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| So Farewell Then: The Biography of Peter Cook | 
 enlarge | Author: Wendy Cook
Publisher: HarperCollins Entertainment
Category: Book
List Price: £18.99
Buy Used: £0.50
You Save: £18.49 (97%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 357653
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4
ISBN: 0007228937
Dewey Decimal Number: 817
EAN: 9780007228935
ASIN: 0007228937
Publication Date: October 2, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
An imperfect account of a great if flawed man August 5, 2008
I thought the book was quite interesting, but in the end we don't really get to find out a great deal of what drove Peter Cook to the sort of problems that led to the end of his first marriage, nor do we really get to understand his humour, the role of satire in changing the culture of the times, and so on. This is a shame. To be fair, there are dabs of insight; it is not entirely self-serving, but in the end you come away not really learning all that much about one of the "Great Peters" of UK comedy (the other being Peter Sellers).
One of the nicer aspects of the book is its vignettes of Dudley Moore, one of my heroes.
 One biography is not enough for this man April 21, 2008
As I type this I am only a little over halfway through Wendy Cook's story, but even if I stopped now I would be immensely glad for having read it. How the `one star reviewers` expected to find the complete Peter Cook` from just one biographer is a little crass, because even an autobiography is just one person's opinion of themselves and never the complete picture, is it not? With a subject who was so gifted with comic sharp wit and repartee and who made such a huge contribution to the genre of satirical entertainment (in fact, was there such a genre before Cook? - I think not) a true aficionado needs to read widely. All flies on his various walls will have worthy tales to tell.
To be able to view another perspective on the life that surrounded Peter (or perhaps that should be `the lives that Peter surrounded`) is both fascinating and a privilege. The author has penned her part in the whirlwind of change that Peter Cook and his associates brought to an unsuspecting British audience, as the country emerged, battered and almost bankrupt, from the dark days of WW2. To then take this cutting-edge, anarchic work to 1960's America, with equal success, is all the more remarkable. For my part, I could never have enough of Peter Cook and yet the author reminded me of the dark side that can surface in all of us and which can inflict pain and pity. Even in the first half of her book, I have felt a little of Wendy Cook's pain and pity. As I embark on the second half I know there will be more to come, but along with it will be the joy of peeking a little closer into a part of the life of this influential comic genius that I would have otherwise been unaware of.
Captivating Angle on Peter Cook January 14, 2008
Although the book claims to be the Peter Cook story, in fact it is the Peter and Wendy Cook story, although none the worse for that because Wendy was with Peter during the beginning and heights of his career as well as during the beginning of his decline. While she is hardly a disinterested onlooker, she often takes account of this and concedes that she might not always have seen or known about certain aspects of Peter's life. This gives credibility to what she does say and the list of interviewees that she draws on to augment her experiences is impressive. I was fascinated to learn that Anneke Wills, someone I knew only from Dr Who in the Sixties, was part of the crowd.
I was not old enough to see "Beyond the Fringe", although I do now have the complete CD recordings, but later in the Sixties did watch "Not Only But Also". So I have no doubt about Peter's genius, especially having also enjoyed the original "Bedazzled" and the wrongly forgotten "Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer". However I also remember seeing the unpleasant side of the man on some sixties TV chat-show where his method of indicating disagreement with another guest was to make funny faces behind the guest's back. Perhaps he was already into the drinking which was such a part of his later life. Wendy's book leaves the reader in no doubt about either side of the man's complicated character and is almost impossible to put down.
Part of the book's appeal for me was the way stories relating to the famous names of the era are intermingled with the minutiae of everyday living in Cambridge and Swinging Sixties London. Another part of its interest was the author's attempt to explain why Peter was the way he was. Add in the informal photographs, and the result is a book that I look forward to dipping back into over the months to come.
 how to make peter cook seem dull October 2, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
i didnt think it was possible but this book did just that, mainly (like other reviewers have pointed out) by the author just talking about herself. If i wanted to find out about Wendy cooks life i would of bought a book on her, i didnt, but unfortunately i still ended up buying a book on her!
utter rubbish.
Self indulgent & dull July 19, 2007
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
I have to agree with the other reviewer. People buying this book are going to be interested in finding out about Peter Cook. This book is mostly about Wendy Cook. Self indulgent rubbish. Avoid.
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