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Stop Me If You've Heard This: A History And Philosophy Of Jokes (2008)

by Jim Holt(Favorite Author)

3.27 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0393066738 (ISBN13: 9780393066739)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: The subject matter interested me immediately, but this surpassed my expectations. The book is structured exactly as the title suggests: the first half is a history of jokes, and the second half is a philosophy of jokes (primarily suggesting theories of what defines a joke and why jokes elicit laughter). The history portion was more of an origin story; it discussed the earliest publications of joke collections and the development of an appreciation of jokes over the recent millennia. Altogether a very interesting but short and accessible read.
review 2: Some of the examples made me chuckle, not hugely in depth was left wanting a more thorough discussion on almost everything touched and is the type of book that brings doubts to my mind about what wasn't there. Ve... morery short read its about 120 pages of content (with very short pages) and every 4 pages or so there's a full page illustration. I was left with the impression the author was cherry picking historical figures, authors, and collectors rather than attempting to give a thorough history. The author admits the field is lacking in previous research and I felt that his attempt at research was half baked. Perhaps unfounded while a good survey I felt like the author did not do due diligence. He commented in the introduction that the book stemmed from his research he did for an article for the new yorker which could possibly explain why it's depth seems unsuited for a book.In summary a perfectly interesting survey into the history and philosophy of jokes that feels slightly under researched and possibly more suited for an extended essay or series of essays. My main inquiry is about the value of it's existence as a paperback book with a cover price of $10. less

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