Présentation de l'éditeur
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. Holt also discusses a new way of combining these theories (and looks at those who don't laugh at all - Isaac Newton laughed only once in his life, and Jesus might have wept, but did he laugh?). As for where do jokes come from, one theory is that they're made up by prisoners who have a lot of spare time, and a captive audience...
Revue de presse
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
Concise and witty ―
Waterstone's Books Quarterly Published On: 2008-09-01
Entertaining... raises a good number of laughs ―
Sunday Times Published On: 2008-10-26
A sweet, witty and intelligent little book. I only wish that, unlike a good joke, it was longer. -- William Leith ―
Guardian
[A] fast-moving, idiosyncratic survey of humour -- David Robinson ―
Scotsman Published On: 2008-11-03
Holt has the answers... his delivery is seamless... all good stuff ―
Sunday Herald Published On: 2008-11-16
An ideal gift for someone with a sense of humour...droll and quirky -- Milly Getachew ―
New Statesman
More treat than treatise, an ideal gift -- Milly Getachew ―
New Statesman Published On: 2008-12-08
Biographie de l'auteur
Jim Holt is a prominent essayist and critic on philosophy, mathematics, and science. He is a frequent contributor to the
New York Times Book Review,
New York Review of Books and
Prospect magazine. He lives in New York City. He is the author of
Stop Me If You've Heard This [9781846681097] also published by Profile.
