I have been for decades searching for an answer, and recently I discovered a new one. It comes in the new book The Importance of Being Funny by local writer, professor and radio personality Al Gini…. Gini’s book is slender at 141 pages, but stunningly insightful (and, don’t get me wrong, a great deal of fun too).

Chicago Tribune

Comedy is a means of dealing with the problems of life; it’s a weapon against anxiety and discomfort, a coping mechanism, and a release valve that removes stress and provides a distraction from our fears. Humor disarms, it confronts, it anesthetizes. It ‘gives us the courage to endure that which we cannot understand or avoid’ and gives voice to the unspeakable. Radio personality Gini breezily examines the role humor has played in society, tracing jokes back to ancient Egypt and the Bible. He discusses the fool in the time of Henry VII who had license to speak ‘truth to power,’ acting as a confidante and critic, whose role eventually evolved into stand-up comedians like Bob Hope and satirists like Jon Stewart. Gini looks at what makes a joke funny and asks if tasteless jokes can be funny; and he looks at the ethics behind joke telling. As a professor, Gini uses humor in the teaching of philosophy to reach his students, comparing the role of comedy with that of philosophy and he uses humor here, too, sharing plenty of hilarious jokes to illustrate his points in this entertaining and informative survey.

Booklist

The Importance of Being Funny: Why We Need More Jokes in Our Lives ... did a good job of suggesting why humor is important and describing the place it has in a free society.

Great Writers Steal

The Importance of Being Funny [treats] its ideas with intellectual respect.... Gini’s writing has a geniality that works nicely with a tricky subject to examine. He’s found a narrow window in which to operate, one in which he’s able to treat his explorations seriously without taking them TOO seriously. His passionate connection with the ideas being expressed goes a long way toward imbuing the book with an energy that it would fall flat without. If you love comedy and have ever wondered WHY you love it, The Importance of Being Funny is for you. It’s a thoughtful and thought-provoking read … and it’s even got a few laughs.

The Maine Edge

Gini’s text is a highly accessible introduction to philosophical thinking about humour.

European Journal of Humour Research

This book is a comprehensive, coherent distillation of the best thinking on humor and jokes, both the philosophical and ethical issues, as well as the place of humor in our lives. . . . it is stunning in its breadth, accessibility, and brevity. It truly is a distillation of the best the field has to offer and written in an accessible and fun style.

Jacob M. Held