Synopses & Reviews
In the fine tradition of
On Bullshit comes this outrageous, uproarious compendium of absurdity, filth, racy paradox, and mature philosophical reflection.
Stop Me If You've Heard This is the first book to trace the evolution of the joke from the stand-up comics of ancient Athens to the comedy-club Seinfelds of today. Cropping up en route are such unforgettable figures as Poggio, a Renaissance papal secretary and sexual adventurer; and Gershon Legman, the FBI-hounded psychoanalyst of dirty jokes. Having explored humor's history in part one, Jim Holt then delves into philosophy in part two. Jewish jokes; Wall Street jokes; jokes about rednecks and atheists, bulimics and politicians; jokes that you missed if you didn't go to a Catholic girls' school; jokes about language and logic itself all become fodder for the grand theories of Aristotle, Kant, Freud, and Wittgenstein. A heady mix of the high and the low, of the ribald and the profound, this handsomely illustrated volume demands to be read by anyone who has ever peered into the abyss and asked: What's so funny?
Review
"Well-told jokes are works of art, as Mr. Holt rightly suggests....They are short stories in miniature, with subjects and themes, often an epiphany, and occasionally a useful moral. They can be charming, offensive or sweet, and sometimes comforting in the face the world's abundant injustices. And funny did I neglect to mention funny?" Wall Street Journal
Review
"Why does humor make us laugh? The answer, as explained by Holt and supported with a Friar's Club roast's worth of jokes, is both fascinating and, yes, actually funny. " Very Short List
Synopsis
Stop Me If You've Heard This is thefirst book to trace the evolution of the jokefrom the stand-up comics of ancient Athens tothe comedy-club Seinfelds of today. Cropping upen route are such unforgettable figures asPoggio, a Renaissance papal secretary and sexual adventurer; and Gershon Legman, the FBI-houndedpsychoanalyst of dirty jokes. Having exploredhumor's history in part one, Jim Holt thendelves into philosophy in part two. Jewishjokes; Wall Street jokes; jokes about rednecksand atheists, bulimics and politicians; jokesthat you missed if you didn't go to a Catholicgirls' school; jokes about language and logicitself-all become fodder for the grand theoriesof Aristotle, Kant, Freud, and Wittgenstein. Aheady mix of the high and the low, of the ribald and the profound, this handsomely illustratedvolume demands to be read by anyone who has ever peered into the abyss and asked: What's sofunny?
Synopsis
In the fine tradition of comes this outrageous, uproarious compendium of absurdity, filth, racy paradox, and mature philosophical reflection.
Synopsis
Stop Me If You've Heard This is the first book to trace the evolution of the joke from the stand-up comics of ancient Athens to the comedy-club Seinfelds of today. Cropping up en route are such unforgettable figures as Poggio, a Renaissance papal secretary and sexual adventurer; and Gershon Legman, the FBI-hounded psychoanalyst of dirty jokes. Having explored humor's history in part one, Jim Holt then delves into philosophy in part two. Jewish jokes; Wall Street jokes; jokes about rednecks and atheists, bulimics and politicians; jokes that you missed if you didn't go to a Catholic girls' school; jokes about language and logic itself--all become fodder for the grand theories of Aristotle, Kant, Freud, and Wittgenstein. A heady mix of the high and the low, of the ribald and the profound, this handsomely illustrated volume demands to be read by anyone who has ever peered into the abyss and asked: What's so funny?
About the Author
Jim Holtis a longtime contributor to The New Yorker, The New York Review of Booksand the New York Times Magazine, specializing in science and philosophy, as well as an erstwhile gossip columnist and an inveterate collector of jokes. His books include Stop Me If You've Heard This Oneand Why Does the World Exist?He lives in New York City.