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Jules Feiffer's America: From Eisenhower to Reagan

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Jules Feiffer is best known for his long-running cartoons in The Village Voice. Once a week, he would target racism (both the people for and against), religion (ditto), bohemian artistry (ditto), or the tribulations of modern life. Or, as shown here, presidents and politics.

This is a collection of his cartoons, spanning nearly 30 years. It's organized chronologically by president, an organization that itself carries information. From the complacency of the 50s, when "leisure" was a problem, through Viet Nam and most of the Cold War, up to Reagan's Movie America, this is almost a chronicle of American neuroses.

His cartoons of kids may be the most pointed. In some (p.187, for example), Feiffer digs at parental callousness and irresponsibility. In others, the unfortunate little ones are shown contorting themselves into blatantly ridiculous patterns of adult reasoning. In others (e.g. both on p.63) the child seems to be the one sane point in a world where sanity is not an asset.

These cartoons express ideas that are probably important to you. Maybe they echo your own beliefs, maybe they present the opposition - either way, they're important.

//wiredweird