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  • Published: 19 November 2014
  • ISBN: 9780399169106
  • Imprint: Tarcher
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $37.00

Elements of Wit

Mastering the Art of Being Interesting



A lively primer on cultivating the art of great timing, good humor, lively storytelling, and other essential skills of great wits, with examples ranging from Winston Churchill and Oscar Wilde to Nora Ephron and Louis CK

Got wit?

We’ve all been in that situation where we need to say something clever, but innocuous; smart enough to show some intelligence, without showing off; something funny, but not a joke. What we need in that moment is wit—that sparkling combination of charm, humor, confidence, and most of all, the right words at the right time.

Elements of Wit is an engaging book that brings together the greatest wits of our time, and previous ones from Oscar Wilde to Nora Ephron, Winston Churchill to Christopher Hitchens, Mae West to Louis CK, and many in between.

With chapters covering the essential ingredients of wit, this primer sheds light on how anyone—introverts, extroverts, wallflowers, and bon vivants—can find the right zinger, quip, parry, or retort…or at least be a little bit more interesting.

  • Published: 19 November 2014
  • ISBN: 9780399169106
  • Imprint: Tarcher
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $37.00