Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year: 2006 Edition (Paperback)

~ Charles Brooks (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Last year was a big story year. The greatest natural disaster in U.S. History, Hurricane Katrina, tore up the Gulf Coast, then Hurricane Rita hit the Texas/Louisiana border. John Roberts became our Supreme Court chief justice and first Harriet Miers and then Samuel Alito were nominated to replace retiring justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The Iraq war continued, and two terrorist attacks in London reminded us all to be vigilant.

President Bush’s approval ratings reached an all-time low, and the deaths of Pope John Paul II, Judge William Rehnquist, and Terry Schiavo all had surprising ripple effects. "Deep Throat" was revealed, as was the use of steroids among professional baseball players. Israel withdrew from Gaza, and Syria withdrew from Lebanon.

All in all it was an exciting year for cartoonists and more than 150 are represented here in this 33rd annual edition, including work from Pulitzer Prize-winning artists, the year’s major award-winning cartoons, and the best work from Canadian cartoonists.

From the Publisher

"If you are a fan of political cartoons or cartooning in general, this series is well worth following regularly." --Hogan’s Alley, the online magazine of the cartoon arts "A ‘must’ addition to high-school, college, university, or public library system collections."

--Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing; First Edition edition (March 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589803973
• ISBN-13: 978-1589803978
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,052,476 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLIANT AND ON TARGET!, September 9, 2006

By	Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

The cover of the Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year, 2006 edition just about says it all as a blimp is pictured with the words "Bad Year" as its message. No one can disagree there as 2005 began with the aftermath of the Tsunami on the other side of the world, and continued the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, the failing economy, and various political scandals. Not a year to be remembered. These truly are the best political cartoons leading off with Pulitzer and other prize winners and covering a variety of subjects such as those various natural disasters, terrorism, congress, the economy, sports, foreign affairs, and more, from some of the leading newspapers in the nation.

As one would expect, President Bush is the target for many of the cartoons, lampooning his handling of Iraq, Katrina, the nomination to the Supreme Court, the economy, and, well...just about everything else. Several cartoons take Bush to task for his seemingly uncanny ability to be on vacation whenever a disaster strikes.

Two great cartoons take opposite sides and use the name of the fallen soldiers in Iraq as their ammunition. One, from Mike Luckovich of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, uses the names to spell out in big letters, "WHY?" On the other end of the spectrum is Bob Englehart of the Hartford Courant whose cartoons show a version of the Constitution which reads, "We the people of Iraq should get down on our knees and thank..." with the list of names following. Both are well done.

The topic of racism is dealt with frequently, particularly in regards to Katrina and there are several humorous, yet sadly tragic cartoons that deal with last August's hurricane. Other subjects that get deservedly skewered are Michael Jackson, oil companies and their gross (as in disgusting) profits, and the Bird Flu. The bulk of the sports cartoons cover the ongoing steroid scandal in baseball.

It's a brilliant collection from beginning to end with cutting edge cartooning and biting political statements. A real gem!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

5.0 out of 5 stars Editorial Cartoons, July 11, 2007

By	William Christman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love editorial cartoons and love Brooks' collection. It is aklways a treat to review the year this way. I could not give his collection a bad rating and admit to being biased in that way.