Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel
BeforeYertle, before theCat in the Hat, beforeLittle Cindy-Lou Who(but afterMulberry Street),Dr. Seuss(Theodor Geisel) made his living as a political cartoonist for New York newspaperPM. Seuss drew over 400 cartoons in just under two years for the paper, reflecting the daily's New Deal liberal slant. Starting in early 1941, whenPMadvocated American involvement in World War II, Seuss savaged the fascists with cunning caricatures. He also turned his pen against America's internal enemies--isolationists, hoarders, complainers, anti-Semites, and anti-black racists--and urged Americans to work together to win the war. The cartoons are often funny, peopled with bowler-hatted "everymen" and what authorArt Spiegelmancalls "Seussian fauna" in his preface. They are also often very disturbing--Seuss draws brutally racist images of the Japanese and even attacks Japanese Americans on numerous occasions. Perhaps most disturbing is the realization that Seuss was just reflecting the wartime zeitgeist.Dr. Seuss Goes to Warmarks the first time most of these illustrations have appeared in print since they were first published.Richard H. Minear's introduction and explanatory chapters contextualize the 200 editorial cartoons (some of whose nuances might otherwise be lost on the modern reader). Those who grew up on Seuss will enjoy early glimpses of his later work; history buffs will enjoy this new--if playful and contorted--angle on World War II.--Sunny Delaney--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.