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The Humor Code

A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny

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The Humor Code

Written by: Peter McGraw, Joel Warner
Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
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Summary

Dr. Peter McGraw, founder of the Humor Research Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder, teamed up with journalist Joel Warner on a far-reaching search for the secret behind humor. Their journey spanned the globe, from New York to Japan, from Palestine to the Amazon. Meanwhile, the duo conducted their own humor experiments along the way-to wince-worthy, hilarious, and illuminating results. In their quixotic search, they questioned countless experts, from comedians like Louis C. K. to rat-tickling researchers, and answered pressing (and not-so-pressing) questions such as, "What's the secret to winning the New Yorker cartoon caption contest?"; "Who has the bigger funny bone - men or women, Democrats or Republicans?"; and "Is laughter really the best medicine?" As a final test, McGraw uses everything they learned to attempt stand-up-at the largest comedy festival in the world. Funny, surprising, and often touching, The Humor Code is a revealing exploration of humor, society, and an unusual friendship.

©2014 Peter McGraw and Joel Warner (P)2014 Tantor Professionals & Academics Social Sciences Social Scientists & Psychologists Travel Writing & Commentary Comedy Celebrity Nonfiction Funny Witty New York Middle East
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What the critics say

"It's not often you can say a book about comedy can teach us some serious lessons. This one does-and entertains us in the process." ( Booklist Starred Review)
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Do yourself a favour and just find a diagram of the benign theory they came up with you’ll know everything you need to know about this book. Everything else is just filler. The Reid’s voice is grating after a while.

Waste of time

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