Abe Lincoln Laughing

[Gene C]

Edited (stories collected) by Paul Zall.
About 190 pages, published in 1982
Over 300 stories and jokes, with sources and notes and a very good index.

This is not a joke book, but a collection of jokes and humorous stories told by Lincoln. A brief background or circumstances behind the story is given to help put it into context. Many of these stories had a point or purpose to them, which has been somewhat lost in the passage of time. One of the first books Lincoln read as a young boy was Aesop's Fables, and you can see some of that books influence on him through these stories he told later in life.

Some of these didn't seem to be that funny, but part of Lincoln's humor was in how he told a story. His facial expressions, his use of mimicry, his tone of voice, were a big part of his telling these stories, which sadly didn't translate to a printed page.

I purchased my older, hard copy from a library book sale for $1. You can find a newer paperback edition available through your favorite online or retail establishment for a reasonable price. Not a must have book, but a nice to have book for your Lincoln Library.
https://www.amazon.com/Abe-Lincoln-Laugh...n+laughing

This is an example of one short story I had never read before -
"One day when I was at the White house in conversation with Lincoln a man busted in self-importantly and whispered something to him. As the man left the room Lincoln turned to me and smiled.
"He tells me that twelve thousand of Lee's soldiers have just been captured," Lincoln said. "But that doesn't mean anything; he's the biggest liar in Washington. You can't believe a word he says. He reminds me of an old fisherman I used to know who got such a reputation for stretching the truth that he bought a pair of scales and insisted on weighing every fish in the presence of witnesses.
One day a baby was born next door, and the doctor borrowed the fisherman's scales to weigh the baby. It weighed forty-seven pounds"