The highly acclaimed, longtime editor and publisher of the Nation and the author of the National Book Award–winning Naming Names (1980) here takes on a compelling subject, one nearly ideal for him and one that will appeal to his many adherents and deservedly earn him new readers. Although a bit repetitive, this heavily illustrated, entertainingly written look at poltical cartoons is both personal—Navasky’s experience with controversial drawing as well as writing is considerable—and thoroughly researched. It is also deeply insightful, particularly in the discussion of caricature, a unique form of satire. Though the book’s main focus is on Americans (Herblock, Edward Sorel, David Levine), Navasky also discusses well- and lesser-known twentieth-century cartoonists from around the world, and his inclusion of a time line of their persecution (and prosecution) is eye-opening and lends closure to his persuasively made conclusions. --Mark Levine
In his survey of the genre, Navasky wants to know why cartoons are so effective at conveying political messages—an understandable quandary for a self-proclaimed "word person." Navasky is admittedly working outside of his element, but he attempts to tackle the problem in the style of his word-focused tribe. This early dissection of the subject can be pretty abstract, but it does yield one concrete and intriguing interpretation of the power of the political cartoon: the idea that caricatures overload our facial-recognition circuitry and thus seem more face-like than actual faces. —Josh Fruhlinger
Review
“Thoughtful and deftly illustrated…an engaging meditation on cartoon history.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“The visuals in The Art of Controversy: Political Cartoons and their Enduring Power are irresistible and the passionate Victor S. Navasky is a wonderful storyteller.”
—The Boston Globe
“[Mr. Navasky] is agreeable company…a man who knew many of the great cartoonists of the 20th century and has stories to tell.”
—Dwight Garner, The New York Times
“Accessible, yet acutely academic…With The Art of Controversy, Navasky has made a substantial effort to bring understanding to the power of caricature.”
—The New York Daily News
“Mr. Navasky’s wonderful book is a spirited homage to the art and craft of political caricature.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“This heavily illustrated, entertainingly written look at political cartoons is both personal—Navasky’s experience with controversial drawing as well as writing is considerable—and thoroughly researched. It is also deeply insightful.”
—Booklist
“A lavishly illustrated, witty, and learned look at the power of the political cartoon throughout history.”
—Publisher’s Weekly
“Engaging and often illuminating.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Navasky argues eloquently and convincingly [that] censorship of caricature artists amounts to an assault on individual free speech. The Art of Controversy is an amazing historical document from a political journalist all too familiar with caricature’s intuitive and divisive power.”
—Shelf Awareness
"A novel approach to the history of political cartoons. From Picasso, Grosz, and Daumier through Herblock and Ralph Steadman, Navasky illuminates an underappreciated art form."
-Oliver Stone
"As Victor Navasky, a word man, investigates the wordless art of the political cartoon -- what, he asks, accounts for its implosive power? -- we find ourselves in the hands of a writer of indefatigable curiosity and are caught up in the tempestuous history of newsprint art. An expansive, illuminating work. I know of nothing comparable."
-E.L. Doctorow
"Victor Navasky's The Art of Controversy is an entertaining and instructive reminder of the important place of political cartoons in exposing lies, hypocrisies, stupidity, and corruption in the public arena. Be prepared to laugh and get angry all at once."
-Tom Brokaw
"Victor Navasky pulls it off - he showcases the significance and power of political cartoons without taking the 'funny' out of them or cloistering the amazing rage they evoke that is far beyond the power of mere words to explain."
-Ralph Nader
“For the political junkie, journalist, artist, cartoonist or student, The Art of Controversy is a wonder story of an amazing art form.”
-New York Journal of Books
“An invaluable account of two centuries of comic art, with a galvanizing emphasis on the specific conditions of its creation.”
—Barnes & Noble
“Thought-provoking…a compelling meander through the complex world of satirical cartooning.”
—Ashbury Park Press
“An entertaining tour through a wonderfully affecting mode of illustration.”
—Drawing Magazine
About the Author
Victor S. Navasky is the former editor and publisher of The Nation, and a former editor at The New York Times Magazine, who once founded his own quarterly of political satire, Monocle, “a radical sporadical.” He is the author of, among other books, Naming Names, which won a 1982 National Book Award, and A Matter of Opinion, which won the George Polk Book Award. He teaches at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he is the director of the Delacorte Center for Magazine Journalism and chair of the Columbia Journalism Review. He lives in New York.
