The New Yorker Book of Literary Cartoons [Hardcover]

Bob Mankoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 2000

Welcome to "The New Yorker Book of Literary Cartoons," a timeless tribute to the peerless power of the literary landscape. In 104 drawings, each of them certified by experts to be worth a thousand words (and some of them quite amusing), the essence of reading, writing, publishing, and shelving books is explored in all its glory and absurdity, from the stunning and sublime to the purple and pretentious. Here is Emma Bovary shrugging off those pesky bouts with existential boredom (on the tennis court), Dickens' fateful encounter with a martini (olive or twist?), and T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" thoughtfully rewritten for the Beavis and Butt-Head market ("April sucks"). Here is a long-awaited and wholly unprecedented comic takedown of that loftiest of all cultural arenas, the world of belles lettres. It is a world where books stamped with promises from Oprah stand alongside others arranged by the attention span they require, a world where the Bible can now be found in the self-help section. Here, finally, are dead-on portraits and eye-opening ruminations on all things bookish, writerly, and readerly, courtesy of "The New Yorker's" renowned stable of cartoonists, from Charles Barsotti to Roz Chast, Ed Koren to J.B. Handelsman, and Jack Ziegler to Victoria Roberts. In the bestselling tradition of such classics as "The New Yorker Book of Lawyer Cartoons" and "The New Yorker Book of Cat Cartoons -- THE NEW YORKER BOOK OF LITERARY CARTOONS" is manna straight from bookworm heaven.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bob Mankoff became The New Yorker's cartoon editor in 1997. He is also the founder and president of Cartoonbank.com, a division of The New Yorker, which maintains the Internet's only searchable cartoon archive. He has published four collections of his own work and has edited five other New Yorker cartoon collections, most recently The New Yorker's 75th Anniversary Cartoon Collection.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Atria; First Pocket Hardcover edition (August 29, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671035576
• ISBN-13: 978-0671035570
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,404,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The New Yorker is an award-winning weekly magazine featuring reporting, criticism, commentary, fiction, poetry, and renowned single-panel cartoons. It has won more National Magazine Awards, the magazine world's equivalent of the Oscars, than any other magazine. Its contributors have won numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer Prize. Robert Mankoff is the cartoon editor of The New Yorker, and a cartoonist in his own right. He is the editor of many collections of New Yorker cartoons, including The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Humor About Authors, Publishers, Book Sellers, and Readers, September 20, 2000

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The New Yorker Book of Literary Cartoons (Hardcover)

This group of 104 cartoons features works by Charles Barsotti, Roz Chast, J.B. Handelsman, Ed Koren, Victoria Roberts, and Jack Ziegler. The cartoons capture the wittiest New Yorker views, and leave you with a wry taste in your mouth. Selected by Bob Mankoff (cartoon editor of The New Yorker since 1997), this collection is one of the best that has been produced recently from the past offerings of that venerable publication. If you like authors, books, and reading, you'll love this book!

I graded down the book because of the inexplicable lack of an introduction. What better subject for one than literary cartoons? The books in the series which featured such introductions are clearly more interesting than the ones that don't.

It was hard for me to pick a few cartoons to feature for you. I was tempted to include all but a few.

Author humor

(1) Man leaving home wearing suit and carrying a brief case: 'Wait a minute. Where am I going? I'm a writer.'

(2) James Joyce's refrigerator to-do list: 'Forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race.'

(3) Raven says to Poe: 'Nevermore. And you can quote me.'

Publisher humor

(1) Editor to Dickens: 'I wish you would make up your mind, Mr. Dickens. Was it the best of times or the worst of times? It could scarecely have been both.'

(2) 'It doesn't work as a novel. But we're willing to publish it as a desk calendar.'

(3) 'Chicken Vindaloo for the Hindu Soul is but the tip of the iceberg in our initial strategy of global expansion.'

Book Seller Humor

(1) 'Let me get you another copy. Someone left a slice of salami in this one.'

(2) Book shelves organized by length of attention span.

(3) Book shelves organized by size of author advance.

Reader humor

(1) 'I do want to solve all my problems, but I'll wait till it comes out in soft cover.'

(2) 'Lately, I've been reading Jane Austen -- just to clear my palate.'

(3) Fan to author: 'I really enjoyed your hype.'

Media humor

(1) Talk show host holding enormous tome, addressing author: 'If you were to boil your book down to a few words, what would be its message?'

(2) 'Oprah is definite, Barnes and Noble is giving you front windows and Norman Mailer has agreed to a feud.'

The others are just as good or better. These are just samples to whet your appetite.

After you have read, chuckled, and enjoyed these wonderful cartoons, consider why we find these cartoons to be funny. Is it because books have become a commodity, rather than works of important ideas and art? Is that really so funny? What should we do about that? If you find these questions provocative, read The Business of Books.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Collector's Item, December 2, 2000

By 

Laure-Madeleine - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Yorker Book of Literary Cartoons (Hardcover)

No matter how jaded, how cynical, how hard-boiled you may think yourself to be, at least one of these cartoons from the archives of The New Yorker will make you smile! Mr. Bob Mankoff, cartoon editor of The New Yorker since 1997, has put together a classic assortment of 104 drawings from the archives. "The New Yorker Book of Literary Cartoons" captures the cachet of the City, while poking fun at writers, editors, publishers, booksellers, and, most of all, at books, and those who read them. From the bookstore browsing Bibliophile Bikers Club to Mme Sartre's empty mailbox ("Sacré bleu! Again with the nothingness, and on my birthday yet!") to the hilarious note magnetized on "James Joyce's Refrigerator," one will find sterling examples of the wonderful satirical wit which has graced the pages of this magazine for 75 years. Buy this book for yourself! (Highly recommended for writer's block.) Better yet, buy this book for your editor or for your bookworm friends!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE IT!, December 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Yorker Book of Literary Cartoons (Hardcover)

I purchased this book for my favorite english professor in college and took a glance in it myself and fell in love with it! You do not have to be a professor to get this--the humor is for all!