In this collection of folk humor from the Midwest, Leary (Scandinavian studies, U. of Wisconsin-Madison) presents jokes, humorous anecdotes, and tall tales from a variety of ethnic groups Woodland Indians, French, Cornish, Germans, Irish, Scandinavians, Finns, and Poles and working people loggers, miners, farmers, townsfolk, hunters, and fishers and from a variety of everyday community settings. Brief, explanatory cultural notes follow each entry. Also included are photographs of some of the joke tellers, collection notes, and a bibliography. Indexing is by tellers, place names, motifs and tale types. Scholarly, but accessible to the general reader. Changes in the second edition are not spelled out. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)