Love All the People: The Essential Bill Hicks

( 4 )

All Available Formats + Editions

——

$9.57

NOOK Book

——

$9.57

Love All the People (eBook - New edition) Pub. Date: 6/1/2009 Publisher: Constable & Robinson
$4.49

$12.84

Paperback

$4.49

$12.84

Love All the People: The Essential Bill Hicks (Revised Edition) Pub. Date: 9/1/2008 Publisher: Counterpoint LLC

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

Advertising

Overview

Love All the People, a collection of controversial comedian Bill Hicks’ stand-up routines, notebooks, journals, and letters, traces his evolution from brilliant conventional stand-up to something far more interesting and dangerous: a comic speaking without fear. The result is a radical philosopher masquerading as a comedian, plumbing the American psyche with challenging (and side-splitting) conclusions. Hicks, who died of cancer in 1993, didn’t go the easy way with his humor. He attacked the lies that justified the carnage of the Gulf War, the preposterous power of the mainstream media to confuse and corrupt, and the demeaning cynicism of the marketing culture. In Love All the People, that renegade comic artistry that made Bill Hicks an iconoclastic social commentator is recorded, celebrated, and revealed as true genius in this expanded edition that includes additional routines and other writings.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781593762018
Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
Publication date: 9/1/2008
Edition description: Revised Edition
Pages: 336
Sales rank: 371,399
Product dimensions: 5.10 (w) x 7.70 (h) x 1.20 (d)

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5

( 4 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(2)

4 Star

(2)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines

Tell the world what you think of this product.

Add Recommendations

Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

- HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
- Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
- Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
- Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
- Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
- Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
- Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
- See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.

Tim_McGinnis

Posted February 23, 2009

This is a great book. But PLEASE make the effort to watch and listen to the man at work.

Bill Hicks was, and is, one of this country's most original, thought provoking, and controversial comedians/performance artists. And yet, there are so many people who have no idea who the man was. As we near the 15th anniversary of Hicks' premature death at the incredibly young age of 32, there has been a resurgence of Hicks' work being discussed and shown. This is in no small part due to David Letterman's very recent devotion of essentially an entire show to the man, with Hicks' mother as his guest, and Letterman showing an excised routine that Hicks did on CBS's The Late Show in late 1993. While that performance did not represent the "real" performance characteristics of Bill Hicks (he was very ill at the time, and was (intending to be) on national television), it prompted Letterman to comment on how the topical nature of the routine was not stale, even at 15 years old, and that Hicks indeed was ahead of his time.
With all that said, this book is a must have for the Hicks fan as well as the uninitiated. It is not for the faint of heart when it comes to the skewering of American political conservatism, organized religion, society's view of illegal substances, and any number of other topics that most all other comics avoid like the career ending plague that they could be. The book chronicles some of Hicks' early experiences as a fledgling comic (who sold out comedy clubs at the age of 14!), but spends more effort as a timeline of his journey throughout the last stages of his career. This is accomplished by the printed transcripts of several Hicks routines as he began to illuminate on any number of social issues in a comedic setting. Also included are some writings that Hicks himself produced, including some short stories and essays. I was pleasantly surprised to discover what a gifted writer Bill Hicks was. Also included is a fantastic and enlightening forward by John Lahr who was close to Hicks, especially during the period just prior to his death.
The timeline also encompasses Hicks' journey of spiritual awakening and discovery, and his development of a relationship and oneness with God. Some would view Bill Hicks as some sort of Godless atheist on an attack against those who love the Lord. This was anything but the case. But one has to experience Hicks' journey through his words and reasoning to understand where the man came from, and where he ended up.
I highly recommend this book. But please, take the time and effort to view Hicks at work. I mentioned earlier that Hicks was a comedian AND a performance artist. I stand by this. Bill Hicks did not fire off jokes, get some giggles, and trot off stage. Hicks viewed himself as a truth teller, a preacher. He was charismatic on stage and acted out his one man "dark poetry" in a manner that sucked the viewer in, and then delivered a blow. Sometimes the blow was subtle, but often not. To appreciate the transcripts of routines (which are, in all fairness, sometimes redundant) one needs to have a perspective on how Hicks talked, moved, acted, screamed, fought, and communed with his audience. One doesn't see that on "Late Show" appearances. These are better viewed through his HBO special and club performances which, luckily have been preserved.
Buy this book. Read this book. But also study the man in action. You may not agree with his message. However, he will certainly make you think.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Anonymous

Posted February 19, 2009

No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous

Posted March 29, 2009

No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous

Posted November 27, 2008

No text was provided for this review.

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble