He appears in psychology textbooks, illuminating the workings of the mind in a way no straightforward explanation can. In three definitive volumes (The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin, The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mulla Nasrudin and The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin) Idries Shah takes us to the very heart of this mysterious mentor, the Mulla Nasrudin. Skillful contemporary retellings of hundreds of collected stories and sayings bring the unmistakable--often backhanded--wisdom, wit and charm of the timeless jokester to life. The Mulla and his stories appear in literature and oral traditions from the Middle East to Greece, Russia, France--even China. Many nations claim Nasrudin as a native son, but nobody really knows who he was or where he came from. According to a legend dating from at least the 13th century, Nasrudin was snatched as a schoolboy from the clutches of the "Old Villain"--the crude system of thought that ensnares man--to carry through the ages the message of how to escape. He was chosen because he could make people laugh, and humor has a way of slipping through the cracks of the most rigid thinking habits. Acclaimed as humorous masterpieces, as collections of the finest jokes, as priceless gift books, and for hundreds "enchanted tales," this folklore figure's antics have also been divined as "mirroring the antics of the mind." The jokes are, as Idries Shah notes, "perfectly designed models for isolating and holding distortions of the mind which so often pass for reasonable behavior." Therefore they have a double use: when the jokes have been enjoyed, their psychological significance starts to sink in. In fact, for many centuries they have been studied in Sufi circles for their hidden wisdom. They are used as teaching exercises, in part to momentarily "freeze" situations in which states of mind can be recognized. The key to the philosophic significance of the Nasrudin jokes is given in Idries Shah's book The Sufis and a complete system of mystical training based upon them was described in the Hibbert Journal. In these delightful volumes, Shah not only gives the Mulla a proper vehicle for our times, he proves that the centuries-old stories and quips of Nasrudin are still some of the funniest jokes in the world.

    The great Irish humorist and writer Flann O'Brien, aka Brian O'Nolan,aka Myles na Gopaleen, also wrote a newspaper column called "CruiskeenLawn." The Best of Myles collects the best and funniest, covering suchsubjects as plumbers, the justice system, and improbable inventions.

    Born in 1860 Wain became a household name for his cat illustrations in the 1890s.

    But first one method fails and then another, and the captain has turned to desperate measures.He recruits the 'fat owl' of Greyfriars to help - tempting him with food and good living. Then, with the assistance of rogues from another school he breaks into Greyfriars and plants stolen goods in form-leader Wharton's desk. It looks as if the captain will get his 'blood-money' after all.

    --Antiqbook.com -- Clifford Odets, S.N. Behrman, Robert Sherwood, John Steinbeck, William Saroyan--Five famous American plays of the 1930s: 1) "Awake and Sing"--Odets' rebellious and compassionate story of a struggling Jewish family in the Bronx. 2) "End of Summer"--Behrman's spirited comedy about a beautiful woman of the idle rich confronted with reality and the challenge of a new generation. 3) "Idiot's Delight"--Sherwood's prophetic and tragicomic commentary on the mad game of war. 4) "Of Mice and Men"--Steinbeck's famous story about two lonely, itinerant workers, a homeless halfwit and his friend George, whose dream ends in tragedy. 5) "The Time of Your Life"--Saroyan's delightful portrayal of a group of bizarre unfortunates who inhabit a San Francisco waterfront saloon. -- amazon.com