I forgot I had this until the other day. It was a great way to escape for a few hours.

All those people complaining about Dr. Seuss need to read this book and see just what his thoughts were on topics.
They'd be surprised.
Brilliant wartime cartoons that show his true views on things.

Unlike the children books by Theodor Seuss Geisel aka Dr Seuss, this one tells about him and (shows) his works during World War II along with history during this same time period. Politics, history, working, WW2, different races and what they went through, the list goes on. I was surprised to see what he did in the past. It is very political ..... now that took me by surprise and I learned something new. I guess because I am use to his reading/seeing his children books. He draws what one learned in history. At times they are funny and there are those that are very serious and political. Just one drawing says a thousand words.

This fascinates me (and somewhat confuses me, with the press surrounding Seuss lately as believing the polar opposite of what these cartoons say and represent). I’m going to put on my objective literature teacher/student cap and look at them for what they are within the pages.

One thing I find particularly haunting and personally disturbing (the anti-Nazi, anti-Axis cartoons are striking, profound, but not shocking in content) are the cartoons represent the disunity and dysfunctional Congress. Even a politician riding high on a creature named Filibuster-could that be closer to home in 2021?!

I recommend this even purely for the cartoons let alone Minear’s commentary.

A fascinating and thought-provoking read to say the least!!

Interesting. The offensive stereotypes depicted shows the other side of a childhood favorite author. It reflects what was acceptable in America during World War II and to some extent what became acceptable during subsequent conflicts, including Vietnam, the Gulf War, and the War on Terror. Today the internet allows faster and wider dissemination of such material than print media.

In the introduction the author writes "These cartoons rail against isolationism, racism, and anti-Semitism with a conviction and fervor lacking in most other American editorial pages of the period.". The period is 1941 - 1942 and early 1943.
The cartoons show a side of Dr. Seuss that I was not aware of before reading this book.
The cartoons are very detailed for the small spaces they occupy and the narrative describing them puts them in context.

Dr. Seuss producing wartime cartoons before and during World War II? Yes. These cartoons along with the commentary provided by t Richard H. Minear are a window into WWII America, and into Dr. Seuss. If you enjoy his books, you will certainly enjoy his cartoons.

I am glad to read this book, and while I love the anti-Nazi messages, and the anti-racist messages in terms of his commentary on segregation of white and black people in the United states, there is a lot of racism in his depictions of Asian Americans and black people. Anthropologically I find it fascinating. I would love to discuss this book.

Well, it's good to have a book from my alma matter. It's a challenging book.

First off, it is simply a showcase. A bit of scholarly instruction proceeds each chapter and delves into the certain categories that he illustrated. The cartoons stand on their own and the art is classic Dr. Seuss.

But that showcasing should be the main event and rather it delves into a lot of Dead Poets Society style rumination on his style and art choices and " the feeling of why he did it". I can't stand art critique. And it doesn't go much deeper than some tepid questioning on where Dr. Seuss stood on Communism. Stalin. And Emperor Hirohito.

The cartoons were presented and it was great to see almost proto Seuss drawings. I still want some of them printed out and hung in my office.

This book is also 25 years old so no further updates on it?

It's not all cartoons. Minear researched Dr. Seuss, all of the war 'toons, and the PM newspaper itself, where most of these cartoons appeared. He brings in analyses of Theodor Seuss Geisal, his work, and his wartime jingoism, and the racism towards all Japanese, diseases he was not the only victim of, despite his hatred of racism in the U.S. and anti-profiteering off the war. He was not a simple man, nor single-minded in his 'toons. But his hatred of Hitler and his allies overwhelmed everything else. The cartoons are inspired, and inspirational. And some of the characters returned in Seuss's post-war works of whimsey and clever moralizing. He did work hard at making children think, successfully, I believe. Interesting to note that he opposed Soviet Russia at first, then softened when Germany invaded. Fascinating to see the person before he became the person we all know and love.

Informative and interesting. Dr Seuss was so much more than his children's books.

Enlightening and educational. It was quite interesting to read some of Dr. Seuss' adult content. The book was like a slice of WWII stateside perspectives. Even if you just read the cartons this book is worth your time, but I will say that the text introduction to each section offers extra insight and points out details that otherwise might go overlooked.