Wit's End

“I have been reading Wit's End in juxtaposition to rereading and again writing about James Joyce's Ulysses. Geary prompts me to think that Joyce's title could have been No End to Wit. Goethe wrote an essay called No End to Shakespeare. There seems to be no end to James Geary's versatility.” - Harold Bloom

“Comedy is famously impossible to describe without destroying it, so James Geary—in this entertaining and informative and funny book—makes a very smart and effective move: he embodies the many different forms that wit takes, from poems to jokes to jive to rap. In a time of constant, unintentional humor, here is a purposeful and valuable reminder that sometimes it's on purpose and sometimes it's very nearly life-saving.” - David Shields, best-selling author of Reality Hunger and The Thing About Life Is One Day You'll Be Dead

“Whoever was the foremost authority on this topic is now second-most.” - Bob Mankoff, author of How About Never—Is Never Good for You?

“If you've ever spent hours overanalyzing your favorite stand-up special or sitcom episode, this is the kind of insightful, carefully reasoned deep dive you'll love.” - David Litt, New York Times best-selling author of Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years

“Playful, fiercely intelligent, silly, funny, and immensely informative—Wit’s End makes for a breathless read that leaves you feeling enormously enriched. The reinvention from chapter to chapter is a masterstroke and keeps the subject matter joyously buoyant.” - Reece Shearsmith, actor and writer of The League of Gentlemen