Herblock: The Life and Works of the Great Political Cartoonist Author: Herbert Block | Language: English | ISBN:
0393067726 | Format: PDF
Herblock: The Life and Works of the Great Political Cartoonist Description
From Publishers Weekly
The diminishing profession of editorial cartooning has been a particularly doleful canary foretelling the decline of the daily newspaper format. In this context, this retrospective of the late cartoonist's work defiantly documents the extraordinary career of a daily visual commentator on American political life. Designed to accompany an exhibit at the Library of Congress, the book briefly outlines the artist's career and its historical context, starting with Herbert Block's early career during FDR's term. His first Pulitzer, in 1941, earned him independence when he came under editorial fire for advocating U.S. entry into WWII. After his own military service, he joined the
Washington Post, an association that lasted until his death in 2001. The bulk of the book showcases highlights of the artist's seven-decade career. Politically independent but largely progressive, Herblock is presented as prescient on issues including McCarthyism (a term he coined), civil rights and environmentalism. Herblock's best cartoons do more than provide color commentary on political skirmishes. They manifest characters vividly: his viciously ineffectual Eisenhower brandishes a feather opposite an ax-wielding McCarthy, for instance. The book is accompanied by a DVD containing 18,000 cartoons, a nearly complete collection of Herblock's indispensable oeuvre.
(Oct.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“[A]s this generous selection of cartoons verifies, [Herblock] was drawing his trademark fat-cat big shots and portentous atmospheres (he was a master of shading) virtually from the beginning. Castigated as a knee-jerk liberal, he was really on the side of the little guy, repeatedly pointing out how big labor as well as big business, homegrown demagogues as well as exotic dictators, oppressed the common person.... Herblock’s Post reporter colleague Johnson, cartoon curator Katz, and the man himself, via snippets from his occasional writings, contribute to the text, and a DVD containing more than 18,000 cartoons accompanies the book.” (Ray Olson - Booklist)
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- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Har/DVD edition (October 13, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0393067726
- ISBN-13: 978-0393067729
- Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.2 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
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