Cracking Up
American Humor in a Time of Conflict
Lewis, Paul
Hardcover
$16.25 + $1.99 USPS S/H
$0.81 of your order (5%) will be donated to the school of your choice.
BOOK SUMMARY
What do Jon Stewart, Freddy Krueger, Patch Adams, and George W. Bush have in common? As Paul Lewis shows in Cracking Up, they are all among the ranks of joke tellers who aim to do much more than simply amuse. Exploring topics that range from the sadistic
BOOK SYNOPSIS
What do Jon Stewart, Freddy Krueger, Patch Adams, and George W. Bush have in common? As Paul Lewis shows in Cracking Up, they are all among the ranks of joke tellers who aim to do much more than simply amuse. Exploring topics that range from the sadistic mockery of Abu Ghraib prison guards to New Age platitudes about the healing power of laughter, from jokes used to ridicule the possibility of global climate change to the heartwarming performances of hospital clowns, Lewis demonstrates that over the past thirty years American humor has become increasingly purposeful and embattled.
Navigating this contentious world of controversial, manipulative, and disturbing laughter, Cracking Up argues that the good news about American humor in our time--that it is delightful, relaxing, and distracting--is also the bad news. In a culture that both enjoys and quarrels about jokes, humor expresses our most nurturing and hurtful impulses, informs and misinforms us, and exposes as well as covers up the shortcomings of our leaders. Wondering what's so funny about a culture determined to laugh at problems it prefers not to face, Lewis reveals connections between such seemingly unrelated jokers as Norman Cousins, Hannibal Lecter, Rush Limbaugh, Garry Trudeau, Jay Leno, Ronald Reagan, Beavis and Butt-Head, and Bill Clinton. The result is a surprising, alarming, and at times hilarious argument that will appeal to anyone interested in the ways humor is changing our cultural and political landscapes.
AUTHOR BIO
Paul Lewis is professor of English at Boston College. He is also the author of Comic Effects: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Humor in Literature.
BOOK EXCERPTS
27 halftones
BOOK REVIEWS
"The recognition that humor can reflect horror or hope makes Cracking Up a worthy exploration of the consequences of a joke. Whether saving lives or humiliating the helpless, humor culture is human culture."
Submit a book reviewFOR RELATED BOOKS
Humor Books :: General Books
Humor Books :: Topic Books :: Political Books
MORE BOOK INFO
ISBN: 0226476995
ISBN(13-digit): 9780226476995
Dewey Decimal: 817/.509
Library of Congress: 2006005612
Book Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr
Language: ENG
No. of Pages: 240
If you like this book, you may also enjoy:
 | |
 | |
 | |
| Phillips' Book of Great Thoughts Funny Sayings | |
French for Cats | |
Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer | |
| Phillips, Bob (EDT) | |
De LA Barbe, Henri/ Boswell, John/ Zamchick, Gary (ILT)/ Beard, Henry | |
Katchor, Ben | |
