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Hammer and Tickle: A History of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes Hardcover – May 1, 2008

by Ben Lewis (Author)

9 customer reviews

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Q: Why, despite all the shortages, was the toilet paper in East Germany always 2-ply? A: Because they had to send a copy of everything they did to Moscow. Communist jokes are the strangest, funniest, most enchanting and meaningful legacy of the 80 years of political experimentation in Russia and Eastern Europe, known as Communism. The valiant and sardonic citizens of the former Communist countries - surrounded by an invisible network of secret police, threatened with arrest, imprisonment and forced labour, confronted by an economic system that left shops empty, and bombarded with ludicrous state propaganda - turned joke-telling into an art form. They used jokes as a coded way of speaking the truth. 'Hammer and Tickle' takes us on a unique journey through the Communist era (1917-1989), and tells its real history through subversive jokes and joke-tellers, many of whom ended up in the gulags. It is also illustrated with a combination of rare and previously unpublished archive material, political cartoons, caricatures, photographs and state-sponsored propaganda. Humorous, culturally poignant and historically revealing, this is the story of a political system that was (almost) laughed out of existence.

Hammer and Tickle: A History of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes

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Editorial Reviews

Review

'marvellously original... a fine tribute to the joyous, humane anarchy of laughter, whose nearest political analgoue is that ramshackle, chaotic system of political wishful thinking called democracy.' And their favourite joke? 'What stage comes between socialism and communism? Alcoholism.' -- CHRISTOPHER HART SUNDAY TIMES "entertaining and thoughtful study." -- GEORGE WALDEN EVENING STANDARD "we find at long last the jokes only communism could produce. And while they may not have brought it down, they can still tell us something important about why it fell" SUNDAY TELEGRAPH "wonderful... this isn't just a joke book. Instead, Lewis embarks on a deeply scholarly examination and analysis of the communist joke... an excellent job." -- MARTIN ROWSON NEW STATESMAN "an excellent anthology of anecdotes knowledgeably linked into the history of the Soviet period... very enjoyable to read" -- ELAINE FEINSTEIN DAILY TELEGRAPH "This book gives a good flavour of that socialist-era humour." MORNING STAR "explores the wealth of subversive humour during the long, bleak decades of communism." IRISH INDEPENDENT "Ben Lewis's grimly entertaining study is no mere joke compendium." -- GEORGE WALDEN THE SCOTSMAN "charming, highly original, elegantly written and valuable piece of cultural history... This is very funny book. Like the best Communist jokes, it is funniest when it is grimmest." -- Victor Sebestyen THE SPECTATOR "a fascinating attempt to get to grips with communism's rise and fall in Europe through its funny bone... their cultural significance shouldn't be underestimated." METRO - LONDON, LEEDS, NORTH EAST, N WEST,MIDLANDS

About the Author

Ben Lewis' award-winning film HAMMER AND TICKLE was broadcast on BBC4 in 2006. His article on Communist jokes for PROSPECT magazine, received the greatest number of hits on their website for any article last year.

Product details

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (May 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0297853546
ISBN-13: 978-0297853541
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.3 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
Average Customer Review: 9 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,136,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #865 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Political
- #1061 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > International & World Politics > Russian & Former Soviet Union
- #1883 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Ideologies & Doctrines > Communism & Socialism

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Customer reviews

3.2 out of 5 stars

5 star		11%
4 star		22%
3 star		45%
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ByJames E. Mcvoyon May 31, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I confess I was unable to finish reading this book. Taking humor too seriously can get tiresome after a while.

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hammer and Tickle

Byrhon June 17, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I was in the U.S.S.R.3 times,Russia and know some Russian.Yes,they did and do laugh at themselves.Ex."V Pravdye ne Izvestiia i v Izvestii ne pravdy!In Truth (party paper)_there is no news-government paper -and in news there is no truth!Gave it to some Yevraiki Russian Jewish Women!

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Get it for the jokes, not for author's nonsense

ByMensanon August 3, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Ben Lewis merely poached communist jokes from several Eastern European countries and filled the rest of the space with the following:
1) some historical background (acceptable)
2) his own half-baked theories and clumsy interviews (enough said)
3) relationship issues with his girlfriend (?)
I am not sorry I bought the book because of the jokes, which there are plenty in the book.
It is a pitty that such a worthy subject did not get an author it deserves.

0Comment 11 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

What is it? A humor anthology, a romance, a history, or a philosophy?

ByGraham H. SeibertTOP 1000 REVIEWERon January 26, 2012

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Like other reviewers, I bought this volume looking for an anthology of communist jokes. Instead, it is a history of humor in the communist world, or perhaps a history of communism seen through the prism of its humor.

Other reviewers have noted that the book weaves together several rather incongruous threads. There is a history of the author's romance with a woman from the former East Germany, juxtaposing her unrepentant affection for communism, flaws and all, with his humorous, or perhaps cynical irreverence about everything in general and communism in particular. Then there is a history of the Soviet Union and of communism, played out in interviews with the likes of Lech Walesa. There is a history of official humor as a propaganda vehicle, and finally, the stuff we were looking for, the underground jokes that poked fun at communism.

An author should begin a book with a notion of who his readership might be. Lewis'book lacks that focus. He has parts for people who are just looking for jokes, historians and philosophers. Assessing each thread separately, I would say that he doesn't do a bad job with any of them. But just as you would not buy a single book to teach you how to cook and drywall, neither would I expect many people will be interested in the full range of Lewis' interests.

The book does have its bright points. First, he has edited the jokes fairly well. In any anthology of 1000 jokes the reader starts to gag after about 50 of them, wondering where the good ones are. In this book the jokes are sparse enough that when you come across one, you generally laugh. The strength of the joke is in the telling. Like any author, Lewis has taken liberties to structure the jokes optimally.

Lewis wrote his own amalgam of communist humor, 'A Day in the Life of Ivan Zimpsonovich,' featuring Elizaveta and Bartski. A typical joke: `Supper-time,' Mrs Zimpsonovich calls from the kitchen. 'Sausage soup,' she lies. She serves Bartski takes a spoonful of soup, but before he puts it in his mouth, he sees something black and rubbery on his spoon. Yuck, look, Mum,' he says, "there's a piece of tyre in my soup!' `Eat it, Bartski,' says his father. This is another achievement of Socialism. Barely fifty-five years since the Revolution, and already we have almost completely replaced the horse with the automobile.'

Lewis' history of communism hits all of the major phases of development in the Soviet Union, and also illustrates the uniqueness of the interpretations of communism in several of the satellites, especially East Germany, Romania, Hungary and Poland. He captures Joseph Stalin's own grim sense of humor, his paranoid ability to liquidate large numbers of the people around him and joke with them about it at the same time.

Perhaps the best measure of a book is whether or not you have the stomach to finish it. This one on my Kindle for four days before I got to the last chapter, but I did get all the way through it and I'm glad that I did.

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Where was the editor?

Bydoc petersonon June 27, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Twain, of course, was spot on, when he wrote, "against the assult of laughter, nothing can stand." It was therefore with great interest that I picked up Lewis' book, having long been a fan of Soviet humor. What a disappointment, then, to find such a mish-mash of personal anecdotes intertwined with the ostensible subject of the book. The historical context Lewis provides is both necessecary (for those not familiar with events and personalities parodied) and well-written; this was a real strength of the book. The jokes were great (and brought many a smile to my face). The personal stories Lewis inexplicably included, however, were something I could have done without. For this I hold the editor equally at fault as Lewis, both of whom should have known better. If you can manage to skip to the "good stuff" - the self-depreciating (and cutting) humor, there is much to like here. Getting to it takes some effort. My recommendation, prior to picking this up, is Soviet Humor: The Best of Krokodil - the flavor is very similar without the author getting in the way.

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Byarmeniouson August 31, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I thought there would more jokes, still an interesting read.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Not great but not bad.

Bydemarionon July 9, 2015

Format: Hardcover

The jokes are the best part. When the author describes personal interactions (such as with Ariane, a lover from the former East Germany) it really gets tiresome and tedious.

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Most recent customer reviews

Too much hammer, too little tickle

Stephen Leacock's verdict that "humour may be defined as the kindly contemplation of incongruities of life, and the artistic expression thereof" should be kept in mind when...Read more

Published on August 29, 2008 by Theodore A. Rushton

Very Disappointing

The recent Economist review of _Hammer & Tickle_ has done the world a disservice simply by calling attention to this book when, in fact, it merits no recognition whatsoever.Read more

Published on August 5, 2008 by LanternRouge

English United States

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