In this lively work, Beatrice K. Otto takes us around the world in search of one of the most colorful characters in history - the court jester. These quick-witted, quirky characters crop up everywhere, from the courts of ancient China and Mughal India to those of medieval Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. A cornucopia of anecdotes, jokes, quotations, epigraphs, and illustrations (including flip art) brings to light little-known jesters, highlighting their humanizing influence on the head honchos of history, and shining a more idiosyncratic, intimate light on figures of power and position. Written with wit and humor, Fools Are Everywhere is the most comprehensive look at these roguish, vital personalities, who risked their necks not only to mock and entertain but also to fulfill a deep and widespread human and social need.