The short answer is “because they asked.” But really because Brooks did so much to shape not just Jewish comedy and American comedy, but also how American Jews thought about themselves in the second part of the twentieth century. Why include the man who gave us Blazing Saddles ? Your book is part of the Jewish Lives biography series, which spotlights a pantheon of greats - Einstein, Anne Frank, Wittgenstein.
In Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew, Jeremy Dauber, the Atran Professor of Yiddish Language, Literature and Culture at Columbia, describes the filmmaker and comedian's provocative, inexhaustible, and enduring impact on American culture. Brooks in 'Life Stinks.' (Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo)
