William Novak
1 If you like jokes, stories, and having a good laugh...
Boy, if you like to read a book that has everything a Jew could laugh about, this book is it! I couldn't be without a book like this, so get yourself a copy! You won't be ashamed you did.
2 This is the one
They are all in here, and pretty well presented. A pity that is has not been updated in all these years, but if you are interested in the topic you have to have this one.
3 Still Unsurpassed
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.
4 Definitive Sampler
And that's what this book is! A definitive sampler of among the best of Jewish humor in all styles and eras. Loved it. Also a great reference work. I also recommend strongly A Little Joy, A Little Oy, as this small but mighty paperback, deals with humor plus, also in a sampler format, but goes further into literature, anecdotes, trivia etc. Loved both of these!!!!!!
5 What a classic!
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!
6 Big Book of Jewish Humor
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.
