In 1978, Time magazine estimated that around 80 percent of professional American comics were Jewish, and Jewish humor remains a foundation stone of American popular culture. This book is a joyful and irreverent celebration of some of the greatest comedians of the 20th century, ripe in satire, anecdote, self-deprecation and irony.

photographs of Larry David, Fran Lebowitz, Mel Brooks, Sid Caesar, Lenny Bruce, Rita Rudner, Joan Rivers and George Burns, among others, are accompanied by one-liners such as:

“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” Groucho Marx

“When I was a boy the Dead Sea was only sick.”  George Burns

“It was a Jewish porno film … one minute of sex and nine minutes of guilt.” Joan Rivers

“I am not the type who wants to go back to the land; I am the type who wants to go back to the hotel.” Fran Lebowitz