{"product_id":"no-joke-making-jewish-humor-9780691165813","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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRuth R. Wisse\u003c\/b\u003e is the Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and professor of comparative literature at Harvard University. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Modern Jewish Canon: A Journey through Language and Culture\u003c\/i\u003e, which won a National Jewish Book Award. Her other books include \u003ci\u003eJews and Power\u003c\/i\u003e (Schocken) and \u003ci\u003eThe Schlemiel as Modern Hero\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50503683146002,"sku":"9780691165813","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_e6977c01-703f-423d-9d09-7d48c2aa0c3f.jpg?v=1730795554","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/no-joke-making-jewish-humor-9780691165813","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}