Due to advance interest from at least one major bookstore chain, the publication date of my Smothers Brothers book has been moved up. Instead of arriving the first week of 2010, the book now will be in stores December 1, in plenty of time for holiday gift-giving. For me, that's a great Christmas gift already...
Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, will be published in hardcover by Simon & Schuster's Touchstone. The cover, which I've shown here once before, looks like this, except for a last-second addition of part of a blurb by filmmaker Ken Burns.
Here's the part of the blurb the editors and designers decided to add to the cover:
"This is a superb, at times moving, portrait of an entire age -- seen through the dramatic careers of two endlessly interesting entertainers." -- Ken Burns
On the back cover, there also are blurbs by Mason Williams and David Steinberg, both of whom were integral parts of the original Comedy Hour. And while a lot of what Mason sent was used, a portion was cut for length, but I liked it so much, I'm presenting it here:
"This book does a first class job of reporting the icebergian facts. The tip of the iceberg (the show itself), the mass of corporate and government intrigue/maneuvering underneath (CBS and Washington), and the eventual meltdown (firing/cancellation) that gave rise to the sea of change that saturates TV today." -- Mason Williams
I love the way Mason thinks, and writes. The description of the book as "icebergian" is especially amusing to me, perhaps because I wrote the book at what some might consider a glacial pace. Fifteen years from first interview to final manuscript. That's why I'm so happy Dangerously Funny finally is coming out, and, thanks to recent politics and policies, is dealing with a subject that's as topical and meaningful as ever.
So here's the big push, and the big news. Dangerously Funny is now available for pre-order, and will arrive in plenty of time to give, and even mail out, as gifts. Amazon has the book available at a substantial discount, which you can order by clicking HERE. Or, if you're a Barnes & Noble loyalist, you can order HERE, and members get an even deeper discount.
Wish me luck -- and, if you want, please order a copy or two. Remember, ordering from Amazon by linking through this site gives a small kickback to TV WORTH WATCHING, so buying the book that way as a gift actually makes it three good deeds in one. I sell a book and get royalties, the site gets a small percentage, and you get to give someone the book for the holidays.
So act now, or soon. Publication day is less than two months away, and counting. At least I'M counting...