Sources: Make ’em Laugh!: American Humorists of the 20th and 21st Centuries

Make ’em Laugh!: American Humorists of the 20th and 21st Centuries. Ed. by Zeke Jarvis. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2015. 322 pages. acid free $89 (ISBN: 978-1-4408-2994-9). E-book available (978-1-4408-2995-6), call for pricing.

While books about comedy often strip all the life out of it, good books about comedy are a useful resource for learning about key performers, for analysis of comedy trends, and for discovery of little-known works one may have missed. Unfortunately, Make ’em Laugh!: American Humorists of the 20th and 21st Centuries is not one of those good books about comedy.

The volume’s purpose is to examine “the issues of craft and technique found in each artist’s work as well as the social significance of these artists and their work” (xvi). A lengthy introduction provides an essay on various cultural aspects of humor, though it is puzzling why the editor chose to include references to literary and cultural figures who do not have entries in the book (Edna St. Vincent Millay, e.e. cummings, W.C. Field, and Shirley Temple, to name a few). The book is organized in several sections: literature, popular writing (which includes comic strips), television and film, and stand up and performance. The entries in each section are alphabetized, include biographical and career information, and have a few sources for further reading. The introductory material does not address how or why the entries were selected for inclusion, which would have been very helpful in determining just what this reference book intends to do. It does say that the text “tries to take a very broad view of humor so as to see as many different aspects of humor as possible,” (xv) but that does not assist with identifying the book’s purpose.

The entries contain mostly factual information (some of which, unfortunately, is incorrect) and little analysis or insight into the individual’s humor. There is also an alarming lack of inclusion of minority humorists. Had the editor chosen a narrower focus, such as just stand-up comedians and actors, or a more limited date range (most of the entries are from the late twentieth century through current), this book would have had a clearer focus and purpose. As it is, it’s exclusive, not nearly thorough enough, and just too broad to know what its purpose is.

Not recommended.—Tracy Carr, Library Services Director, Mississippi Library Commission, Jackson, Mississippi