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Hammer And Tickle: A History Of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes
 
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Hammer And Tickle: A History Of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes (Paperback)

by Ben Lewis (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 376 pages
  • Publisher: Phoenix (28 May 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0753825821
  • ISBN-13: 978-0753825822
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 23,663 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #12 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > Political Science & Ideology > Communism & Marxism
    #38 in  Books > Humour > Jokes & Riddles

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Product Description

Review

'Ben Lewis's book celebrates the brilliance with which jokes exposed the gulf between the Soviet ideal and its brutal reality.' (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

'There is a laugh on every page' (John Suchet S MAGAZINE, SUNDAY EXPRESS )


Product Description

Q: Why, despite all the shortages, was the toilet paper in East Germany always 2-ply? A: Because they had to send a copy of everything they did to Moscow. Communist jokes are the strangest, funniest, most enchanting and meaningful legacy of the 80 years of political experimentation in Russia and Eastern Europe, known as Communism. The valiant and sardonic citizens of the former Communist countries - surrounded by an invisible network of secret police, threatened with arrest, imprisonment and forced labour, confronted by an economic system that left shops empty, and bombarded with ludicrous state propaganda - turned joke-telling into an art form. They used jokes as a coded way of speaking the truth. HAMMER AND TICKLE takes us on a unique journey through the Communist era (1917-1989), and tells its real history through subversive jokes and joke-tellers, many of whom ended up in the gulags. It is also illustrated with a combination of rare and previously unpublished archive material, political cartoons, caricatures, photographs and state-sponsored propaganda. Humorous, culturally poignant and historically revealing, this is the story of a political system that was (almost) laughed out of existence.
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic: Reminds you of when you enjoyed history lessons, 31 Jul 2009
Brilliant book, interesting, well researched and balanced. And also very funny!

This is a history book (read: academic): explaining how the political waves altered, and how the humour at the time reflected this.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Too much hammer, too little tickle, 14 Dec 2008
By Theodore A. Rushton (PHOENIX, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Hammer And Tickle: A History Of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes (Hardcover)
Stephen Leacock's verdict that "humour may be defined as the kindly contemplation of incongruities of life, and the artistic expression thereof" should be kept in mind when reading this book.

If humour could destroy an political ideology, as Lewis thinks, it would have destroyed Reagan's "voodoo economics" long before he was elected. Instead, humour strengthened Reagan, because he knew how to use it to counter his critics.

Sadly, Lewis and the communists didn't realize the essence of humour is human kindness, and thus it is a safety valve of society. It's why a George Bush (or a Bill Clinton if you prefer) survives; people laugh away their frustrations during the late night shows and then forget the incongruities of politics by the dawn of a new day.

Sadly, the Soviets used vodka as their safety valve.

Under the Soviets, humour was a person-to-person effort; had it been on radio every night, communists might still be in power. Will Rogers was a classic American political humourist; and, he generally strengthened the American politics. Humour releases tension; censorship allows it to build up until it explodes.

That said, this book is an amusing collection of basic humour from the dissidents of authoritarian power. Like a single drop of rain, the humour may be perfect even though ineffective; bottled up, it can erupt with the power of a desert flood.

The weakness of this book, as other commentators attest, is its pretentious seriousness. It's great strength is its authentic dissident humour from inside authoritarian regimes. Had Lewis understood humour, he'd realize much of the same humour can equally apply to Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama.

Humour is not ideological; it is always subversive. It's a safety valve, not a pressure cooker. It's a mirror, not a shield or club. It's harmless when allowed to run free, as it does on every late night show; it's deadly when it becomes secrets shared only and quietly among friends. Has anyone heard a good joke praising George Bush?

Lewis is on the track of a great story. Perhaps, in a later book and if he develops a sense of humour, he'll realize the universal nature of humour. Communist theology was based on suppressing many basic human attitudes; it failed because it could not control human nature and the tendency to laugh at one's foibles.

It's a gem of a book, for the jokes it includes; but, it's mediocre in understanding the impact of suppressing such otherwise harmless laughter.

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2 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Rave review for this book in the London 'Spectator' book reviews., 20 Jul 2008
By Michael J. Brett "Michael Brett" (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Hammer And Tickle: A History Of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes (Hardcover)
The Spectator said that this was an interesting and entertaining read.
I have not read it yet, but that was good enough for me to put it on my wishlist. Christmas is only 123 days away after all!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Good - but perhaps a little flabby
I enjoyed this book and found many of the insights in it interesting. However, I found quite a bit of the writing a bit flabby - particularly when the author switches to the... Read more
Published 23 days ago by Primal

4.0 out of 5 stars A very funny and interesting read
I bought the book having enjoyed the one hour TV progtramme on the book. The rise and fall of communism is a fascinating story, but often very dry. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. I. Taylor

3.0 out of 5 stars Comrades
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Hammer and Tickle By Ben Lewis... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mr. Ivor Hibbitt

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