Wit's End

Entertaining, illuminating, and entirely unique, Wits End convey[s] the power of wit to refresh the mind (Henry Hitchings, Wall Street Journal).In this inventive and playful book (Tom Beer, Newsday), James Geary explores every facet of wittiness, from its role in innovation to why puns are the highest form of wit. Adopting a different style for each chapterfrom dramatic dialogue to sermon, heroic couplets to a barroom monologueGeary embodies wit in all its forms. Wits End agilely balances psychology, folktale, visual art, and literary history with lighthearted humor and acute insight, demonstrating that wit and wisdom are really the same thing.