Two Fish in a Tank

Book excerpt: Can humor inspire hope throughout the world? Most of us would like to believe that's true, but author Zev Burton aims to prove it with his book, Two Fish in a Tank: How Jokes Can Give Hope To Our Fractured World. From the de-Nazification of West Germany in the 1960's to the meteoric rise of comedy news shows like The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight, Burton explores the social and political ramifications of how humor can keep the frayed edges of a world from unravelling beyond repair. Armed with endless hours of painstaking research, an empathetic eye for finding the context in historical and contemporary moments, and a deeply ironic wink in his eye, Burton finds the hope and humor across the worldwide spectrum of geopolitics. Two Fish in a Tank will move you, educate you, and give you some laughs along the way.