The best all-round book about The Goon Show
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As the most recent publication about The Goon Show, this book covers all the areas you need for a good overview. It contains background information, scripts, photos and an episode list. It also contains memories of the then surviving cast members - Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe, Eric Sykes (who wrote some episodes) and Max Geldray.
It's true that much of the book has been covered in other publications, but I think this is the most readable and if you are new to the Goons I would say this is the book for you. If you want a more indepth appraisal of The Goon Show and it's development you may want to consider 'The Goon Show Companion' instead.
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Not the definitive Goon book
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Norma Farnes introduces this as 'the definitive Goon Show book'. Well, the story of how the Goons met and worked together has been told many times before and that accolade really belongs to Roger Wilmut's excellent "Goon Show companion" of 1976. There is no acknowledgment of Wilmut's book, or indeed any bibliography of previous accounts, and frustratingly, no index. The book includes a list of Goon Show titles but this is not as detailed as Wilmut's "Goonography". Relying more on interviews with the then surviving Goons (Secombe being still around then), Farnes draws together personal reminiscences and quotes from the great men themselves. However, the book is shamelessly padded out with the full scripts of two of the shows; this is completely gratuitous - the scripts have been published before and the shows are available on audio. No reader is going to be bothered to read through the scripts. Any serious Goon fan will want to add this to their collection anyway.
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He's fallen into the water ! - A great book !!
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I'm not old enough to remember them the first time round, but i have heard and seen recordings of their antics, - I'm sure they were partly the inspiration behind Monty Python and other comedies, - This book is a great addition to any Goon fan's collection.
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Long awaited story of the goons by its creator
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I would suggest this book to ardent Goon/Milligan fans,a large amount of the information has already been published in the Goon scripts etc,a large number of the photographs are new and of interest.The chapter concerning Eric Sykes is very good to see, as up till now his contriution to the shows has been unknown.All in all o.k,- i wish Spike were a bit more forthcoming on The Goon Show, it is of too much importance in the history of comedy to be paid what amounts to "lip service" to by its creator.
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