The Big Book of Jewish Humor (Paperback)

by William Novak (Author) "A classic. Minsk and Pinsk, which appear in many jokes because of the sound of their names, were important commercial centers and Jewish communities in..." (more)
Key Phrases: ish humor, defending angel, sholom aleichem, Sholem Shachnah, New York, Dick Codor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A collection of Jewish humor from every source imaginable: literature, jokes, children's books, magazines, comics, newspapers and others, from Woody Allen to Israel Zangwill.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (December 4, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006090917X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060909178
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #239,264 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still Unsurpassed, November 20, 2002

By A Customer

This book came out a while ago yet it remains the best collection available. The various Jewish joke and humor anthologies published recently don't even come close and some are quite shoddy. This definitive, well-illustrated and definitely very "big" volume covers all types of humor from literary to stand-up to historical and more, with jokes, literary excerpts, yiddish curses, and representative selections from famous humorists and comedians as well as from obscure ones. You will find all your favorites here and you will discover some new favorites too. Perhaps the time has come for these authors to do a sequel? No one since them seems to be up to the task.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Big Book of Jewish Humor, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

The Big Book of Jewish Humor is a great collection of articles, one-liners, and cartoons. It's the kind of book you can pick up anywhere and start reading, the perfect book to leaf through when you've only got a few minutes and need a quick laugh. The book contains selections from authors you'd expect, such as Woody Allen and Sholom Aleichem, as well as contributions from Saul Bellow and Bernard Malamud. Many of the classics are here, such as Lenny Bruce's comparison of Jews and non-Jews and the Sanity Clause routine between Groucho and Chico written by Kaufman and Ryskind, but there also are many gems you may never have read before.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a classic!, December 20, 2000

By A Customer

The Big Book of Jewish Humor is a must-own for Jews of all races, creeds and... well, OK, just for Jews. Anyway, it's loaded with so many brilliant pieces -- from one-liners to standard jokes to essays -- and covers such a wide body of work and of historical subjects, that finding a flaw ain't easy. If I have any complaint (and who among us doesn't?), it's that this book is so thick with outstanding humor, I don't think I've ever read half of its works.

By the way, it's a good gift for goyim, as well. If you don't have it yet, get it soon!