Not as funny as the title or the goofy cover art would have you believe. This is actually a quite scholarly examination of the origins, nature, and functions of Jewish humor in various times and places: from 19th century Germany and central Europe, to England and the United States throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, to WWII and Stalinism, through contemporary Israel. Wisse explores humor's positive and negative sides, warning that too much joking is as dangerous as too little. The concluding chapter touches on contemporary political correctness in the West. Definitely not for a general audience; lots of literary theory here.
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