Full Title: Love All The People: The Essential Bill Hicks aka Letters, Lyrics, Routines
Author: Bill Hicks
Year: 2004
Foreword “The Goat Boy Rises” By: John Lahr
Being one of the biggest Bill Hicks fans in the world it was a must that I read this work of incendiary material. With that being said if any of you, fellow readers aren’t little Goat Boy children aka Die Hard Hicks fanatics, I would not recommend reading it. Most of the book consists of word for word transcripts of his classic stand up routines, including, but not limited to: Dangerous CD, One Night Stand HBO Special, Relentless CD, “The Worst Show Ever”aka The Flying Saucer Tour Volume One CD, Revelations Channel 4 UK Special, Arizona Bay CD, and the Rant in E-Minor CD. Interviews, lyrics to Hicks penned tunes, poems, rants or brief manifestos, short stories, letters and response letters to David Letterman, Jay Leno, offended audience members (including priests), amongst other rare gems. I really enjoyed the short stories because they showcased even more of my hero’s talent. In some of these stories Bill appeared and then in others it was completely fiction. I particularly enjoyed a story in which he documents the day-to-day lives of writers for an underground newspaper known as, The Observer. The overall, recurring theme of the book is Bill’s humanistic, though misanthropic at times, approach to comedy and especially to life. Bill takes us on a journey through his mind in which he opines his deepest feelings on the evils of the world: Dogmatic, fear inducing religions (particularly Christianity), corrupt, War profiteering, Governments, Corporate shilling, Coke hawking, pop sell outs, and ignorant, flag waving, conforming Americans. It is rare in entertainment and even rarer in the comedy world, to see someone that threatens the status quo with a message and mission outside of making money and gaining some cheap chuckles. Honestly, how many comedians can you name whose mission is to evolve the human race? Maybe a few others. In conclusion,I, as most do, prefer comedy routines and Hicks in particular on videos (especially!) or on CDs, rather then in print, but I always enjoy learning more about Hicks and his philosophies and laughing my ass off simultaneously.
Grade: B+

P.S. There is one intriguing essay in which he proposes gun control, as Hicks fans should know he completely championed. Being, against gun control myself, I always wanted him to elaborate more on his stance rather then a few jabs about American violence and the NRA, which were hilarious of course. So, anyway, Hicks makes the point that if guns weren’t as easily available as they are there would be less violence in America. Well, whether that is true or not to me doesn’t matter because it violates a basic concept of freedom, it evens violates Hicksian logic! Ok, if you apply Hicks’ logic on drugs, which I completely agree with: people should be able to put whatever they want in their bodies as long as they don’t harm anyone else. So, if drugs were available to the public, there is a good chance that there would be in an increase in drug use (initially) and if you took his logic on guns and applied it here by banning drugs then there wouldn’t be as many people on drugs or dying from drugs. Now, even a novice in drug war knowledge could tell you that’s ludicrous.

Chris