Timeless advice about how to use humor to win over any audience Can jokes win a hostile room, a hopeless argument, or even an election? You bet they can, according to Cicero, and he knew what he was talking about. One of Rome’s greatest politicians, speakers, and lawyers, Cicero was also reputedly one of antiquity’s funniest people. After he was elected commander-in-chief and head of state, his enemies even started calling him “the stand-up Consul.” How to Tell a Joke provides a lively new translation of Cicero’s essential writing on humor alongside that of the later Roman orator and educator Quintilian. The result is a timeless practical guide to how a well-timed joke can win over any audience. As powerful as jokes can be, they are also hugely risky. The line between a witty joke and an offensive one isn’t always clear. Cross it and you’ll look like a clown, or worse. Here, Cicero and Quintilian explore every aspect of telling jokes—while avoiding costly mistakes. Presenting the sections on humor in Cicero’s On the Ideal Orator and Quintilian’s The Education of the Orator, complete with an enlightening introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, How to Tell a Joke examines the risks and rewards of humor and analyzes basic types that readers can use to write their own jokes. Filled with insight, wit, and examples, including more than a few lawyer jokes, How to Tell a Joke will appeal to anyone interested in humor or the art of public speaking.

All too often, this brilliant novel of thwarted love and revenge miscarried has been read for its political implications. Now, a quarter century after The Joke was first published and several years after the collapse of the Soviet-imposed Czechoslovak regime, it becomes easier to put such implications into perspective in favor of valuing the book (and all Kundera 's work) as what it truly is: great, stirring literature that sheds new light on the eternal themes of human existence. The present edition provides English-language readers an important further means toward revaluation of The Joke. For reasons he describes in his Author's Note, Milan Kundera devoted much time to creating (with the assistance of his American publisher-editor) a completely revised translation that reflects his original as closely as any translation possibly can: reflects it in its fidelity not only to the words and syntax but also to the characteristic dictions and tonalities of the novel's narrators. The result is nothing less than the restoration of a classic.

A Joke Book for Kids consists of 96 picture filled pages of children inspired, corny jokes, riddles and word play for kids: ages 7 thru 11. The book is a large, 81/2 x 11 inches and can also be used as a coloring book. It makes a great Birthday Present or gift for any occasion. This book is not only fun, but it can also help children through tough times. It can even help poor readers become better students. Children love joke books, and this joke book passes the funny test.

As John Hodgman says in this book's introduction, “We all know that books are funny. First, they are made of paste and cloth, which is funny, as is the fact that people still buy and read them.” With that in mind, the McSweeney's Joke Book of Book Jokes collects the best book-related humor from the humor-laden archives of McSweeney's Internet Tendency. Open it and be regaled by such sketches, lists, letters, and spoofs as: Postcards from James Joyce to his Brother Stan Winnie-the-Pooh is My Coworker Ikea Product or Lord of the Rings Character? Popular Children's Fairy Tales Reimagined Using Members of My Family The Very Unauthorized Biography of Steven Seagal Chuck Norris Erotica John Updike, Television Writer Jane Eyre Runs for President Cormac McCarthy Writes to the Editor of the Santa Fe New Mexican Holden Caulfield Gives the Commencement Speech to a High School Letters from Odysseus's College Roommate And many dozens more.

Sick jokes, yucky jokes, crazy jokes, cool jokes – more than 400 hilarious gags and riddles collected from children all across Australia.

“April Fools!” For anyone who’s even been the victim of an April Fools’ Day joke or who’s planning to pull the best prank yet, this fun book takes them inside the possible origins of an amusing holiday. Similar holidays have been practiced for centuries by several cultures, including the ancient Romans. Colorful photographs of celebrations around the world as well as snapshots of the funniest pranks will have readers laughing. No fooling!

Sometimes life hands you lemons. In this collection of jokes, autobiography, and personal philosophy, author and businessman Dr. J. T. Dock Houk makes an ocean of lemonade. Life’s a Joke compiles four books – “It’s All About Me,” “My Life with a Girl,” “Kids and Pets,” and “Life Around Us” – recounting 1,162 jokes, funny anecdotes, and descriptions of Sunday morning comics, clippings of which Dock has been collecting for an incredible amount of decades. As the author writes, “What I mean to convey by saying ‘life is a joke’ is that humor has helped me over some of the rough spots by showing me a side of life that either explains what I am feeling, or gives me a glimpse of something I also see. Humor, whose visual expression is often a joke, makes me smile or even laugh out loud. And sometimes, if you don’t laugh, you might cry.” So crack open Life’s a Joke and crack a smile. You might learn a little wisdom – but if not, at least you’ll get a laugh