The New Yorker Book of Political Cartoons

In his Introduction to this volume, Christopher Buckley quotes the Chicago Tribune's Jeff MacNelly's comment that many cartoonists "would be hired assassins if they couldn't draw." Pat Oliphant explains his objective as "stirring up the animals." Obviously, style and perspective vary significantly among the best of the political cartoonists. The same is true of the publications which feature their work. Back to Buckley: "The New Yorker cartoonists may too, deep down, be spitting mad, but they do a good job of transforming that specific anger and disappointment into exquisite generic commentary on the old human condition....If a newspaper editorial cartoon shouts its opinion at you over the scrambled eggs, The New Yorker cartoon hands you a Scotch and nudges you toward whatever truth it has in its sights." Credit Robert Mankoff with selecting and editing the 110 presented in this volume. Unlike Thomas Nast's cartoons which attack William Marcy ("Boss") Tweed and his corrupt Tammany Hall organization, few of the 110 require an historical context to have meaning, much less impact. That is what Buckley has in mind when using the word "generic." I can think of only one or two which may eventually become "dated." Hence the relevance of Buckley's reference to "the old human condition." The captions of the cartoons are so clever that it is easy (perhaps too easy) to underestimate the quality of their creators' draftsmanship. (In contrast, few of Oliphant's cartoons even have a caption.) Without being able to see many of the drawings, you already get the point. For example: "In the midst of chaos, Larry is the clear voice of reason. Get him the hell out of here." (James Stevenson, page 1) "People of North Dakota! Or possibly South Dakota!" (J.B. Handelsman, page 23) "On the other hand, if we backpedal too much, we'll lose the hate vote." (Frank Modell, Page 36) "Grayson is a liberal in social matters, a conservative in economic matters, and a homicidal psychopath in political matters." (James Stevenson, page 91) "Great. You touched all the bases without getting bogged down in constitutionality." (Bernard Schoenbaum, page 96) Perhaps only cartoons featured in The New Yorker could be praised by Buckley for "distilling" fury "into a tone of gentle wit and piquancy." Here are 110 of the best. By all means enjoy this book but take good care of it for those in future generations who also appreciate "exquisite generic commentary on the old human condition." Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out Roger A. Fischer's Them Damned Pictures: Explorations in American Political Cartoon Art as well as Attack of the Political Cartoonists edited by J.P. Trostle, various collections of Pat Oliphant's work (e.g. Oliphant's Anthem and Oliphant's Presidents), and The Best Political Cartoons of the Year (2005 Edition) co-edited by Daryl Cagle and Brian Fairrington.

"The New Yorker Book of Political Cartoons," edited by Robert Mankoff, brings together an excellent collection of cartoons on the title subject. The work of more than 40 cartoonists, from Ed Arno to Jack Ziegler, is represented; each contributor has from one to seven pieces in the book.The book starts out with an interesting introduction by William Buckley. Yes, Buckley's opening line is a bit pretentious; he declares, "Most people have an absolute all time favorite 'New Yorker' cartoon that they came across at some crucial moment in their lives [. . .]." Actually, I think that "most people" don't even read "New Yorker". Still, Buckley's contribution overall is witty and humorous.The cartoons themselves are rich in ironic humor; they are often quite incisive, and occasionally contain touches of the grotesque, absurd, or macabre. Typical subject matter includes political doublespeak and spinmeistership; relationships between politicians and their constituents, their staff, and/or the media; the campaign trail; and more.This book is full of memorable cartoons. Some of my favorites: an aide, helping a queasy campaigning politician, says to another individual, "It was either the knish at Coney Island, the cannoli in Little Italy, or that divinity fudge in Westchester" (p. 4); one campaign official says to another, "On the other hand, if we backpedal too much, we'll lose the hate vote" (p. 36); one cow, discussing a political race with another, complains of the candidates, "They're both carnivores" (p. 97).Curiously, very few of these cartoons deal with real, specific political figures; often, they mock invented archetypal characters. I found the flavor of the book overall to be rather safe and middle-of-the road; I don't think there's much "meat" in here for political radicals of either a left or right orientation. Still, this is an entertaining, and often thought-provoking, look at an American institution.

Hello Bob, Political cartoons are the best way. If we can laugh, then we can work it out rationally. Perhaps, in this election period, the mag might consider doing a long-form piece on some of the greatest polical cartoonists in (these parlous) recent times. Ogden Nash (and in his spare time he invented Santa Claus), Daumier, and Picasso. There is a lot more to it than just poking fun at the accent. Let's get a grip. Jeanne

The wit and wisdom of Christopher Buckley get this wonderful collection off to a good start. He recounts his experiences of writing political speeches, and ties that to his favorite New Yorker cartoon about politics. Unfortunately, the cartoon did not make this collection, but at least you'll have Buckley's perspective on it. He also shares with you his favorite cartoons in the collection. There are 110 cartoons in the collection. None of them directly point at a specific politician (but a few come close, such as the one of a man knocking on a door with the presidential seal on it and asking "Are you decent?"). Many of the cartoons are about spin or campaigning. Republicans take more than their share of lumps. Buckley (who is a Republican) says that this is because Republicans are funnier than Democrats. Who knows?Here are a few of my favorites (page number in parentheses):(2) Man on telephone: "I'm undecided, but that doesn't mean I'm apathetic or uninformed."(7) 2 men at rostra, while one answers a questioner in the audience: "That's an excellent prescreened question, but before I give you my stock answer I'd like to try to disarm everyone with a carefully rehearsed joke."(8) Man in phone booth to people in line outside of it: "I may be awhile. I'm soliciting funds for my reelection campaign."(13) 2 men looking at bird feeder that has a sign saying "squirrels welcome": "Liberals!"(21) Man to pollster at door: "I like Ike, period."(47) "Good God! He's giving the white collar voters' speech to the blue collars."(67) "Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman from Small Firearms yield the floor to the gentleman from Big Tobacco."(100) "I'll go out on a limb and say time will tell."(110) "I want everyone to shake hands with some of the cleanest money in the whole campaign." The quality of the cartoons and the humor level are unsually high. You'll probably like this book better than almost any other of the New Yorker's books of cartoons.During the remainder of the political campaign for the presidency, you can keep yourself amused with these cartoons.The only criticism I have of the collection was that the reproduction of the cartoons was not always clear. Enjoy a good laugh, and start thinking of ways to overcome the bureaucracy stall!Donald Mitchell