Böcker av William Hartston

The first mainstream history of humour. Hilarious and well-researched, this book from household name William Hartston, a presenter, author and journalist, makes a perfect gift.Of all human qualities, humour is perhaps the most puzzling. In this very first history of humour, author and humourist William Hartston looks at every aspect of the evolution of humour and our attitudes towards it with a view to developing a proper Theory Of Everything Humorous.From comedy in ancient Greece and jokes in ancient Rome, to laughter in the Bible and the secret of comic delivery; from how humour changed following the American civil war, to how Mark Twain changed written comedy in the English-speaking world, William leaves no stone unturned in his quest to understand what makes us chuckle. Besides being academically well-founded, A History of Humour will, unlike almost everything else written on the subject, be both seriously humorous and humorously serious.

A wonderfully entertaining celebration of that most unique of creatures: the sloth.

A mindbending history of the greatest puzzles of all time, by the author of The Things That Nobody Knows.

A fascinating and unputdownable exploration of the limits of human knowledge of our planet, its history and culture, and the universe beyond, from the author of The Things that Nobody Knows.

Now in paperback: the perfect quirky Christmas present for readers of New Scientist and anyone who enjoys QI. The Things that Nobody Knows is a fascinating and unputdownable exploration of the limits of human knowledge of our planet, its history and culture, and the universe beyond.