History of Joke Books Joke book history goes back much further than most people realize. Collections of jokes, gags and riddles were surprisingly common all the way back to Classical Greek and Roman times and likely even earlier. According to A History of Laughter from "The Guardian," Rome's Marcus Tulles Cicero was an early joke book writer from over 2,000 years ago. (His name even has a comical ring to it.) He compiled three volumes of wit and wisdom where he even poked fun at his son-in-law's diminutive stature. He described his daughter's husband as "... a short chap, kitted out with a long sword." Some of Cicero's contemporaries described him as "far too funny for his own good..." whatever that means.…