How to be Funny On Purpose

For centuries illustrious thinkers have speculated about what inspires the beguiling and uplifting sound of laughter. With their ideas in mind, Edgar Willis takes an innovative and sometimes startling approach to the subject. Its key element is a precise and practical set of instructions for turning the momentary flicker of an idea into a full-fledged and funny joke. He provides further enrichment with lively discussions of such relevant topics as: good jokes and bad ones, the often hilarious consequences of unintended humor, and the perils of being funny. Richard L. Weaver II adds informed insights into using the Internet to find and develop jokes. The result is a book of extraordinary reach and dimension. The tone is erudite without being stuffy. He uses hundreds of jokes to illustrate techniques of jokemaking and shares anecdotes about his adventures and misadventures with humor.The probing analyses of humor's complexities will challenge your capacity to perceive and understand. The value of this book to aspiring humorists is obvious. It can also guide teachers, preachers, and public speakers into using humor to add zest and attention-holding power to their presentations. Most importantly it can amplify the response and sharpen the appreciation of people who relish hearing funny stories, and that includes almost everyone. They have laughed at jokes before, but having read this book, they will laugh louder, for now they will know why they are laughing.

The primary author of this book is Edgar E. Willis who is Emeritus Professor of Communication at the University of Michigan.  (Richard "Dick" Weaver wrote the final chapter (Chapter 11) on, "Using the Internet to Find or Develop Jokes," and his profile appears in the "About the Author" section.) Edgar served for ten years as the communication department chairman at the University of Michigan.  For many years his lectures on the mystery of what causes people to laugh, have enlightened and entertained audiences all across America and in England where he spent a year as a Fulbright scholar.  He has authored or co-authored five books about television and radio.  This book on a new subject springs from his experiences as a teacher and lecturer and the crystallization of his thinking about the roots of humor.

Along with this book, intended for a general reading audience, Edgar has also written two other books that may interest readers of this one.  His book, CIVILIAN IN AN ILL-FITTING UNIFORM: A MEMOIR OF WORLD WAR II, not only discusses his own experiences in World War II, but provides the entire context of the war as a backdrop for all the stories he tells and the adventures he relates.  His second book, MOSS ON THE IVORY TOWER: A NOVEL OF MYSTERY AND INTRIGUE radically departs from all of his previous work as a writer.  This is a book of fiction and pulls aside the curtains that normally shield the halls of academe and reveals a world occupied by fascinating and vividly portrayed characters who are impelled by the same passions, aspirations, and ideals that motivate all of humankind.  If readers are looking for an engaging and compelling read, MOSS would be a terrific choice.