Good for a Laugh was published by Hanover House (a Doubleday imprint) in 1952, the third volume in the series of humor collections that Cerf had begun with Try and Stop Me (1944) and continued with Shake Well Before Using (1948). By this point, Cerf had refined his method to a science: each book gathered two to three hundred anecdotes, jokes, and brief comic essays, organized by theme (the literary world, Hollywood, politics, sports, domestic life), illustrated by a cartoonist of note, and sold in enormous quantities through bookshops and book clubs.
The format was deceptively simple. Cerf tested his material the way a comedian tests jokes — in conversation, at parties, on his newspaper column, and eventually on television. By the time a story made it into one of his books, it had been told dozens of times and polished to maximum effect. He was a ruthless editor of his own material: stories that didn’t get laughs were dropped, punchlines were sharpened, and unnecessary details were stripped away. The result was comedy writing of professional quality, even if the individual pieces were short.
Good for a Laugh is representative of the series at its peak. The anecdotes range from a witty retort by Oscar Levant to a shaggy-dog story about a Texas oilman, from a publishing-world inside joke to a clean gag suitable for after-dinner speaking. The common denominator is verbal ingenuity — Cerf loved puns, wordplay, and the kind of swift repartee that characterizes people who make their living with language. The book is a monument to mid-century American wit in its most polished and accessible form.
Collecting Good for a Laugh
First edition (Hanover House, New York, 1952): Illustrated boards, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition in dust jacket: $10–$25
- Without jacket: $3–$8