The Big Book of Wit

"Thus man is endowed by nature: when it is funny, he can laugh." And if there is one thing that distinguishes geniuses from mere mortals, it is primarily the ability to combine the great and the funny at any moment in life; sometimes their most famous quips were born in days of trials.
The heroes of our book are great philosophers and poets, scientists and writers, playwrights and politicians, remembered by humanity also as great wits. Their lives are immortalized not only in serious biographies but also in collections of anecdotes and funny stories, sometimes of their own making.
In our anthology of cheerful geniuses, Mark Twain debates with Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison finds common ground with Conan Doyle, and Mikhail Zoshchenko - with Albert Einstein himself. Funny and instructive stories from the lives of celebrities, their quotes, catchphrases, and witty jokes, long since become part of folk folklore, will once again prove that titans of thought and spirit remain great even in humor.
Compiled by S. Z. Kodzova.