What Would Bill Hicks Say? (Paperback)

~ (Editor), Kristin Pulkkinen (Editor) "I love how it's become fashionable to express sympathy for tsunami victims..." (more)
Key Phrases: black pope, Bill Hicks, Middle East, Ashlee Simpson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

What would Bill Hicks say about the second George Bush, the second war in Iraq, American Idol, or erectile dysfunction? In 250 words (or one picture) or less, writers, comedians, musicians, cartoonists, and entrants from Austin’s annual Bill Hicks Tribute Rant-Off fulminate about the current political and cultural scene in Hicksian rants. Contributors include cartoonists Jeff Danziger and Martyn Turner; writers Neal Pollack, Robert Newman, and A.L. Kennedy; and Thom Yorke of Radiohead.

Just emerging from underground cult status when he died in 1994, Hicks redefined the boundaries of comedy in the 1980s. His biting social satire about everything from the first President Bush to rock stars who shill for diet Coke made audiences roar and censors cringe. Hicks believed that while ideas evolve, principles remain constant, and that the venues for expressing them change over time. Hicks said he was planting seeds. By providing a forum for those touched by Hicks's ideas to speak out on his behalf, this book waters those seeds. More than just a tribute to Hicks's legend, What Would Bill Hicks Say? is a thought-provoking reflection of the present moment.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press; illustrated edition edition (March 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933368012
• ISBN-13: 978-1933368016
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #692,432 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dead On, May 6, 2006

By	Amanda McRaney (Petal, MS United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are a a fan of Bill Hicks, then this is probably the best piece of postmortem merchandise out there. Somehow, it just feels right, and though a few of the rants are not the greatest, most of them are dead on and perfect.

I can't think of any reason not to own this.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the time...., December 10, 2007

By	Brendan B. - See all my reviews

I really was excited to start reading this book, thinking it would be full of smart, well-crafted essays that would truly make you think (you know, like Bill Hick's stand-up did). So, I was deeply disappointed to find this book just to be fill with uneducated rants that spent more time worrying about fitting a new Bush joke in, then about actually making a point. Great idea, horrible execution.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A missed opportunity, July 9, 2006

By	H. King (uk) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A great shame- what could have been a showcase for a wide range of Bill Hicks fans, established and new comics and political satire becomes too close to being an ego trip for half a dozen of the organsiers buddies. Were there really so few contributions to this project that the same names had to be used again and again?
There are some good pieces but too few- and far too few Brits for someone who was so popular in the UK and such an Anglophile (and, unusually for an American capable of accurately satirising the British).