The Nilsens outdo themselves in compiling this intriguing, amusing, and relaxed guide to humor from knock-knock jokes, Molly Ivins, and put-downs to Waiting for Godot,film noir, and postmodernism. Beyond clarity in formatting and describing topic, limits, and methods, their book posses the essential attribute of readability.

Choice

The extensive bibliography proper is excellent…. it would be excellent in a senior school library, and in larger public libraries as an addition to their literary criticism collections.

New Zealand Libraries

The authors have created a reference work that would appeal to psychologists, educators, sociologists, and other professionals who study emotional behavior.

Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin

A good starting point for understanding the structure, formats, and varieties of American humor.

C&RL News

As benefits an encyclopedia, this book is thorough and informative. As suits the subject matter, it is also entertaining. It is a valuable book, not only for humor scholars, but for students of culture, society, politics, psychology, and literature. The reader, of whatever background, will nod in agreement with the deft and knowledgeable observations, laugh at the humorous examples, and mutter in surprise at the many arcane bits of information. It is a difficult document to put down, even to write a review.

International Journal of Humor Research

An ideal reference acquisition for both academic and public library collection….truly encyclopedic in its scope, scholarly in its content, and a delight to simply browse through for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the history of humor, comedians, and popular culture.

Midwest Book Review