A Treasury of Jewish Humor

by Nathan Ausubel

From front flap: Among the authors included in this anthology are Sholom Aleichem, Arthur Kober, Franz Werfel, Sholom Asch, S. J. Perelman, Peretz, Bialik, Zangwill, Heinrich Heine, Ferenc Molnar, and a host of others, some well known, some anonymous. The wry, happy, bitter, funny, and ironic stories they tell are taken from the rich and colorful tapestry of Jewish life throughout the ages. In this volume there are modern short stories and ancient tales, poems, excerpts from novels, epigrams, and witty sayings. Some are taken from medieval Hebrew, some from modern authors, and many from that great unwritten literature that is passed on from generation to generation.

Genres: Humor, Judaica

735 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Nathan Ausubel (June 15, 1898 - November, 1986) was an American historian, folklorist and humorist. He specialized in Jewish culture. Wikipedia

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I would’ve been more interested if I was Jewish. It’s a really big book and, to me, it was as dull as it was big!

[Daniel A. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me be short but sweet here: I didn't even make it through the introduction of Nathan Ausubel's collection A Treasury of Jewish Humor before I gave up in disgust. I already had mixed-to-poor expectations for this volume based on Ausubel's other collection I attempted, A Treasury of Jewish Folklore, but upon reading an introduction that somehow mixed parochialism with magnanimous, indulgent egalitarianism, I didn't even want to pick it up anymore. Not my cup of tea.