Reviews for Johnsoniana or a Collection of bon mots, 1776

The average rating for Johnsoniana or a Collection of bon mots, 1776 based on 1 review is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-06-15 00:00:00 Deborah Rubin Dr. A's tome is as interesting for what it tells us about changes in humor since 1971 as information about the forming and presentation of jokes. As usual his work is informative and easy to read, and equally typical for his non-fiction work padded with personal references and editorial asides. Some readers will object; I find it adds to the fun of reading him. Amazing how many "current" jokes were old stand bys forty years ago. I especially liked his dipping into material from as early as the Greek republics. Based on personal experience, I see no support for Asimov's hope that the quality of jokes (relative to ethnicity and gender imbalances) have improved since 1971. If anything, our humor is less erudite and more (what he would call) "raunchy", for reasons he anticipates in his discussions of the best milieu for telling and listening to jokes. A fun read.