Old Jews Telling Jokes

5,000 Years of Funny Bits and Not-So-Kosher Laughs

By: Sam Hoffman, Eric Spiegelman

Narrated by: Old Jews

Length: 2 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Jews have a centuries-old tradition of telling jokes, from the ghettos of Europe to Hollywood and the Catskills. Jewish jokes are entertainment, the oral history of a culture, insightful social criticism, and survival tactic rolled into one.

In 2008, Hollywood director and producer Sam Hoffman launched a website called Old Jews Telling Jokes. It’s just what it says: Jewish men and women over 60 sharing their favorite stories, tales, riddles, and punchlines.

The jokes are funny and reassuringly familiar, each told with gusto and infused with a lifetime of experience. For the audiobook, they are organized into chapters: Jewish Mothers, Food, Rabbis, Husbands and Wives, Sex, Illness and Doctors, Getting Old, Death, Oral Sex. Yes, you read that right. You’ll also hear judiciously chosen curses and other off-color language. Things get risqué. So what can you do? Enjoy, and laugh out loud.

Explicit Language Warning: You must be 18 years or older to purchase.

©2010 Sam Hoffman and Eric Spiegelman (P)2010 Sam Hoffman and Eric Spiegelman

Critic reviews

“The best of a disappearing art.” ( New York magazine)

"Chock full of funny stuff!" (Mel Brooks)

Cultural Self Deprecation

Pretty much what I expected.
Good chuckling material.
A great idea having people tell their own jokes.
The narrator was clear and crisp.

What could be better?

Authentic voices, telling authentic stories. Laugh! you can't find a better way to spend your time.

Just stop talking

The background stories and narration is unnecessary. Just get to the jokes. They need no make an abridged version.

Mostly very funny, jokes told in original voices

Some very funny jokes, overall good, a few jokes that have been around the block several times. Introductory material could be cut down.

molto fumo poco arrosto - lot of smoke for a small

What did you like best about Old Jews Telling Jokes? What did you like least?

Too much talking, unnecessary introduction to people one does not know or need to know, and not enougbh essence- which are the jokes one bought the book for.

Would you ever listen to anything by Sam Hoffman and Eric Spiegelman again?

not particularly

How could the performance have been better?

more jokes,less talk. I guess some people are difficult to shiut up

Could you see Old Jews Telling Jokes being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

This audio book is but an extremely poor reproduction of Jewish joke books printed decades ago. Half of the jokes are old material.

Listen and have a very entertaining few hours

Would you listen to Old Jews Telling Jokes again? Why?

I have re-played parts of it for friends and am now giving it as a gift

What did you like best about this story?

There isn't much of a story except some cultural observations made prior to each category of jokes.

Have you listened to any of Old Jews’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Oy vey more Jewish jokes

Disappointing

I love the website with the videos. But a lot is lost in translation to audiobook form. I was surprised by how many of the jokes weren’t funny and/or so dated. A classic joke told by a great teller is excellent but many of these are bombs.
So: stick with watching the videos online.