Book Description
A pictorial history of the year, as seen by more than 180 editorial cartoonists, this 2004 volume offers a variety of viewpoints on such topics as the shock and awe of the war in Iraq, the trials and tribulations of the Bush administration, the parade of the nine Democratic presidential hopefuls, and the triumphs and the tragedies of the world in general. In more than four hundred cartoons, the world’s best editorial cartoonists probe, analyze, and assess the people, ideas, and events that made headlines in 2003.

From the Publisher
Every year since 1972, Pelican has presented this diverse compilation of the most outstanding editorial cartoons from publications across the country. Selected for clarity of position as well as for exceptional execution, this collection includes the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning artists, the year’s major award-winning cartoons, and the best work from Canadian cartoonists.

About the Author
In addition to his lifetime of work as an editorial cartoonist, Charles Brooks has had another rewarding long-time career as well: that of editor of Pelican’s "Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year" series. This landmark series, begun in 1972, showcases the work of editorial cartoonists from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Brooks has not only seen history unfold before his eyes throughout his life, but he has also recorded it for posterity in his cartoons. So, too, do the editorial cartoonists that he chooses to appear in each edition of Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year. The cartoons, inevitably more famous than the cartoonists themselves, become a part of the history that they capture. Charles Brooks is past president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists and was a cartoonist for the Birmingham (AL) News for thirty-eight years. He has been the recipient of thirteen Freedom Foundation awards, a national VFW award, two Vigilante Patriot awards, and a Sigma Delta Chi award for editorial cartooning. Brooks’ cartoons appear in more than eighty books, including textbooks on political science, economics, and history, as well as encyclopedias and yearbooks. His original cartoons are on display in the archives of many libraries.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
What a year for those who make us laugh -- and think! There are usually a number of interesting political events in any given year, but the crazy election of 2000 gave the nation's editorial cartoonists an extra load of ammunition for their feverish imaginations. In this roundup of the best cartoons of the year, there is an entire section on "The Florida Vote," including hilarious takes on hanging, dangling, and pregnant chads; the meddlesome Jeb Bush; fashion icon Katherine Harris; and the legion of lawyers. As you would expect, George "Shrub" Bush and Al "The Robot" Gore go at it in a series of cartoons covering both the campaign and the resulting vote-counting chaos.

The exiting Clinton administration, which certainly didn't disappoint the nation's editorial cartoonists, gets a final dose of abuse, including appearances by Monica, Janet Reno, Hilary (as she makes her departure for the Senate), and the various Whitewater probe bloodhounds.

Other domestic doings chronicled in these pages include Alan Greenspan's adroit handling of the economy (and his role as "shadow president"), the rise and fall of the dot-com economy, the Supreme Court's upholding of the Boy Scouts' ban on gays, the Harry Potter craze, the contradictory role of guns and Bibles in our schools, the breaking of the human genome code, racial profiling in our biggest cities, and John Rocker's "free speech" issues.

Foreign affairs are not slighted: After all, 2000 was the "Year of Elian." The cartoonists also weigh in on the struggle for Middle East peace, Vladimir Putin (as Vlad the Impaler, in one instance), and other international inanities.

The book hits a more emotional and intimate note with heartfelt tributes to two well-loved cartoon icons who perished in 2000: Peanuts creator Charles Schulz and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Jeff MacNelly.

This is one of my favorite reads every year. It perfectly encapsulates the events of the previous 12 months and gives new meaning to that old chestnut about a picture being worth a thousand words! (Nicholas Sinisi)

Nicholas Sinisi is the Barnes & Noble.com Nonfiction editor.

ANNOTATION

Culled from editorial pages across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, this collection of editorial cartoons covers topics that range from Newt Gingrich to Cal Ripken, from Bosnia to Congress to the O.J. Simpson trial. Pulitzer Prize winners, National Headliners Club winners, National Newspaper Award/Canada, and the Fischetti Award winners are listed.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

For The Past decade -- ten eventful, epochal years -- the Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year series has become the definitive compendium of leading cartoonists' views of major national and international issues. First published in 1972, the annual series has been widely acclaimed as a concise yet far-ranging pictorial history of each year's events.

The 1982 edition continues the established standard of excellence. More than 360 editorial cartoons reflecting the best efforts of 141 cartoonists are contained herein, along with an illuminating foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Mike Peters of the Dayton, Ohio, Daily News. Peters discusses from his own experience how a cartoonist conceives the ideas for his daily work.

As in the previous nine volumes, cartoons for the twenty-five topics in this work were selected by Charles Brooks, prize-winning editorial cartoonist for the Birmingham, Alabama, News since 1948 and past president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Reproduced on the inside front and back covers of this volume are self-portraits of most of the cartoonists whose work appears in these pages.

SYNOPSIS

Since 1972, this publication has been providing a comic pictorial history of the year's major personalities, events, and trends. Some 400 cartoons cover the Bush administration to telemarketers. Past award-winners are listed. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

Scan A Book