What do Jon Stewart, Freddy Krueger, Patch Adams, and George W. Bush have in common? As Paul Lewis shows in Cracking Up, they are all among the ranks of joke tellers who aim to do much more than simply amuse. Exploring topics that range from the sadistic mockery of Abu Ghraib prison guards to New Age platitudes about the healing power of laughter, from jokes used to ridicule the possibility of global climate change to the heartwarming performances of hospital clowns, Lewis demonstrates that over the past thirty years American humor has become increasingly purposeful and embattled. Navigating this contentious world of controversial, manipulative, and disturbing laughter, Cracking Up argues that the good news about American humor in our time—that it is delightful, relaxing, and distracting—is also the bad news. In a culture that both enjoys and quarrels about jokes, humor expresses our most nurturing and hurtful impulses, informs and misinforms us, and exposes as well as covers up the shortcomings of our leaders. Wondering what’s so funny about a culture determined to laugh at problems it prefers not to face, Lewis reveals connections between such seemingly unrelated jokers as Norman Cousins, Hannibal Lecter, Rush Limbaugh, Garry Trudeau, Jay Leno, Ronald Reagan, Beavis and Butt-Head, and Bill Clinton. The result is a surprising, alarming, and at times hilarious argument that will appeal to anyone interested in the ways humor is changing our cultural and political landscapes.

Cracking Up: American Humor in a Time of Conflict

Humor & Entertainment

Lewis, Paul

Humor

University of Chicago Press

Now with Discussion Guide. Paul Lewis is editor of the Smart Dads Newsletter, and founder of Family University.

The Five Key Habits of Smart Dads: A Powerful Strategy for Successful Fathering

Zondervan

A compelling adult parable introduces the laws and principles that create a smart family and inspires the reader to commit to starting the journey: the second part of the book explains how to craft a simple 30-day plan for improving family life. A compelling story; a practical, 30-day plan; and specific guidebooks help families tackle key issues and grow strong and healthy.

30 Days to a Smart Family

Black, Thom

Religion & Spirituality

Guidebook A compelling story; a practical, 30-day plan; and specific guidebooks help families tackle key issues and grow strong and healthy

30 Days to a Smart Family: Moneysense Getting Control of Your Family Finances (30 Days to a Smart Family Guidebooks)

Briles, Judith

Parenting & Relationships

These forty concise chapters from Family University give you tools to instill in your children skills, attitudes, and values that will lead them to successful living.

40 Ways to Teach a Child Values

Parenting

A unique and detailed thirty-day plan for improving family life begins with an emotionally moving tale about having a brief time to live, drawing insights about authentic living from the questions raised by the story. Original.

Self-Help

Relationships

This hardcover book has nearly 200 pages presenting an entertaining and practical look at fathering priorities. 
Fathers in the 90s are waking up to their unique contributions to child development, and to the rewards of being much more than banker and disciplinarian. This book provides the insights needed to instill: key values and attitudes,balance career and fathering responsibilities, avoid common fathering mistakes,and gain and keep your childs respect. 
This is a book whose time has come. Any man can become a father, but the art of fatherhood has yet to be mastered. Rosie Grier.

The Five Key Habits of Smart Dads: The Secrets of Fast-Track Fathering

Family Relationships

Political Parties in Post-Communist Eastern Europe

Political Parties in Post-Communist Eastern Europe is the first textbook to survey the course of party developments in eastern Europe as a whole in the post-Communist period. This book relates the specifics of the post-communist situation to the broader picture of the early stages of party development in western Europe and also to contemporary models of party organisation in established democracies.The book includes:· a brief historical introduction to the context of post-communist change· the process of competitive party formation and democratic elections· the development of independent parties; their ideologies, and electoral volatility· the structure and level of organisation developed by new parties· an analysis of stable party systems which have emerged in eastern Europe and the contribution they make to emerging democracies in the regionParty Politics in Post-Communist Eastern Europe will be a comprehensive and invaluable resource, accessible to undergraduates of politics and European studies, as well as the non-specialist reader.

Legal Theory & Systems

Routledge

Looks at the six distinct tribes that live in northern Thailand, and describes their homes, clothing, jewelry, crafts, culture, and customs

Peoples of the Golden Triangle: Six Tribes in Thailand

Politics & Social Sciences

Anthropology

Thames&Hudson

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lewis, Paul. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Lewis, Paul

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lewis, Paul. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Cracking Up: American Humor in a Time of Conflict

The Five Key Habits of Smart Dads: A Powerful Strategy for Successful Fathering

30 Days to a Smart Family

30 Days to a Smart Family: Moneysense Getting Control of Your Family Finances (30 Days to a Smart Family Guidebooks)

40 Ways to Teach a Child Values

30 Days to a Smart Family

The Five Key Habits of Smart Dads: The Secrets of Fast-Track Fathering

Political Parties in Post-Communist Eastern Europe

Political Parties in Post-Communist Eastern Europe

Peoples of the Golden Triangle: Six Tribes in Thailand