Did you hear the one about the joke book?

Is it funny?

Not really. It’s not a book of jokes. Rather a book about jokes. History and Philosophy. Well, there are a few jokes in it. But that’s not the point.

I don’t get it.

The most obvious criticism one could make about Stop Me If You’ve Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes by Jim Holt is that it is too short. In the preface, Holt admits that, “Some readers will consider it exiguous, but to me it is much of a muchness, and that is more than enough.”

(How does an author decide between writing a preface, introduction, or prologue? Jim Holt went for a preface with this book, but I think I would have preferred an introduction.)

The second most obvious criticism one could make about Stop Me if You’ve Heard This is that it makes no mention of The Aristocrats, that bizarrely delightful documentary consisting of nothing more than comedians telling the same joke. It’s a glaring omission in a book about jokes. The Aristocrats stands as a hilarious deconstruction and love song to the Modern Joke, an ever-changing art that has evolved to a state in which how has taken precedence over what. (Thus The Aristocrats Executive Producer Penn Jillette’s comparison of stand-up comedy to jazz music.) Holt was handed a case study in his topic and for whatever reason, decided it did not apply.

I know jokes are the forest and stand-up is a prominent thicket of trees. And Jim, I know you work for The New Yorker and I’m just a blogger and your author photo has you looking very professorial and writerly, and my WordPress profile pic has me looking like a Hunter S. Thompson wannabe, but I really was expecting a bit more. Despite your much muchness.

Jokes, those splinters that build comedy, deserve much more. I wanted more Bruce, more Pryor, more Carlin. You could go back to Twain. Gimme gimme gimme. And yes, you went back to the ancients and what not. But gimme gimme gimme!

Ultimately, there’s no reason why anyone shouldn’t pick up and read Stop Me If You’ve Heard This. Grab it from the library. Borrow a copy from a friend. Read it on your iPhone. Download it to your Kindle. Pick it up in a few months from the bargain bin. Ah hell, buy it.

But whatever you do, pay special close attention if some Holt guy publishes a big book about jokes. It’ll be good. He’s on to something. It’s a worthy, fascinating story.

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