or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
41 used & new from $4.21
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
Sorry!
X
The Magic Christian (Terry Southern)
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

The Magic Christian (Terry Southern) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "When not tending New York holdings, Guy Grand was generally, as he expressed it, "on the go..." (more)
Key Phrases: bridge house, Guy Grand, Ginger Horton, New York (more...)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
List Price: $14.95
Price: $10.17 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $4.78 (32%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Tuesday, November 10? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
19 new from $8.22 22 used from $4.21

Also Available in:

 List Price: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover (1st)     4 used & new from $18.50
Paperback     11 used & new from $9.84
Audio Cassette     5 used & new from $8.96
Unknown Binding     3 used & new from $9.99

Frequently Bought Together

The Magic Christian (Terry Southern) + Red-Dirt Marijuana and Other Tastes + Candy
Price For All Three: $37.29

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: The Magic Christian (Terry Southern) by Terry Southern

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Red-Dirt Marijuana and Other Tastes by Terry Southern

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Candy by Terry Southern

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Candy

Candy

by Terry Southern
4.0 out of 5 stars (21)  $9.17
Blue Movie (Terry Southern)

Blue Movie (Terry Southern)

by Terry Southern
4.4 out of 5 stars (16)  $12.60
The Magic Christian

The Magic Christian

DVD ~ Peter Sellers
3.8 out of 5 stars (58)  $10.49
Flash and Filigree (Southern, Terry)

Flash and Filigree (Southern, Terry)

by Terry Southern
4.7 out of 5 stars (6)  $12.00
Now Dig This: The Unspeakable Writings of Terry Southern, 1950-1995 (Southern, Terry)

Now Dig This: The Unspeakable Writings of Terry Southern, 1950-1995 (Southern, Terry)

by Terry Southern
4.3 out of 5 stars (6)  $11.05
› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

One of the funniest, cruelest, and most savagely revealing books about American life ever written, The Magic Christian has been called Terry Southern's masterpiece. Guy Grand is an eccentric billionaire — the last of the big spenders — determined to create disorder in the material world and willing to spare no expense to do it. Leading a life full of practical jokes and madcap schemes, his ultimate goal is to prove his theory that there is nothing so degrading or so distasteful that someone won't do it for money. In Guy Grand's world, everyone has a price, and he is all too willing to pay it. A satire of America's obsession with bigness, toughness, money, TV, guns, and sex, The Magic Christian is a hilarious and wickedly original novel from a true comic genius.


From the Inside Flap

One of the funniest, cruelest, and most savagely revealing books about American life ever written, The Magic Christian has been called Terry Southern's masterpiece.

Guy Grand is an eccentric billionaire--the last of the big spenders--determined to create disorder in the material world and willing to spare no expense to do it. Leading a life full of practical jokes and madcap schemes, his ultimate goal is to prove his theory that there is nothing so degrading or so distasteful that someone won't do it for money. In Guy Grand's world, everyone has a price, and he is all too willing to pay it.

A satire of America's obsession with bigness, toughness, money, TV, guns, and sex, The Magic Christian is a hilarious and wickedly original novel from a true comic genius.

"This is at once the most profoundly satiric and wildly comic account of our life and times in years."--Nelson Algren, The Nation

"Terry Southern is the most profoundly witty writer of our generation."--Gore Vidal

"Mr. Southern is wonderfully prodigal of comic ideas.... An enormously funny and satisfying satire, done with a great thrifty distinction."--The Spectator

"Terry Southern writes a mean, coolly deliberate, and murderous prose."--Norman Mailer

Terry Southern was the author of Flash and Filigree, Candy (with Mason Hoffenberg), Blue Movie, and Red-Dirt Marijuana and Other Tastes. He was also an Oscar-nominated screenwriter whose credits include Easy Rider, Dr. Strangelove, and Barbarella, as well as an adaptation of The Magic Christian.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Grove Press (June 11, 1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0802134653
  • ISBN-13: 978-0802134653
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #206,538 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Terry Southern
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Terry Southern Page
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
When not tending New York holdings, Guy Grand was generally, as he expressed it, "on the go." Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
bridge house
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Guy Grand, Ginger Horton, New York, Captain Klaus, Aunt Agnes, Aunt Esther, Bill Thorndike, Magic Christian, Agnes Edwards, Miss Horton
New!
Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Magic Christian (Terry Southern)
74% buy the item featured on this page:
The Magic Christian (Terry Southern) 3.5 out of 5 stars (23)
$10.17
Candy
5% buy
Candy 4.0 out of 5 stars (21)
$9.17
Red-Dirt Marijuana and Other Tastes
5% buy
Red-Dirt Marijuana and Other Tastes 4.9 out of 5 stars (8)
$17.95
Now Dig This: The Unspeakable Writings of Terry Southern, 1950-1995 (Southern, Terry)
3% buy
Now Dig This: The Unspeakable Writings of Terry Southern, 1950-1995 (Southern, Terry) 4.3 out of 5 stars (6)
$11.05
Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(6)
(4)
(3)
(3)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
See all 13 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more
 

Customer Reviews

23 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The funniest book ever written, according to Peter Sellers., August 29, 1996
By A Customer
In literary history, "The Magic Christian" will be remembered as the book which got Terry Southern the job of writing "Dr Strangelove": it seems that Peter Sellers loved the book and sent out 100 copies to his friends, one of whom was the great Stanley Kubrick. The book, indeed, is a side-splitting satire, following one Guy Grand (a "grand guy"), a millionaire of uncertain origin, as he pays for exorbitant pranks with the sole purpose of "making it hot" for people. ("How much would it cost me to make you eat that ticket?" Grand asks an astonished traffic cop.) But the book is far from silly: like much of Southern's work, the comedy barely masks strong critiques of greed and elitism. It is a must-read for the aspiring satirist and would-be social critic.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An American classic, June 9, 1999
By A Customer
The Magic Christian is an American classic - a model of elegant yet taut storytelling on par with The Great Gatsby and The Sheltering Sky (and as boldly original and enduring as those two very different books). It is also extremely funny...a book that manages to be both a delightful fantasy and a corrosive satire of our consumer culture. Don't be deceived by its simplicity and directness. This one for the ages as well one worth rereading. Southern's greatest novel has influenced everyone from Stanley Kubrick to Monty Python and writers as varied as Mark Leyner, Bruce Wagner and Darius James. Read it today!!!!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars prescient?, May 6, 2007
By Caraculiambro (La Mancha and environs) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Magic Christian (Paperback)
I'll admit I got a couple of chuckles out of this book, but really it's a one-joke premise, and Southern goes nowhere with it. He has nothing even resembling an ending.

The basic setup is that there's this eccentric billionaire, Guy Grand, who delights in setting up practical jokes that showcase the greed or vulgarity of the teeming masses.

Southern's book has received a lot of attention lately; several commentators have cited it as unwittingly having anticipated the cruel reality shows that seem to dominate today's TV lineups.

Maybe, but one difference: Grand's victims didn't know they were victims. That's what's so funny. The men and women who sign release forms and agreee to appear on reality shows or mean-spirited game shows these days know in advance they will be humilated, and frequently for nothing more than a few days of fame.

So I'm not sure how prescient it is. I wouldn't read it again.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Tiring, gets old
Guy Grand's pranks are hilarious, sure. Actually, Southern deserves a lot of credit here. It's amazing how well his humor has held up. It's still fresh, still very funny. Read more
Published 3 months ago by G. S. Ruben

2.0 out of 5 stars Meh, not bad not great
The pranks Guy does are pretty funny. As a satire it works pretty well but as an engaging read it fails. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Steven M. Balistreri

5.0 out of 5 stars Surreal piece of first rate satire
This is an incredibly funny book.

Guy Grand is a billionaire eccentric. He also hides a contempt for regular standards behind his posh visage. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr W

5.0 out of 5 stars How much to destroy your dignity?
What would you do if you had lots of money and a addiction to mischief.A hilarious story of a man's quest to screw with society as much as possible. Read more
Published on November 3, 2006 by B. Zook

4.0 out of 5 stars Magic Christian
I read the book decades ago and yet the foolishness of it all has stayed with me. An interesting premise: A billionare opens businesses or special promotions purely to abuse... Read more
Published on September 27, 2005 by D. Jay Williams

4.0 out of 5 stars Waiting forever ...
I read this a long time ago in college. I've been waiting for it to come out in some form or another forever. Thank God for the Internet. Read more
Published on June 2, 2005 by landru141

1.0 out of 5 stars I wouldn't have minded being offended.
It would at least meant that I cared one way or another what was happening when reading it.
Published on December 28, 2004 by Ques

5.0 out of 5 stars PLAYING WITH PEOPLE
In "Dr. Mabuse, Der Speiler", Mabuse said that nothing was interesting anymore, except for "playing with people & with the destinies of people". Read more
Published on September 25, 2004 by Boyd Rice

2.0 out of 5 stars Cutesy and obvious
I just don't get the sixties guys sometimes. Maybe forty years ago pointing out the flaws in the American experience was novel, although coming twenty years after Henry Miller and... Read more
Published on February 23, 2003 by Carl

5.0 out of 5 stars Word up!
A decade after the demise of the award winning show "The Word", it's about time that someone reappraised the career of it's anchorman, Terry Christian. Read more
Published on January 10, 2003 by Rik Burke

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Look for Similar Items by Category

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:



















i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.