Weird Al: The Book

By Nathan Rabin and Al Yankovic

A “fun and colorful” biography of the accordion-toting comedy legend—with rare photos, lyrics, lists, tweets, and more from Al himself (Publishers Weekly).
 
The undisputed king of pop-culture parody, “Weird Al” Yankovic has sold more comedy recordings than any other artist in history, receiving three Grammy Awards (and fourteen nominations) in the process.
 
This is a comprehensive illustrated tribute to this icon of the American humor landscape, the man behind such classics as “Eat It,” “Amish Paradise,” and “White & Nerdy.” Covering more than three decades of hilarious songs, videos, and concert performances, and his life story in words and pictures—and featuring an introduction, lists, tweets, and photo captions from Yankovic himself—Weird Al: The Book is the ultimate companion piece to an extraordinary career.
 
“Part biography and part pop culture museum . . . a treat.” —Huffington Post

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781613123836

Nathan Rabin

Nathan Rabin is a staff writer for The Dissolve, a new film website from the popular music website Pitchfork. Previously, he was the head writer for The A.V. Club, the entertainment guide of The Onion, a position he held until recently since he was a college student at University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1997. Rabin is also the author of a memoir, The Big Rewind, and an essay collection based on one of his columns, My Year of Flops. He most recently collaborated with pop parodist "weird Al" Yankovic on a coffee table book titled Weird Al: The Book. Rabin’s writing has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Spin, The Huffington Post, The Boston Globe, Nerve, and Modern Humorist. He lives in Chicago with his wife.

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Reviews for Weird Al

[thoughtbox-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's a coffee table book about Weird Al ... I'm not sure what else you're expecting? I will admit to hoping for a slightly more critical/in-depth look at his life and career, but it's got some neat art/pictures, and a wide-ranging look at Al's life from the beginning of his career through Alpocalypse.

[sscarllet-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've had a thing for Weird Al since I was a kid and I was lucky enough to see him in concert some time ago. This book brought back many good childhood memories. I enjoyed the tongue in cheek way that it was written. It also makes a good coffee table book.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This coffee table-sized book provides a brief look at Al's life and career -- nothing too in-depth, but it's a nice overview, with a few interesting bits of trivia. My only complaint is Rabin does get a little embarrassingly overzealous at heaping on the praise. Which is entirely understandable -- I can get pretty fangirly over the guy, myself -- but is wholly unnecessary. I don't think anybody willing to pick this book up needs Nathan Rabin to tell us how great Al is; the brilliance of his comedy speaks for itself.The biggest appeal in this book, though, is in the pictures -- including lots of photographs, album art, and other visual delights -- and in Al's own contributions. He wrote all the photo captions himself, and has also sprinkled the book liberally with samples of his tweets and some silly top ten lists, which are, predictably, very funny.I wouldn't call this an essential addition to any Al fan's library, but it is a fun one, and well worth a look.And, while I'm at it, hearty congrats to Al on making the #1 slot on Billboard with his newest album. It is well deserved!