Review Wholesome fun for all the family. (Christopher Hitchens)Small, witty, and delightful...a worthy successor to Harry Frankfurt's brilliant On Bullshit. (Simon Blackburn The New York Sun)Explodes the myth that the high and low brow are more than a couple of inches apart....Seriously funny stuff. (Colin McGinn, author of The Making of a Philosopher)Fast-moving, idiosyncratic...a stocking-stuffer. (The New York Times Book Review)Finally, I understand what it is I've been laughing at for all these years. (Jimmy Kimmel)Jim Holt manages here to be deadly serious and perfectly hilarious at the same time. (Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the US)This excellent little book will be my Christmas present (Guy Browning)Viewed through Holt's complex, concise lens, the joke comes off as a contender for humankind's most profound mode of expression. (Elle)Holt...takes in so much about the history and philosophy of joke-telling in his concise and amiable conspectus of the subject. (The Wall Street Journal)Jim Holt riffs in Stop Me If You've Heard This. (Vanity Fair) Book Description Why do we laugh? Where do jokes come from? And have we always laughed at the same things? In this unique, witty and fascinating little book of history and philosophy, Jim Holt reveals all - and throws in the best jokes from the past 2,000 years. See all Product description
R**S
Stop Yourself Buying it if You Haven't Read This
I was curious about it, I suppose, so I bought it. I was expecting a more serious analysis on what is humour and why we find certain things funny. Predictably the book presents lots of jokes by way of illustration, but most aren't funny (OK, that's forgivable because it's not meant to be a joke book). Some history of jokes is covered, which is quite interesting. However, my overriding impression is that the book is rather depthless and sketchy, and it fails to deliver a reasonable instruction on the history and philosophy of jokes.
W**L
Jokes
Jim Holt, the author of this book, writes wonderfully well The book is a very concise and thoughtful journey through jokes and the role they play in life. Thoughtful and critical.
N**I
Very funny, very interesting
Very funny, very interesting. A small book that takes little times to get through, but is filled with interesting and homourous stuff
A**2
Five Stars
One of my favourite books. Short and full of great jokes.
A**N
Very interesting
I've got many knowledge from this little but heavy book. Especially, to learn about Poggio Bracciolini! He was papal secretary in Vatican, collected/investigated all sorts of jokes and had numerous mistresses!
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