Description:"Here is a lifetime harvest of Isaac Asimov's favorite anecdotes, jokes, puns, and scandalous verse--640 selections in all. Everything is included, from the original shaggy-dog story (in mercifully truncated form) to famous put-downs from ancient history, from the cerebral whimsies of Talmudic wit to the bawdiness of the barracks ... The author has interwoven the tales with very personal running commentary, providing much informed advice on how to tell them effectively. He offers further anecdotes from his own experiences, both on the lecture platform and at parties great and small, as well as gleanings from his philosophy of what humor (and life) is all about." --