Limerick

The quality of the book for how old it is, is amazing. The book itself? Hilarious, crass, vulgar, and whitty.

This is the most extensive collections of limericks I have every come across. Definitely not for kids, but a very funny read from my college days.

Mr. Legman has put together the largest compilation of limericks I've ever seen. He is true to their form. As he says, "This is the largest collection of limericks ever published, erotic or otherwise. Of the 1700 printed here, none are otherwise." If you are prudish, stay away. You will be shocked by the language in these short poems. On the other hand, if you are open-minded, you will be entertained by the endless variety of inventive language in these limericks. Mr. Legman has helpfully categorized them by subject matter, such as, "Little Romances," "Oral Irregularity," and "Abuses of the Clergy." This is a monument to creativity, even if of lowbrow quality.

I found this book after I had read "Rationale of the Dirty Joke". As a fan of this poetic form, I have scanned many collections of limericks, but his has to be, by far, the most comprehensive. The introduction explains the origin of the limerick, and the following chapters categorize the limericks by topic, such as excrement, zoophily, abuses of the clergy, organs, etc. The Man from Nantucket, Alice and her dynamite stick and Dave the Hermit are present and accounted for, plus some multi-limerick sagas such as the Farter from Sparta. What you will NOT find is the "Lady from Niger", the "Lady from Guam", and the clean "Man from Nantucket". I have seen a shorter, less complete book attributed to G. Legman. Don't bother with that one- this is the book to have.