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

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.A priest, a rabbi and a minister walk into bar. 'What is this', the barman says, 'some kind of joke?'As he laughs his way though the history of jokes, Jim Holt discovers that most of those we trade are actually hundreds of years old: Palamedes, a Greek hero of the Trojan War, is credited with inventing the joke (before being stoned to death) and it was Philip the Great of Macedon in the 4th century BC who paid to have the first joke book compiled. In describing how they've changed over time (one of the funniest things to ancient audiences was lettuce), we come across not only the oldest but the rudest, the shortest and, allegedly, the funniest.And why do we laugh at these jokes? Holt explores the various theories: for Freud, laughter liberates us from forbidden thoughts and feelings. For Plato, we feel a sudden glory when see, say, someone tripping on a banana-skin. For Kant, we laugh when the logical dissolves into the absurd.

Promotion info

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.

Reviews

'Wholesome fun for all the family.' Christopher Hitchens. 'This excellent little book will be my Christmas present' Guy Browning. 'Small, witty, and delightful...a worthy successor to Harry Frankfurt's brilliant On Bullshit.' Simon Blackburn, The New York Sun. 'Jim Holt manages here to be deadly serious and perfectly hilarious at the same time.' Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the US. '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. 'A sweet, witty and intelligent little book. I only wish that, unlike a good joke, it was longer.' William Leith, Guardian. 'Entertaining... raises a good number of laughs' Sunday Times. 'Concise and witty' Waterstone's Books Quarterly.

Author description

Jim Holt is a longtime contributor to The New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine, specializing in science and existential conundrums. An erstwhile gossip columnist and an inveterate collector of jokes, he lives in New York City.