You Call This Living?

Description

A Collection of East European Political Jokes

C. Banc and Alan Dundes
University of Georgia Press

The political joke is as old as politics – a classic form of popular social commentary that skewers even as it amuses. This book brings together some of the most mordantly funny examples of the genre: the jokes that proliferated (privately, of course) in Eastern Europe under the Warsaw Pact. Recalled by a Romanian Jewish emigre, these jokes not only form a sampling of political humour, they also offer a insight into the conditions that gave rise to the wave of reform and revolution which took place in that part of the world.

“Unfortunately, the Eatern bloc is known for its shortages, but one thing they have never been short on is a sense of humor. This fine collection of political jokes will not only entertain western readers, but should provide valuable insight into how the people of eastern Europe managed to survive so many years of political and economic oppression.” – Yakov Smirnoff