Jokes are better than war. Even the most aggressive jokes are better than the least aggressive wars. Even the longest jokes are better than the shortest wars.

Serious writing included a book about the Hungarian secret police and he narrated a BBC television report of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Mikes graduated in Budapest in 1933 and started work as a journalist on Reggel ("Morning") a Budapest newspaper. In 1946 he became a British Citizen.