America Gone Wild: Cartoons by Ted Rall [Paperback]

Ted Rall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2006

"Insightful and venomously cynical political cartoons . . . Rall straddles stereotypes, avoids party lines like live wires. . . . A true freethinker." --Las Vegas Mercury

There simply isn't a more polarizing, more controversial, or more widely read political and social cartoonist than Ted Rall.

Matt Groening: "Ted Rall makes me laugh out loud."

Rush Limbaugh: "What is sad is that such an ignoramus ends up as a prominent cartoonist in major newspapers."

Janet Clayton, L.A. Times editorial page editor: "He's wonderfully incisive. He has a way of looking at the world that is rarely articulated in editorial cartoons."

Bernard Goldberg, author of 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America: "There is loathsome and there is beneath loathsome. And then there's Ted Rall."

Love him or hate him, Rall has a unique drawing style and makes caustic social commentary that sets him apart from the pack. America Gone Wild features Rall's most controversial cartoons assembled for the first time in a single collection. Rall views his strips as a vehicle for driving social change. He applies his outrageous sense of humor to volatile topics from 9/11 and the Iraq war to social issues such as unemployment, the environment, and religion. This collection comprises his edgiest material and features lengthy behind-the-scenes commentary from Rall.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up—Rall's style of humor ranges from abrasive to just plain silly. Often the barbs are designed to make readers confront uncomfortable subjects. This collection of cartoons is accompanied by a long essay in which the author elaborates on the inspiration and aftermath surrounding some of his most controversial cartoons. Brief annotations add depth to readers' understanding of his work or put his words and drawings in a new light. His commentary on 9/11 and the Iraq war earned him death threats as well as ridicule, and pressure from conservatives has coincided with decisions by some media outlets to withdraw his syndication. He shares some of the hateful e-mails he has received, and their hyperbole is oddly reminiscent of Rall's own satire. The author describes his fervent addiction to cable news, and his knowledge of world politics is evident in his nuanced references to current events. By contrast, his caricature of George W. Bush lacks any notion of subtlety—Bush sports pointy fangs and a dictatorial military getup. The blockish bodies and high-contrast black-and-white faces add an almost deadpan delivery to the artist's humor. In addition to political cartoons that have been featured in national newspapers such as the New York Times, this volume includes comics that appeared in the magazine Men's Health. With these panels, Rall turns his scathing wit on relationships and the human condition. Politically aware teens will find his work provocative.—Heidi Dolamore, San Mateo County Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Ted Rall is a two-time winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and a Pulitzer Prize finalist. His cartoons appear in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, MAD Magazine, Village Voice, and more than 140 other publications. Inspired after meeting pop artist Keith Haring in a Manhattan subway station, Ted got his start by posting his cartoons on New York City streets. After a few years of self-syndication, his cartoons were signed for national syndication. He moved to Universal Press Syndicate in 1996. Ted lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740760459
• ISBN-13: 978-0740760457
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,037,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ted Rall is one of the nation's most outspoken left-of-center pundits. Though best known as one of America's most controversial and widely syndicated political cartoonists, he is also an acclaimed columnist, author and war correspondent. Twice the winner of the RFK Journalism Award and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Rall traveled to Afghanistan during the fall 2001 U.S. invasion, where he drew and wrote "To Afghanistan and Back," the first book of any kind about the war. He was also one of the first journalists to declare the war effort doomed, writing in The Village Voice in December 2001 that the occupation had already been lost.

Rall's latest book is a graphic novel memoir, "The Year of Loving Dangerously," wth Pablo G. Callejo, about his journey from Ivy League college student to homeless bed-hopper during the long hot summer of 1984 in New York City.

Inspired after meeting pop artist Keith Haring in a Manhattan subway station in 1986, Rall began posting his cartoons on New York City streets. He eventually picked up 12 small clients, including NY Weekly and a poetry review in Halifax, Nova Scotia, through self-syndication. In 1990, he returned to Columbia University to resume his studies, from which he graduated with a bachelor of arts with honors in history in 1991. (His honors thesis was about American plans to occupy France as an enemy power at the end of World War II.) Later that year, Rall's cartoons were signed for national syndication by San Francisco Chronicle Features, which is no longer in business. He moved to Universal Press Syndicate in 1996.

His cartoons now appear in more than 100 publications around the United States, including the Los Angeles Times, Tucson Weekly, SF Weekly, Pasadena Weekly, Toledo City Paper and MAD Magazine.

Rall considers himself a neo-traditionalist who uses a unique drawing style to revive the aggressive approach of Thomas Nast, who viewed editorial cartoons as a vehicle for change. His focus is on issues important to ordinary working people--he keeps a sign asking "What do actual people care about?" above his drafting table--such as un- and underemployment, the environment and popular culture, but also comments on political and social trends.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rall strikes the right nerve, April 4, 2007

By 

paul (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America Gone Wild: Cartoons by Ted Rall (Paperback)

While his style isn't for everyone, Ted Rall's work serves a purpose all its own. At a time when the definition of politically correct has become saying nothing even more than saying the 'right' thing, Rall stands up for a time gone by--a time when cartoons said anything and everything they wanted. As space and tolerance quickly disintegrate, Rall stands alone in the wind...not chasing the money, not caving in to pressure. Again, his style can seem off target at times--enough that you shake your head as often as you laugh--but his contribution to the industry is what helps keep the flame on the satire candle from blowing out entirely.

And again, he misses big sometimes, for something happening in Sudan is offbeat enough let alone when a cartoon gets printed 6 days later and the 2% that were following the story has dropped to .75.

But Rall's biggest contribution, at least in this book, is his breakdown of the industry itself, of the A+B=C simplicity that most editorial readers have come to expect. When he jokes about the "terror whores", for example (individuals who he felt rode on the coattails of their family members' deaths for their personal and/or financial gain) people got outraged at what they believed was insensitivity, for they quickly think he's accusing EVERYONE who lost someone of such a thing. This is Rall at his finest, for he opens the doors of discussion about topics that hardly anyone else will even touch. At least he offers us that.

And Rall knows something very important: freedom of speech isn't something the government is going to storm in and snatch away from us like a scene in a movie. Instead, times just change, until one day we realize we've quietly and subtly taken it from ourselves. It's already happened on the nightly news, as carefully-written text stays a fair distance from the edge. This vanilla style will only get worse as the amount of money to be made (or lost) increases over time. Political cartoons are as much an art form as painting or music, and Rall's doing everything he can to keep this medium from moving too close to the center.

We can only hope Rall maintains his edge, if only so that the quick-witted style of critique that was once a standard in American cartooning can stay alive a little longer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine collection, June 20, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America Gone Wild: Cartoons by Ted Rall (Paperback)

Deserving of ongoing mention is a fine collection packed with humorous political commentary and controversial digs at everything from political events and individuals to science and social issues. Large-size black and white comics poke fun at all kinds of scenarios, making for a fine addition to any public library holding - and promising lasting interest and relevance.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Explanatory notes ruin the book, August 31, 2007

By 

J Petrille (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America Gone Wild: Cartoons by Ted Rall (Paperback)

I'm a big fan of Ralls--he's just honest and brave and tactless in a way that's all but illegal nowadays. That said, this collection is almost totally ruined for me by Rall's explanatory notes at the bottom of the comics. These cartoons typically contain four drawings and like 80 words--do we REALLY need to see that boiled down? In all but the rarest cases the cartoons should speak for themselves. Too bad Rall didn't think more of his audience because those of us left after the Tilman and terror widow cartoons probably don't need to know that, as Rall informs us in commentary beneath one cartoon, he likes to find parallels between the personal and political.