Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel

Long before he started writing children's books, Theodor Geisel did advertising ("Quick Henry, the Flit!"), and even editorial cartooning. This book collects a large number of his WWII cartoon, and offers a fascinating commentary on those cartoons and on the man who drew them. The militancy of these cartoons stands in stark contrast to the gentle goofiness of, for example, "One Fish, Two Fish." Of course, he took on Hitler, Mussolini, and other Axis leaders, using ridicule as his weapon against them. Other cartoons blast the appeasers and not-our-problem isolationists of the time. Interestingly, other cartoons came out with strongly anti-racist themes - a bit radical for the time, but he treated exclusion of blacks from wartime industry as a form of sabotage or treason. Minear's commentary offers helpful insight into the times in which the cartoons arose, and into some of the controversy they engendred, making its points with clear cross-references to specific cartoons. It's hard to see these today as serious political statements. Too many of us grew up on The Cat in the Hat and other of Geisel's later work. When we see his distinctive lines and style, they can no longer carry the adult clout that they did in the 1940s. It's hard to see his artwork through the eyes of these cartoons' original readers, and to see the outrage that Seuss both satirized and ignited. It's worth the effort, though. WWII was a very different time than today, and did a lot to shape what today has become. Minear's book examines a unique facet of that time. //wiredweird

Anyone who has read Dr. Seuss (and, honestly, who hasn't?) knows that his books include a great deal of political and/or social commentary disguised as children's stories. What many people don't know is that Dr. Suess started as an advertising copy writer and, early in World War II, worked as an editorial cartoonist. This is a collection of some of his best editorial cartoons from that period, together with a detail commentary that helps to place them in their historical context. These cartoons show that Dr. Seuss was bitterly opposed to isolationism, and was clearly way ahead of his time with respect to civil rights. Ironically, however, he demonstrates a distinct bias against the Japanese that almost feels racist. This is a facinating glimpse into a largely overlooked chapter of a celebrated artist's career, and should be required reading for anyone who wants a better understanding of Dr. Seuss, the man.

This is an extraordinarily important book for educators. My students in universities all over the US tell me that their earliest and most beloved connection to literacy was through Dr Seuss. Yet, to them, Seuss stands outside history, an icon, and when I ask them to make lists of the most important people of the US in the 20th century, they rarely mention him. "He's from everywhere, for all time," one student told me. This book sets that right, as it should be. In the best of traditions, it uses history to do it, combining original documents with interviews, the selection of important material, and a grasp of the social context. Here, we can see that Seuss at least dabbled with the left, and he held racist views, despite his anti-fascist outlook. Perhaps that will help some of my students understand how the US could fight the Nazis--with a segregated military. We learn the source of Yertle and the Who's who Horton hears, connecting whimsy with the material world, a maneuver Seuss both employed and denied. Seuss, author of the anti-racist text, The Sneetches, the lover of literacy, becomes human here, and we are the better for it.

I was quite surprised when I discovered this book of over 200 (out of 400 he drew) political cartoons by Dr. Seuss (who became a Doctor only by honorary degree years later, even though he called himself Dr. Seuss at this time). I did not realize that he had been a major producer of propaganda in favor of intervention in World War II and later in favor of winning the war. What is even more surprising is to look at the cartoons and see familiar-looking fish, cats and turtles who show up in all of the most beloved children's stories by Dr. Seuss. Clearly, World War II was essential training for the pro-community, pro-progressiveness stories that three generations have now grown up with.Dr. Seuss was so enraged by Italian pro-fascist propaganda that he sought a role in political cartooning with P.M., a New Deal liberal daily newspaper in New York. The newspaper did not carry advertising, and cost much more than other papers. As a result, it had a daily circulation of only 150,000. After two years, he volunteered for the service at age 38 and took a job in the Army signal corps creating propaganda movies (some of which won him Oscars). Most of these cartoons would be ones that anyone would be proud to have drawn, for both their humor and the targeting of those who favored dictatorships and complacency about fascism. On the other hand, Dr. Seuss did a few that are certainly racist (although generally he was antiracist, opposing the ill treatment of blacks and Jews). The focus of his racism were Japanese (lots of slanted-eyes drawings of evil plotting) and Japanese-Americans (one cartoon shows Japanese-Americans picking up explosives after Pearl Harbor). The book is also interesting for capturing the debates of those years in a fresh and visual way. I wish my studies of World War II in high school had included looking at some of these cartoons and discussing them. Because almost all of us know Dr. Seuss's later work so well, this book has a special usefulness to us in understanding U.S. politics of the time. A lot of the cartoons are hard to understand unless you have an encyclopedic knowledge of World War II. As a result, I suggest that you read the accompanying essays by Richard Minear that fill in the gaps. There is also a chronology to relate the dates to the events. The cartoons themselves are arranged by subject matter, all the better to tie together with essays. Some may find this ordering (rather than one strict beginning to end grouping) a little confusing. However, compared to most cartoon books, this one is very well documented. I suspect that people from the Greatest Generation would enjoy receiving this book as a gift. Overcome your stalled thinking about the politics of today being the way things are by seeing how much our views have changed since World War II! Maybe, just maybe, we have some misconceptions today that we are not aware of like Dr. Seuss did about Japanese-Americans (

I teach World History in high school and I love this book. I would agree with a previous reviewer that for the person who is just picking this book up to read, the book would be improved by being presented chronologically. However, I found this book to be invaluable when presenting the propaganda of World War II to students. They have a natural love of Dr. Seuss and are very interested in the cartoons. Their interest in the cartoons leads to a lively discussion of the content of the cartoons. A must for all teachers of World History, U.S. History or any history of the modern era.