Bigger Than Hitler [Abridged, Audiobook, CD] [Audio CD]

Rik Mayall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 2005

In this electrifying autobiography, Rik stands naked in front of his vast legions of fans and disciples and invites them to take communion with the blood he has spilled for them during his thirty year war on show business. He invented alternative comedy with The Young Ones, he brought down the Thatcher administration with The New Statesman and he changed the face of global culture with his masterpiece Bottom. Not only was his number one single Living Doll the saviour of rock 'n' roll but he also rescued the British film industry with the vast revenues created by his legendary movie Drop Dead Fred. In 1998, he survived an assassination attempt and spent five days in a coma before he literally came back from the dead. Having completed countless phenomenal feature films, TV series, live extravaganzas and radio voice-overs since then, Rik Mayall is now poised on the brink of a whole new epoch-shattering revolution. For the first time ever, Rik reveals in print the deep inner truth behind his gargantuan ascent to the pinnacle of international light entertainment -- the mental hospitals he has broken out of, the television executives he has assaulted, the drugs he has definitely not taken, the charities he has bankrupted, the countless pregnancies he has engendered, and so much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'a ludicrous!very funny -- fusion of fact and comic fantasy' The Times '! a dense clootie dumpling of a book.' Sunday Herald '! hilariously irreverent !' Daily Express 'It's a masterpiece in tongue-in-cheek ego-mania, a comic tour de force or -- if you are the ghost of Mary Whitehouse -- a nasty, smelly, subversive book about an incurable bighead who shouldn't be on the telly, let alone in print.' The Journal, Newcastle upon Tyne '! should get a few old farts in Tunbridge Wells trying to work out how to send emails ! Mayall's disciples will love this nook and he might win over several million more followers with it.' Sport Lads Mag (plus four stars) '! full of fun and laughter, just like the man himself. A word of warning: don't read it in public !the belly-laughs may cause embarrassment.' Nottingham Evening Post ***** Nuts Magazine --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Rik Mayall is one of Britain's most prolific and outrageous comedians and has been creating masterpieces for the large and small screen for over twenty years. Although his private and public life may have made the headlines on numerous occasions, Rik has remained relatively allusive!until now!well, sort of. Bigger than Hitler: Better than Christ does exactly what it says on the slightly misleading tin, telling us the whole story with a few red herrings thrown in for a tasty measure.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Harpercollins Audio; Abridged edition edition (September 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007211279
• ISBN-13: 978-0007211272
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Mayall, January 5, 2009

By 

Rosalind Dalefield "Rosalind" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bigger than Hitler-Better than Christ (Paperback)

If you love Rik Mayall's humor, you'll love this book. If you are unfamiliar with Rik Mayall, you'll probably be mystified. Speaking for myself, I'm keeping this one to revisit time and again.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Title Says It All, November 12, 2007

By 

Amy A. Behrbaum (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bigger than Hitler-Better than Christ (Paperback)

The Rik Mayall is great (anyone with any sense knows that) and this book is proof. Although it can at times seem as though the Rik Mayall is ranting and confused, I have come to realize it is only because I cannot, as I am not the Rik Mayall (there can only be one), fully understand the true and perfect genius that the Rik Mayall embodies and expresses in this brilliant autobiography. If you have ever enjoyed Bottom and/or The Young Ones, you will love Bigger than Hitler, Better Than Christ. Rik Mayall is sex. Oh, and there's loads of pictures, too (which is awesome).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If you love The Rik, you may not like this, April 30, 2011

By 

Paul Stanley (FL, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bigger than Hitler-Better than Christ (Paperback)

I'm The Rik Mayall's biggest fan, to the extent of even loving Filthy, Rich and Catflap (I'm the only person I've ever met who liked this series), but BTH-BTC just doesn't work for me. Yes, there are funny parts now and again, but they're often hiding amongst an onslaught of tedious nonsense. It helps as you read it, if you hear Rik Mayall's voice in your head, but even this doesn't relieve the tedium. The overall concept behind the book is not bad (a sort-of autobiography, with 10% fact and 90% bollocks), but it doesn't stick to that formula consistently enough.

At the end of the day, this needed editing. As it stands, it reads like a first draft. This book could have been transformed into something quite unique and readable if a decent editor had inserted his input into The Rik's passages (ooer obviously).