[GigaMos]

I think you're right, the book is not suitable for first time learners without any or much background in programming. This as lots of concepts are explained in passing. It quite frustrated me and I think Carin Meyers "Living Clojure" or Aphyr's "Clojure from the ground up" are in this respect a much better job. However, after having gained some experience with Clojure I thought the book was quite rewarding.

As of the Jokes, it seems this is a matter of taste. I quite liked the jokes.

Concerning the book "Land of Lisp" I wished Conrad Barski had used Clojure instead of Common Lisp.