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The Mad Sampler

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A sampling of all the cartons from Mad

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

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26 people want to read

About the author

William M. Gaines

441 books27 followers

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5 stars
8 (24%)
4 stars
8 (24%)
3 stars
10 (30%)
2 stars
7 (21%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Profile Image for Phil.
2,470 reviews233 followers
November 1, 2025
Nice one! This takes on 'Lassie' (Lizzy), the two faces of WWII, commercial roulette, the Shakespeare Primer, Mad's insurance, Mad's Auto repair, Famous lost words, College songs and cheers (really funny), the guide to parents and come good cartoons. Lots of fun! 4 Mad stars.
Profile Image for Charles.
238 reviews32 followers
November 16, 2020
While the humour in this book is certainly antiquated by today's standards, understandable for a book first published in 1960, there are some redeeming qualities to it, including the parodies of Shakespeare and the TV shows of the period (like 'TV's Wonder Dog Lizzie', a parody of 'Lassie').

The best quality of this book in my opinion is its good satire of society in general and of political correctness, highlighted in the segment 'The Two Faces of World War II' which shows how people's perceptions were changing over time because of this phenomenon.
Profile Image for Tom Schulte.
3,460 reviews77 followers
January 4, 2021
This humor has not aged well for me and is also hampered by the fact most of these presentations lose impact crammed into the confines of cramped paperback pages at times even with unnecessary whitespace.
Profile Image for John E.
613 reviews10 followers
December 15, 2020
Usual MADness. A flashback to the late 1950 for me and the days of my adolescence.
Profile Image for Duane.
1,448 reviews19 followers
October 3, 2010
Not the best sample of Mad humor. I do enjoy the art style, but the humor is boring and forced in my opinion.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews

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