This volume begins very well with a loose overview of those who have included humor in whatever they did creatively.
The book starts out very well as humor history is chronicled from the start of man through the Greeks and through the 1800s. Unbelievably, that is a smaller part of the book. The rest is the author's view of humor, where a lot is left out, considering all we know.

The advent of technology involving books, newspapers, radio, tv and film are acknowledged. However, what all produced involving humor is barely written of. It's as if the writer was running out of time and rushed writing to the end.

Delving into Twain, Mencken, George Kaufman, Dorothy Parker, Woody Allen, Neil Simon, etc. are hard to imagine not putting spotlights on involving humor. Steve Allen, who wrote volumes on humor, gets a mere mention.

I was really surprised at how cartooning is missing. Cartooning is entirely based in humor. From gag cartoons to comic strips to comic books, humor was the fire that started the various forms of communications.

Frankly, I think the author should have ended this book and worked to create a second and/or third volume.

This writer does have his feet in the U.K., so missing American hunor creators can be somewhat set aside. Though that raises questions of focus on folks like Arthur Askey, George Formby, Ken Dodd, etc. Moreover, tehre are so many internationally that are never mentioned.

Something only touched on, as the writer turns a bit political, is the advent of "Political Correctness" and the death of humor. That deserved a chapter in itself.

As with most writers today, this one also litters the book with 'evolution'. This author includes the word dozens of times incorrectly. Again, I wish these writers would learn even the simplest theories involving evolutionary theory. All the writer, who misuse the word, do is red flag their ignorance of evolution and that questions whatever else is written.

Bottom line: I don't recommend this book. 4 out of ten points.
I need to note that access to this book came via NetGalley.

https://nonstopreaderboKnock, Knock is a humorous and accessible monograph on the *nature* of humour by William Hartston. Released 9th May 2023 by Watkins Publishing, it's 224 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

The author poses the question to readers: Why, when we know so little about *what* humour actually is and *why* we find things funny (or not), would anyone write a book about the subject? He spends the next couple hundred pages doing an entertaining and enlightening job doing precisely that. It's not academic in scope or language, but the book is helpfully annotated throughout and the chapter notes are both erudite and entertaining. Amongst the annotations -are- a plethora of academic treatises on various related subjects which will give keen readers a fertile source to mine for further reading.

Much (most?) of the time, rigorously writing about what's funny is distinctly unfunny. E.B. White famously said “Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better but the frog dies in the process.” In this case, the author's bonhomie, intelligence, and wit carry the day, and readers will likely experience grins and a giggle in the course of the read.

Four stars. This would make a good choice for school or public library acquisition, home use, or gift giving. Spelling and vernacular are British standard English (as is the author), but won't cause issues in context for readers from elsewhere.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Enlightening and entertaining history of humour.

Though it never, of course, manages to find the Unified Theory of Humour that explains the what and why of what humans find chortlesome, that doesn't matter. The author lets us know early on that it surely isn't possible, as many have tried over the centuries, to bring one theory to cover all of Humour.

But it was such good fun seeing theories tested against a selection of jokes. And seeing jokes themselves from thousands of years ago. And seeing different attitudes to laughter and fun - frowned upon, wouldn't you know.

I loved the regular inclusion of jokes. I kept thinking "I must remember that one!" and it was absolutely fascinating getting any insight at all into ancient humour.

With the advent of mass entertainment, we also got a look at humorous books, films, vaudeville acts over the last few hundred years with key works commented on.

This made me want to research the topic more thoroughly, and I was glad to see the references cited as well. It might be one I re-read.

For fans of social history, and those interested in what makes us laugh.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

William Hartston writes a fascinating and indepth well researched history of humour, which has been present right since the beginning of human existence, laughter is thought to have developed before speech and one of the earliest forms of human communication. This dense and detailed study is quite an achievement, given it is hard to know what humour is, or the nature of the relationship between laughter and humour, but this does not stop Hartston from having a go at the unattainable goal of formulating a Grand Unified Theory of Humour. Humour is such a weird thing, not everyone finds the same things funny, and there are significant differences in humour between different countries, and between various cultures. Hartston splits this into 2 main parts, first examining the theory, and the second looking at humour in practice.

The first part takes in philosophers, ancient and more recent, some of whom are sceptical and hostile to humour, the changing nature and meaning of humour and comedy over time, and asks does God laugh? There are numerous theories, including superiority, relief, and incongruity. Laughter serves a vital bonding function, and people are more likely to laugh when they are in a social situation than when they are alone. Genuine humour is but just one cause of laughter, we may laugh when embarrassed, to signal we are in a good mood, because others are laughing, nervous or stressed, as a sign of malice and contempt, or are being tickled. None of the theories work completely, but in recent times it has been possible to look to MRI techniques that examine the impact of humour on the brain.

The practice of humour takes in comedians through time, the role of theatre - the likes of Shakespeare, music hall, and the rising popularity of 'farces'. Cinema goes from the silent era with Chaplin, the slapstick, to the Marx Brothers, with Grouch Marx stating 'humour is reason gone mad', the screwball, Ealing and black comedies. TV and Radio can seal the reputations of comedians but have a downside in that new material is required at a faster rate, and it charts the rise of the sit-com, satire. funny cartoons and animations. This will appeal to readers who are interested in the history, changes, attitudes and perceptions of humour. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
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Humor has come a long way from the time when Aristotle disparaged laughter (as readers of The Name of the Rose know) and to today. The impressive medical advances from the last decades now let scientists know where humor and laughter reside in the brain, and how our brain looks while hearing a joke. This book explains the history of humor, how it has been seen through the ages, how it’s been explored and thrived, as well as the science behind it. It also includes some jokes that made my nephew laugh. There is some information as to how non-human animals respond to tickling, and even some throwbacks to famous TV comedies. The author himself has a great sense of humor, so everything is explained in a fun, approachable way. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to laugh so this book will be a treat for readers of all ages.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Watkins Publishing!

This book had great writing and details. It felt a little too smart for me though. I bet a lot of English majors would love this book!

Very engaging look at the history of humour and a deep analysis of jokes. I like the mix of fun (old jokes and the variants of the word 'laugh') with serious research into the changes in comedy from ancient Greece to Shakespeare to today. Will gladly add to class library for interested students when published.