Q: What building has the most stories?
A: The library.

If you like puns, you’ll love The Pun Also Rises by John Pollack. If you love language, you’ll love this book. Or if you are just a fan of how good writing can shape our thoughts, you’ll love this book.

Pollack does more than just explain what a pun is. He explains how puns have been instrumental in the shaping of human language. From modern advertising to Shakespeare, from Chinese emperors to legal briefs, the book covers it all. Going far back in history, he even explores how puns were weaved into a wide variety of sacred texts.

An aside here for a moment: I never studied Greek or Hebrew to check on it, but I do remember my renowned New Testament scholar claiming that Jesus himself loved the use of puns. Obviously calling Peter the Rock is a huge example, but I wish I knew more.

In Pollacks book we discover that puns have at various times been considered the height of cleverness and the depth of silliness. Intellectuals have variously praised puns as brilliant and criticized them as the lowest form of humor. So they have gone in and out of style, depending on the mood of the culture at the time. But they never failed to be present in our writings, thinking, jokes, or even advertising. People often groan at puns, but they almost always do so with a smile.

What I like about this short book is that you come away understanding how puns have a very long history of creating reactions in people. Several reviews didn’t like this book (P.J. O’Rourke blasted it as unfunny in his NYTimes review, but then he tends to not like anything). Most folks I know will enjoy the book, so give it a try.

Like the guy who read a book about anti-gravity, it’s impossible to put down. Sorry… 🙂