If you want to succeed here you must be able to handle the English sense of humour.

So proclaims George Mikes` timeless exploration of this curious phenomenon. Whether it`s understatement, self-deprecation or plain cruelty, the three elements he identifies as essential to our sense of humour, being witty here is a way of life.

Perfectly placed as an adopted Englishman himself, Mikes delivers his shrewd advice - helpfully divided into `Theory` and `Practice` - with a comic precision that does his chosen country proud. Drawing on a trove of examples from our rich comic canon, from Orwell ("Every joke is a tiny revolution") to Oscar Wilde, this is the essential handbook for natives and foreigners alike.