Politics, Ink: How America’s Cartoonists Skewer Politicians, from George III to George Dubya / Edition 1
by Edward J. Lordan
ISBN: 0742536386
ISBN-13: 9780742536388
Edition: 1
Pub. Date: December 2005
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Overview
This fun and extensively illustrated book tells the story of the American political cartoon, from its origins over 250 years ago to today. Edward Lordan gives us a tour of artists, politics, media, American society, and the technology of cartooning, including the work of Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, Currier & Ives, Thomas Nast, Dr. Seuss, Pat Oliphant, Draper Hill, Tom Toles, Ted Rall, Mike Keefe, and countless others. Interviews with today’s political cartoonists—including Pulitzer winners Ann Telnaes and Signe Wilkinson—go behind the art form, to show how and why we respond to editorial cartoons as well as what syndication and the Internet mean to the future of political cartooning.
Editorial Reviews
Kent Worcester
Politics, Ink offers a smart, lively, and informative survey of political cartooning, from the eighteenth century to the present day. Edward Lordan uses a diverse mix of sources and interviews to help capture the art, craft, and economics of editorial cartooning. His book also features an abundance of well-chosen illustrations and cartoons that usefully supplement the text. This book should appeal both to general readers as well as specialists in comics, popular culture, and mass communication.
Chuck Asay
Picture yourself as a ruler of a kingdom. There’s this strange employee who wears a funny little hat that you keep around the castle to entertain your guests. He or she is gifted in the entertainment area but sometimes grows too intense and tiresome—yet you keep him around because every once in a while he comes up with an idea that makes you see things in a different light. In the olden days these people were called ‘court jesters.’ Today they they don’t wear the funny hats and are called ‘editorial cartoonists.’ This book is about some of the best in the business. Enjoy.
Bruce Plante
Edward Lordan has crafted an engaging, insightful, and comprehensive exploration of the history of American editorial cartooning. His book celebrates the importance of editorial cartooning to the history of our nation. It should be required reading for today’s newspaper publishers. As a matter of fact, buy a copy for your local newspaper publisher and put it on their doorstep today.
V. Cullum Rogers
Edward Lordan’s book is a treat for anyone interested in American editorial cartooning. Not only does it provide a concise history of this unruly profession from Ben Franklin’s severed snake to the rise of animated satire on the internet, with particular emphasis on the works that have sparked the greatest controversies—it does so while quoting as generously from the artists’ words as it does from their drawings. Any politician, publisher, editor, or outraged reader who genuinely wonders what goes on in the minds of those strange beasts called editorial cartoonists can pick up some thought-provoking clues from Politics, Ink.
Communication Booknotes Quarterly
Edward J. Lordan tells the story of the American political cartoon, from its origins over 250 years ago to today. Lordan, who teaches communication at West CHester University near Philadelphia, provides a tour of artists, politics, media, American Society, and the technology of cartooning, including the work of Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, Currier & Ives, Thomas Nast, Dr. Seuss, Pat Oliphant, Draper Hill, Tom Toles, Ted Rall, Mike Keefe, and others. Interviews with a selection of political cartoonists go behind the art form, to show how and why we respond to editorial cartoons as well as what syndication and the Internet mean to the future of political cartooning.
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9780742536388
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date: 12/15/2005
Edition description: New Edition
Edition number: 1
Pages: 208
Product dimensions: 9.16 (w) x 6.96 (h) x 0.57 (d)
Related Subjects
Political Cartoons
Meet the Author
Edward J. Lordan has written more than 500 columns, reviews, features, and news articles for newspapers including the Philadelphia Metro. He is a communications and public relations consultant and he is an assistant professor of communication at West Chester State University (Pennsylvannia). He lives in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Preface Part 2 Part I: The History of American Political Cartoons Chapter 3 1 Cartoons and the Birth of the Nation (1740 to 1785) Chapter 4 2 Complexity in Government and Media (1786 to 1860) Chapter 5 3 The Medium Matures (1860 to 1900) Chapter 6 4 World Wars and Economic Depression (1900 to 1945) Chapter 7 5 Cartooning in the Broadcast Era (1946 to 2000) Part 8 Part II: The State of the Art: The Modern Editorial Cartoon Chapter 9 6 Creators and Consumers Chapter 10 7 Process and Effect Chapter 11 8 In Their Own Words: Cartoonists on Cartooning Chapter 12 9 Epilogue: The Future of American Editorial Cartoons Chapter 13 Bibliography