Wisconsin Folklore: Humor

"In the land of beer, cheese, and muskies - where the polka is danced and winter is unending and where Lutherans and Catholics predominate - everybody is ethnic, the politics are clean, and the humor is plentiful. This collection includes jokes, humorous anecdotes, and tall tales from the ethnic groups (Woodland Indians, French, Cornish, Germans, Irish, Scandinavians, Finns, and Poles) and working folk (loggers, miners, farmers, townsfolk, hunters, and fishers). Dig into the rich cultural context supplied by the notes and photographs, or just laugh at the hundreds of jokes gathered at small-town cafes, farm tables, job sites, and church suppers."

The publisher, Indiana University Press, has also earned a strong reputation for promoting and publishing works of history on the component parts of the Midwest, which the contributors to this volume cite frequently in their essays. The editors even include "Red" Stangland's ode to Lutefisk and Ole and Lena jokes, perhaps final proof that this encyclopedia is exhaustive and a necessary resource for any scholar interested in the finer points of midwestern history and culture.