The Naked Jape

Description

Is Man the only animal that laughs? Why are clowns so scary? Do jokes make children more intelligent? Are men funnier than women? Can God take a joke? What's brown and sticky? What do you get if you cross a joke book with a vivid, funny and fascinating look at what makes us laugh? Join top comedian Jimmy Carr and his best friend and fellow joke-lover, Lucy Greeves on a whistle-stop tour of the strange and wonderful world of jokes. From the mysterious pygmy jesters of Ancient Egypt to today's stars of stand-up comedy, via Shakespeare, Freud and Lenny Bruce, this journey is by turns thought-provoking and hilarious. And with a connoisseur's selection of over 400 of the best jokes ever told, "The Naked Jape" will be sure to find your funny bone.

Author description

Jimmy Carr and Lucy Greeves first met at university in 1992, where they bonded over a shared taste for near-the-knuckle stand-up comedy and terrible puns. In 1999, Jimmy binned a perfectly good job in marketing to see if thinking about jokes all day might be more fun. (It was.) Six years later, he persuaded his friend Lucy -- by then making her living as a copywriter -- to do the same. The Naked Jape is their first book together.