Doonesbury's Greatest Hits

This book is a look back to the trying times of the middle seventies, when President Nixon resigned; Ford assumed the Presidency and then Jimmy Carter came from out of nowhere to win the 1976 presidential election. It was a cynical time, American involvement in the Vietnam War came to an ignominious end, there were revelations of illegal and "secret" wars being waged in Cambodia and Laos and the Soviet Union still loomed as a powerful adversary. Energy prices soared, there were shortages of many things and the American economy entered a period of stagnant growth. Through his cartoon characters, Trudeau managed to keep us smiling through all of these difficult and interesting times. His characters express the frustration of the American people with these events and also describe the wide differences in beliefs. The characters in Doonesbury express idealism, cynicism, hope, despair, greed and sometimes nothing more than hedonistic drug use. This sums of the seventies in as few words as possible. If you lived through those times, then you will get the humor, which is sometimes a bit subtle. However, if you did not, the lack of historical context may leave you confused and clueless.

I think that Doonesbury, along with Calvin & Hobbes, are probably the best comic strips published!