Rationale of the Dirty Joke: An Analysis of Sexual Humor [Paperback]

G. Legman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2006

Why do people tell dirty jokes?

And what is it about a joke's dirtiness that makes it funny?

G. Legman was perhaps the foremost scholar of the dirty joke, and as legions of humor writers and comedians know, his Rationale of the Dirty Joke remains the most exhaustive and authoritative study of the subject.

More than two thousand jokes and folktales are presented, covering such topics as The Female Fool, The Fortunate Fart, Mutual Mismatching, and The Sex Machine. These folk texts are authentically transcribed in their innocent and sometimes violent entirety. Legman studies each for its historical and socioanalytic significance, revealing what these jokes mean to the people who tell them and to the people who listen and laugh.

Here -- back in print -- is the definitive text for comedians and humor writers, Freudian scholars and late night television enthusiasts. Rationale of the Dirty Joke will amuse you, offend you, challenge you, and disgust you, all while demonstrating the intelligence and hilarity of the dirty joke.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Like The Brothers Karamazov, only pronounceable, and funny!"

-- Carrie Fisher

About the Author

G. Legman started a short-lived Freudian quarterly, Neurotica, in the late 1940s. He wrote many books on the subject of erotica and sexual humor, including The Limerick, The Horn Book: Studies in Erotic Folklore, Oragenitalism, and No Laughing Matter: Rationale of the Dirty Joke, Second Series. G. Legman died in 1999 in France.

Product Details

• Paperback: 816 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743292529
• ISBN-13: 978-0743292528
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #877,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In Case You Were Wondering Why Those Dirty Jokes Are Funny.., January 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rationale of the Dirty Joke: Analysis of Sexual Humour (Hardcover)

Proof that academicians can turn any subject into a scholarly study; Legman, an anthropologist, catalogs dirty jokes by type, then traces their history back to ancient folklore, explaining the sources, variations and history. This is a book that works on two levels; if you're really interested in learning that farmer's daughter jokes have a precedent in 12th Century literature, then you won't be disappointed. On the other hand, if you just want to read the good parts and skip the analysis, the book's format makes that easy to do, too. It's unfortunate that both volumes of the "Rationale" are out of print, because they belong in the collection of anyone who's interested in the "more things change the more they stay the same" theory of history, as well as those who just want good jokes to tell people around the water cooler or via email.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic, March 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rationale of the Dirty Joke: Analysis of Sexual Humour (Hardcover)

I first read this book in college in the early 70's and thoroughly enjoyed this and the 2nd volume for both their literary and scatalogical merit. I just read that Gershon Legman died on Feb 23, 1999 at age 81 at a hospital near his home in Opio, France. Nice obit in NYT, Sunday 3/14/99.

I hope his scholarship and fight against censorship will motivate some publisher to re-issue these two classics.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, five stars, August 22, 2003

By 

David (Australia, Newcastle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rationale of the Dirty Joke: Analysis of Sexual Humour (Hardcover)

I always thought my mother was smarter than she let on. She had me read "the rationale of the dirty joke" when I was in my early teens. She told me not to read the jokes so much, but also what was written about the jokes in between. The book/s we had, two by the same name (vol 1 & vol 2)) taught the psychology of why people laugh at 'dirty' jokes. It's armed me in life with an understanding of humour, and the core of humour within us; why we laugh. I can no longer locate my copies, but like the earlier post, I wouldn't sell them for any money if I could find them.