Drawn to Extremes

The Use and Abuse of Editorial Cartoons in the United States

By: Chris Lamb

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Paperback | 9 May 2006 | Edition Number 1

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Paperback
288 Pages

Age
22+

Dimensions(cm)
22.74 x 15.49 x 1.7

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Four days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Pulitzer Prize--winning cartoonist Joel Pett of the "Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader" chided President George W. Bush for having declared that America would "punish any state that harbored or trained terrorists." In one of his cartoons, Pett asked if this included the state of Florida, where the terrorists had lived and taken flying lessons. When Pett followed with other criticisms of Bush, readers canceled subscriptions, demanded that Pett be fired, and left profane messages on his voice mail. "One elderly woman spat into the phone that I 'should have been in the World Trade Center, 'Pett said. "Such is the power of the cartoon when it is unleashed."

Unrestricted by journalistic standards of objectivity, editorial cartoonists wield ire and irony to reveal the naked truths about presidents, business leaders, and other public figures. Indeed, since the founding of the republic, cartoonists have both made an important contribution to and offered a critical commentary on our society.

This book demonstrates the limits of cartooning from the courtroom to the newsroom. Chris Lamb examines the reasons for the declining state of the art and the implications for all of us. Most newspapers today publish relatively generic, gag-related, syndicated cartoons. They are cheaper and generate fewer phone calls than hard-hitting cartoons. Lamb charges that they are symptomatic of the foundering newspaper industry and reflect a weakness in the newspaper's traditional watchdog function. If a newspaper wants to fulfill its function in society, maybe it should find ways to make the phone ring more -- not less

Industry Reviews

"Lamb's research, however, pays off in his enlightening history of cartooning, loaded with entertaining incidents beyond the well-known." -- James Poniewozik, Bookforum " "If political cartoonists were to draw Chris Lamb, it might be as their knight, charging into battle." -- Nina C. Ayoub, Chronicle of Higher Education "[Lamb's] book is passionately argued...and the dozens of reproductions are fantastic." "A book that will serve as a wake-up call to those who refuse to acknowledge the diminution of freedom of expression and democratic ideals in the U.S...Essential" -- Choice "A thoughtfully composed and well-illustrated investigation of the role of those who serve as society's watchdogs." -- ForeWord Magazine "Lamb's book is a welcome look at a type of journalism that is given extraordinary latitude." -- H.J. Kirchhoff, Globe and Mail

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