[kragen]

Yeah, it's probably more enjoyable than the rest of that list put together. Still, prefaces? Generally I try to avoid reading those.

[eszed]

Heh. That's why I'm intrigued by it! My bet is that it's some kind of satire based on that (almost universal) avoidance. Regardless, Mencken's wicked clever, and less-known than I think he deserves to be.

[kragen]

Comedy is often somewhat dependent on shared cultural assumptions, although that Sumerian fart joke is still kind of funny.