Jeremy Dauber delivers an enthralling illustrated history of Jewish humour ‘in all its vast and variegated forms from antiquity to yesterday’, from the Book of Esther to Seinfeld, by way of Mel Brooks and Philip Roth, offering an erudite yet entertaining history of Jewish comedy, not evading the questions: what is Jewish humour, and what makes a joke a Jewish joke?

Jeremy Dauber is the Atran Professor of Yiddish Language, Literature and Culture at Columbia University. His research interests include older Yiddish literature, Yiddish and Hebrew literature of the Jewish Enlightenment and the 19th century, and Yiddish theatre. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on Yiddish literature, as well as courses on humour in Jewish literature and American-Jewish literature. Dauber has written several books on Jewish literature, including a biography of Sholem Aleichem which was shortlisted for the National Jewish Book Award.

Toby Lichtig is the fiction in translation and politics editor at the TLS. He writes for a range of publications, including the TLS, Wall Street Journal, Telegraph, New Humanist and FT, and has appeared as a regular guest on various podcasts and radio shows, including the BBC’s Front Row. He also freelances as a documentary producer, specialising in arts and social affairs programmes.