Limericks

Rating:
Summary: Funny! Bawdy yet witty!
Review: A must for your favorite limerick lover. These clever rhymes will have you on the floor in no time! Rolling with laughter, that is! I love Asimov and Ciardi paired in this way. Makes a great gift.

Rating:
Summary: This is one of the few small 2nd. hand book I used to have.
Review: I really can not remember if I read all of the limericks, but before leaving I gave this excellent, witty, naughty book to my eldest son, who must have thought his Mom was rather 'naughty' herself to have such a kind of literature! Few of us can write limericks, because in a few words you have to paint the whole picture and what a one that is! I have the highest esteem for Mr. Isaac Asimov, who sadly enough, left us too. I seem to remember he did not enjoy at all flying airplanes. But he left us all sorts of very interesting material to be read by us. I give 5 stars to this collection of limericks. Thank you Mr. Asimov.

Rating:
Summary: This is one of the few small 2nd. hand book I used to have.
Review: I really can not remember if I read all of the limericks, but before leaving I gave this excellent, witty, naughty book to my eldest son, who must have thought his Mom was rather 'naughty' herself to have such a kind of literature! Few of us can write limericks, because in a few words you have to paint the whole picture and what a one that is! I have the highest esteem for Mr. Isaac Asimov, who sadly enough, left us too. I seem to remember he did not enjoy at all flying airplanes. But he left us all sorts of very interesting material to be read by us. I give 5 stars to this collection of limericks. Thank you Mr. Asimov.

Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: Isaac Asimov and John Ciardi were both two brilliant men the likes of whom the world is lucky to have known. Both full of genius in their own way, they were, one imagines, excellent friends, and yet equally excellent enemies.

This is one of the finest collections of limericks I have seen, certainly one of the finest contemporary collections, and the introductions to the two books contained within make the bouquet so much more rich. Their sparring of words, of dashing insults and quick recoveries, is almost as fun to read as the poetry itself.

And the limericks... ah, delightfully scandalous. I suspect you will find yourself respecting John's concept of meter and stylistic master-strokes far above Isaac's, but at the same time will feel that somehow, for all his lack of understanding the mechanics properly, Isaac understands what the content of a limerick is meant to be.

That content, of course dear friends, is most often risque. I would certainly not caution parents against letting their children read this collection, but do be warned: The limerick is a bawdy form, and it is hard to fit anything but lewd intonations into its loose meter.

I recommend this book, for a gift, for something to read on a plane, for something for the WC, a coffee-table book, or any other use you might conceive of. And I will leave you with my own feeble attempt at the form, written post-haste and most likely in poor-taste.

"A book of fine lim'ricks was writ,
And though many said they were just... pooh,
I laughed till I wept,
And this fine book I kept,
And to this day I still will read it."