding intruder. 16-page color photo insert not seen by PW." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"...Idle's ruminations dazzle, amuse, and even move us: his recollections of his father's untimely death and his own unhappy childhood in English boarding schools are particularly poignant." Booklist

"If Idle really was worried about whether he'd lost the comic touch, he was wasting his time. He is a very funny man, and this is a very funny book." Washington Post

The legendary star of Monty Python fame takes fans on a deeply personal and hilarious whirlwind tour around America in this memoir published to coincide with the spring 2005 opening of Spamalot, the new musical adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 16-page color photos insert.

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A stunningly witty exploration of the American landscape — not to mention a brilliant comic's mind — this diary is chock-full of everything you ever wanted to know about Eric Idle, Monty Python, America, and sleeping on a bus. In these pages, the sixth-nicest Python is cheeky, touching, and funny when recounting the riotous tales of his beginnings, his affectionate reminiscences of his fellow Pythons, traveling the world, and taking us backstage at the smash Broadway hit Spamalot.

Fascinating, moving, at times even amusing, this book will dramatically improve your sex life, will make you feel intelligent and charming within the first several pages, and after a few chapters, will permanently eliminate all your personal or health problems. So come experience eighty days, 15,750 miles, and forty-nine cities as you never have before!

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Eric Idle, versatile actor, writer, composer and director, is best known for his work in the groundbreaking comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus. He has appeared in numerous films and televisions series, and his voice work includes 102 Dalmations and Quest For Camelot.