Abe Lincoln's Legacy of Laughter: Humorous Stories by and about Abraham Lincoln [Paperback]

P. M. Zall (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

P. M. Zall, professor emeritus of American studies at California State University, is a research scholar at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Among his other books are Mark Twain Laughing and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: A Genetic Text.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Univ Tennessee Press; 2 edition (July 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572335858
• ISBN-13: 978-1572335851
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,552,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Take his wife.... please, October 11, 2008

By 

George C. Bradley (Carlisle, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Abe Lincoln's Legacy of Laughter: Humorous Stories by and about Abraham Lincoln (Paperback)

We have all seen "wit and wisdom" collections, and I was fearing, when I opened the cover of this book, that this was yet another. I am happy to report that such is not the case. Professor Zall is a student and historian of humor and humorists, and he does a great job of demonstrating that Lincoln was too.

Professor Zall quotes the late Steve Allen for saying that there is no such thing as an old joke. How so? For the people who hear it for the first time, a joke is always new. Lincoln knew that. While there is no doubt that the president had a deep and genuine sense of humor, and the ability to create funny remarks of his own, here it is demonstrated that he too was a student of the art. He sought out funny anecdotes wherever he could find them. And just like the names and faces of the constituents he courted, he had the uncanny ability to recall those stories and to adapt them to the needs of the moment.

The book is very thoughtfully put together. The first section includes anecdotes that appear directly in Lincoln's own writings and speeches. The second is devoted to stories about Lincoln that were recorded before the president was killed. The third section recounts additional stories attributed to Lincoln by people who knew him well, but who recorded them after 1865. The last section, and obviously the least reliable, includes anecdotes attributed to the president after his death by other people not well-known in the White House.

I have one big complaint. This book is too short. I wanted to hear more- more about where and how the stories originated, or from where they were derived. But mostly, I just wanted to read more stories. So many of them are just so warm and funny. But more importantly, they bring out the humanity in a man who was a very warm human being.