{"product_id":"no-joke-ruth-r-wisse-9780691149462","title":"No Joke: Making Jewish Humor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhy the genius of Jewish humor runs risks as well as rewards\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHumor is the most celebrated of all Jewish responses to modernity. In this book, Ruth Wisse evokes and applauds the genius of spontaneous Jewish joking--as well as the brilliance of comic masterworks by writers like Heinrich Heine, Sholem Aleichem, Isaac Babel, S. Y. Agnon, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Philip Roth. At the same time, Wisse draws attention to the precarious conditions that call Jewish humor into being--and the price it may exact from its practitioners and audience. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWisse broadly traces modern Jewish humor around the world, teasing out its implications as she explores memorable and telling examples from German, Yiddish, English, Russian, and Hebrew. Among other topics, the book looks at how Jewish humor channeled Jewish learning and wordsmanship into new avenues of creativity, brought relief to liberal non-Jews in repressive societies, and enriched popular culture in the United States. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEven as it invites readers to consider the pleasures and profits of Jewish humor, the book asks difficult but fascinating questions: Can the excess and extreme self-ridicule of Jewish humor go too far and backfire in the process? And is \"leave 'em laughing\" the wisest motto for a people that others have intended to sweep off the stage of history?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ruth R. Wisse\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691149461\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691149462\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/02\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 296\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.04lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.81h x 5.68w x 0.92d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e PROSE - Honorable Mention\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/15\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/15\/2013 pg. 95\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Century\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/12\/2013 pg. 41\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/02\/2013 pg. 38\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/09\/2013 pg. 30\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2013","brand":"Ruth R. Wisse","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43925616361727,"sku":"9780691149462","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_edefc687-8d52-4320-9771-7b10f58165d6.jpg?v=1681078328","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/no-joke-ruth-r-wisse-9780691149462","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}