Customer Reviews

Search And Destroy

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This is great book to acquainted with the humor of Ted Rall. It consists of a collection of comic strips that Ted Rall picked as his favorite from the last five years. The book includes ones that were and weren't published. Most of the strips have an explanation of why Ted thinks it is worth being included in this collection, or the what point the strip was trying to convey. I don't know what else to write about without giving anything away, so I will just say that this is worth every penny that Amazon[.com] is asking for and you must buy this.

The work of Ted Rall has a polarizing effect, I think. Either you laugh uproariously yet ruefully and say, "Rock on, my man! Power to the people!" or you clench your teeth in rage and growl out, "America--love it or leave it, you pinko punk!" Pretty much, if you voted for Reagan or either Bush, then you'll tend to the latter reaction.

Mr. Rall evidently stews in perpetual bitterness over the myriad injustices of contemporary American society. In no particular order, he appears to loathe and despise his father, bosses, lawyers, corporations, Republicans, fellow cartoonists, his father, Hollywood, the school system, and also his father--pretty much all of the accepted and customary targets of the left. He has virtually no trust in any major institution and gleefully skewers them without mercy. Of course, given the domestic track records of recent Republican administrations and the squalid, greed-infested, and sorry state of corporate governance these days, he's perfectly justified in his hatred.

Despite the overtones of rage, most of the collected strips are extremely funny, and his style is distinct and unique. Some of the strips have appeared previously in alternative weeklies, but others are drawn from his work for other publications.

Avoid this is you're an overly sensitive and humorless adherent of the right wing; otherwise, pick it up for both the laughs and the provocative challenge to your world view.

Probably the best collection of Rall's work available in print. This is a christmas cracker for anyone even half switched-on. Ted never gets boring and his subject material is extremely wide. Pick a political bad apple, and he pulls it all apart with gleeful abandon. By the last panel, you'll be wondering whether to laugh or join the local anarchists' group. This is my kind of life-blood.

Check out this collection of hilarious and biting cartoons, I loved it from start to finish! Very clever and inventive, and had me laughing out loud on the subway. Ted Rall is New York's best kept secret, but I bet he won't be for long. A delight!

I learned more about politics, history and social issues from reading Rall's cartoons than from newspapers or history books. His take on the hot issues of our times cut thru the spin and baloney like a hot knife thru butter. Go for it if you are tired of listening to talking heads and spinmeisters!