The spotlight picked him out: the cool, calm, darkly handsome man sitting up smart and straight in his black leather chair, with a glass of the good stuff by his side and mischief in his eyes. He welcomed you in, and then started sharing stories some of them short, many of them tall and one or two of them strange that made you laugh and made you think. He was Dave Allen, and "The Essential Dave Allen" is a celebration of his very special craft. The range of comic material in the collection covers every stage of life, from the cradle to the grave and beyond, as well as religion and politics, love and sex, food and drink, work and leisure and time and transience. All of Dave Allen's best-loved jokes, monologues and routines are reproduced just as the master storyteller told them. "The Essential Dave Allen" is a wonderful souvenir for those who grew up loving the man and his humour. For those who are new to him, it is an engaging introduction to a comedian who won the admiration of millions of fans in Ireland, Britain, Australia and beyond.