Description: Freud called it a "liberating release from reality." Its existence is evidenced by the overwhelming popularity of stand-up comedians, comic films, television sitcoms, and jokes circulating on the Internet. And although nearly all of us enjoy it, most would be hard-pressed to define it -- with good reason: humor is an elusive concept that seems to defy explanation.

Until now, key documents from the critical history have never been brought together in a single volume. What's So Funny? Humor in American Culture, a collection of fifteen essays, examines the meaning of humor and attempts to pinpoint its impact on American culture and society while providing a historical overview of its progression.

Essays from Nancy Walker and Zita Dresner, Joseph Boskin and Joseph Dorinson, William Keough, Roy Blount, Jr., and others trace the development of American humor from the colonial period to the present, focusing on its relation to ethnicity, gender, geography, and violence. What's So Funny? explores the traits of the American experience that have given rise to its humor.

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