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Stop Me If You've Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes Hardcover – Bargain Price, July 17, 2008

by Jim Holt (Author)

28 customer reviews

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In the fine tradition of On Bullshit comes this outrageous, uproarious compendium of absurdity, filth, racy paradox, and mature philosophical reflection.

Stop Me If You've Heard This is the first book to trace the evolution of the joke from the stand-up comics of ancient Athens to the comedy-club Seinfelds of today. Cropping up en route are such unforgettable figures as Poggio, a Renaissance papal secretary and sexual adventurer; and Gershon Legman, the FBI-hounded psychoanalyst of dirty jokes. Having explored humor's history in part one, Jim Holt then delves into philosophy in part two. Jewish jokes; Wall Street jokes; jokes about rednecks and atheists, bulimics and politicians; jokes that you missed if you didn't go to a Catholic girls' school; jokes about language and logic itself—all become fodder for the grand theories of Aristotle, Kant, Freud, and Wittgenstein. A heady mix of the high and the low, of the ribald and the profound, this handsomely illustrated volume demands to be read by anyone who has ever peered into the abyss and asked: What's so funny?

Stop Me If You've Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes [Bargain Price]

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A complete history of the joke and its philosophical motivations will perhaps never be written, as Holt admits that the joke is not an unchanging Platonic Ideal, but a historical form that evolves over time. Holt, a contributor to the New Yorker, tries anyway, tracking the joke's evolution from the oldest surviving joke book, the surprisingly blue Greek text Philogelos, to Freud and Kant in explaining how and why we laugh at jokes. The book's second half occasionally lapses into dryness; even Holt suggests that the more interesting a subject is, the more boring the accompanying philosophy. In examining two overlooked aspects of a common joke, Holt presents some illuminating thoughts—jokes evolve more than they are created; they are an ideal way to expel pent-up aggression—and fascinating fringe figures such as Gershon Legman, the controversial and pioneering dirty-joke archivist who saw himself as the keeper of the deepest subcellar in the burning Alexandria Library of the age; the subcellar of our secret desires, which no one else was raising so much as a finger to preserve. Highly readable, Holt's effort will appeal to the intellectually curious, and the jokes are pretty funny. (July)
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Review

Explodes the myth that the high and low brow are more than a couple of inches apart....Seriously funny stuff. -- Colin McGinn, author of The Making of a Philosopher

Fast-moving, idiosyncratic...a stocking-stuffer. -- The New York Times Book Review

Finally, I understand what it is I've been laughing at for all these years. -- Jimmy Kimmel

Holt...takes in so much about the history and philosophy of joke-telling in his concise and amiable conspectus of the subject. -- Joseph Epstein, The Wall Street Journal

Jim Holt manages here to be deadly serious and perfectly hilarious at the same time. -- Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the US

Jim Holt riffs in Stop Me If You've Heard This. -- Vanity Fair

Small, witty, and delightful...a worthy successor to Harry Frankfurt's brilliant On Bullshit. -- Simon Blackburn, The New York Sun

The truth behind the glamour. -- Fran Lebowitz

Viewed through Holt's complex, concise lens, the joke comes off as a contender for humankind's most profound mode of expression. -- Elle

Witty and engaging...This is a very funny tale and it produces some marvelous and unlikely heroes. -- The New York Review of Books

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Product details

Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (July 17, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393066738
ASIN: B005DICX2W
Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 0.7 x 7.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
Average Customer Review: 28 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,435,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4816 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Jokes & Riddles
- #7633 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Love, Sex & Marriage
- #19341 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Satire

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A Great Delight in a Small Package

January 18, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

First the caveats: This is not really an extensive history and philosophy of the joke. The subject is far too vast for that and, for many periods, the material is too sparse. A serious philosophy of the joke would require a very large volume. What Holt does is hit the high points. He offers a host of representative jokes and summarizes the chief collectors of and interpreters of the joke as a cultural phenomenon. Some of these individuals (Gershon Legman, Alan Dundes, Nat Schmulowitz) are as interesting and quirky as the material they studied.

The book is tiny. Once you deduct the (clever, amusing) illustrations and account for the 175-or-so-words/page margins, you end up with approximately 17,000 words of text (plus brief bibliography and index). That’s more like two long magazine articles than an actual book. At the same time, you have a terrific stocking stuffer with solid production values.

As you would expect from the author of Why Does the World Exist? this is a well-written, clever piece of work. Sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, it elicited constant smirks and titters. I loved his non sequitur use of Umberto Eco, where he began to make a point, using The Name of the Rose, but couldn’t complete it because he was forced to admit that he couldn’t finish reading the novel.

Finally, this is a good read and we could all use more of those. It is not a scholarly book; it is not a naughty book (for the most part); it is a good read on an important and engaging subject. You couldn’t really read it in public because people would keep interrupting you and asking you why you were laughing. It’s a curl-up-in-a-quiet-corner-and-enjoy book. Johnson once said of Paradise Lost that ‘none ever wished it longer’, but everyone will wish that this book was longer, because it is a great delight in a small package.

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nick

I've heard this

December 1, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Pretty much every single joke in this book was lifted from another book called "Jokes: Philosophical Thoughts on Joking Matters," by Ted Cohen. That book is also pretty crummy, so don't think I have some bias.

I disliked this book because it's boring, it's not funny, and it offers no insight. The history part isn't really a history of jokes or humor, but just a short description of a small handful of people who liked jokes. The philosophy half of the book gives less insight than the Wikipedia page on humor.

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

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Juan Pineda

Humour and Understanding

December 27, 2011

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This book is a good read for any serious :-) amateur philosopher. I cannot speak for real philosophers but my favourite one recommended it in is his blog.

I think this book has a good balance of jokes and interesting insights about humour. Its brevity can be seen both as an advantage and as a disadvantage. It took me two and a half hours to read the book because I am a slow reader and because could not resist sharing some of the jokes with my wife, who was sitting nearby marking exams. I liked some of the jokes and I think she liked them too.

This book also gave me a couple of reasons to start collecting jokes. My poor wife is now terrified.

Now comes my boring philosophical comment, so you can stop reading here. Knowledge (immaterial possession of things), Love (willing the good of the other as other), Ethics (discernment of what is best), Religion (hunger for the Infinite), Gaming (enjoyment of rules), Art (expressiveness, skill and imagination combined) and Humour (read the book :-)) are all distinctive features of human beings. Any of these features alone sets us apart and all of them can help us a little in enjoying and understanding human beings.

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

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tyler

This comes as a stone tablet with ten jokes chiseled ...

April 2, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This comes as a stone tablet with ten jokes chiseled into it and wrapped in the cover you see in the picture.

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Vincent

You don't need a whole book to tell you why jokes are funny.

April 14, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is mildly amusing, but not worth a whole book. The joke voted "best joke" by comedians is great, however: (Spoiler alert).
Patient: Doctor, my penis really burns when I go to the bathroom.
Doctor: That's because someone is talking about it.

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Bennett E. Werner

Philosophy

May 25, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

It wasn't as funny as I was hoping for - but it's philosophy so why am I surprised. I found "Plato and a Platypus Stop Into a Bar" to be much more readable and funny.

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Yvon

Jim Holt, always good!

May 20, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The book is short and sweet, two essays with some pictures.
Jim Holt has a way of writing which always leaves room for further thought and exploration.
I highly recommend it.

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Edward Zivica

Intellectual fun. EZ

March 31, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I think this would be a must for anybody in the laugh industry and just a lot of fun for anybody else. EZ Whispering Whale

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