'Back to those haunting days in Italy in 1944, at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, with lava running in great red rivulets down the slope towards us, and Jock taking a drag on his cigarette and saying, 'I think we've got grounds for a rent rebate.''
The fifth volume of Spike Milligan's unsurpassed account of life as a Bombardier in World War Two sees our hero dispatched from the front line to psychiatric hospital and from there to a rehabilitation camp. Considered loony (and 'unfit to be killed in combat by either side'), he becomes embroiled in his own private battle with melancholy. But it is music, wit and a little help from his friends - including one Gunner Harry Secombe - that help carry him through to his first stage appearances . .
About the Author
When Spike Milligan died in 2002, he left behind one of the most diverse legacies in British entertainment history -- as well as a legion of devoted fans and admirers. His themes ranged from environmental issues to the war, from nostalgia to depression, and his prolific output covers some of the most evocative events of the twentieth century, in a style both twistedly comic and harrowingly honest.
The most irreverent, hilarious book about the war that I have ever read Sunday Express Brilliant verbal pyrotechnics ... throwaway lines and marvelous anecdotes Daily Mail Desperately funny, vivid, vulgar Sunday Times Close in stature to Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear in his command of the profound art of nonsense Guardian Milligan is the Great God to all of us -- John Cleese The Godfather of Alternative Comedy -- Eddie Izzard That absolutely glorious way of looking at things differently. A great man -- Stephen Fry Manifestly a genius, a comic surrealist genius and had no equal -- Terry Wogan A totally original comedy writer -- Michael Palin
ISBN: 9780241958131
ISBN-10: 024195813X
Audience:
General
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 288
Published: 6th September 2012
Dimensions (cm): 19.8 x 12.9
x 1.8
Weight (kg): 0.195