The Story Of The Goons
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Yellowed
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
Before Monty Python, before alternative comedy, before British humour was exported to the world, there were The Goons — and nothing was ever quite the same again. The Story of the Goons is an intimate biographical account of the three extraordinary men — Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, and Harry Secombe — whose anarchic genius, forged in the chaos of post-war Britain, gave birth to one of the most revolutionary comedy acts the world has ever witnessed. Alfred Draper chronicles their individual journeys, from humble and often turbulent beginnings to the dizzying heights of international fame, capturing both the brilliance and the personal costs that came with it. Draper writes with warmth and authority, painting a vivid portrait of a creative partnership that was as volatile as it was inspired, held together by mutual respect, shared absurdity, and an almost pathological compulsion to make people laugh. The book illuminates the broader cultural landscape of mid-twentieth-century Britain, arguing that The Goons didn't merely reflect the national mood — they fundamentally reshaped it. For fans of comedy history and anyone who has ever marvelled at the sheer, untamed originality of The Goon Show, this is an essential and deeply human story that asks: what does it truly cost a man to make the world laugh?
Author: Alfred Draper
Format: Paperback
Genre: Biography
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Yellowed
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
Before Monty Python, before alternative comedy, before British humour was exported to the world, there were The Goons — and nothing was ever quite the same again. The Story of the Goons is an intimate biographical account of the three extraordinary men — Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, and Harry Secombe — whose anarchic genius, forged in the chaos of post-war Britain, gave birth to one of the most revolutionary comedy acts the world has ever witnessed. Alfred Draper chronicles their individual journeys, from humble and often turbulent beginnings to the dizzying heights of international fame, capturing both the brilliance and the personal costs that came with it. Draper writes with warmth and authority, painting a vivid portrait of a creative partnership that was as volatile as it was inspired, held together by mutual respect, shared absurdity, and an almost pathological compulsion to make people laugh. The book illuminates the broader cultural landscape of mid-twentieth-century Britain, arguing that The Goons didn't merely reflect the national mood — they fundamentally reshaped it. For fans of comedy history and anyone who has ever marvelled at the sheer, untamed originality of The Goon Show, this is an essential and deeply human story that asks: what does it truly cost a man to make the world laugh?