Product Description

History books are often sprinkled with editorial cartoons to illuminate the issues of a period of time. This is a history book of sorts, but with a twist. It is a view of the past tweny-five years through the eyes of an editorial cartoonist, with text used to illuminate the cartoons. It begins in Vietnam and the waning years of the Nixon administration, the launching point of a thousand cartoon careers, and ends in the current war in Iraq. This book looks at many issues (the economy, military, spendings, race relations, religion and culture) which have remained issues over the last 25 years and seven presidents; they simply increase and decrease over time. One of the lessons drawn from this effort is that nothing ever gets resolved, as the big questions keep coming back in one form or another, making for interesting reading.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #898875 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 291 pages

From the Author
It is no accident that some of the most enduring symbols of American politics came from cartoonists, the Republican elephant and Democratic donkey being the best known. Surely the symbols of the next era are being drawn today--and prescient reader might even find some hints of them in these pages.
--John C. Green, Director, Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics

As a humor columnist, I also work in the whoopee-cushion sector of journalism. So over the years, I've come to know many cartoonists, and one of my favorites, as both a professional and a guy, is Chip Bok. I met him in the early 1980's in Miami, where both he and I worked for the Miami Herald's wonderful (and, alas, now defunct) Sunday magazine, Tropic. For awhile, Chip drew terrific illustrations for my column, but before long his talent took him to the Akron Beacon Journal, for whom he has been turning out wonderful work ever since.
--Dave Barry, Humorist

About the Author
Chip Bok's career as an editorial cartoonist began in seventh grade math class. While attempting to draw figures in the eccentric style of Mad Magazine cartoonist Don Martin, he realized that he had inadvertently drawn President Lyndon Johnson. His new calling led him to the University of Dayton, cement work, wholesale drug sales, newspapers in Florida, computer graphics, and since 1987, the Akron Beacon Journal, His award-winning cartoons have since been reprinted all around the world. He often ponders the road not taken, Zamboni driver, while watering his backyard hockey rink on long winter nights at his home in Akron, where he lives with his Deb, and the two youngest of their four children.

Customer Reviews

For Those About To Bok....
Anyone who likes editorials or editorial cartoons will love this book. As someone who really became aware of politics around 1996 (I was born in 1980), I found this collection enlightening and entertaining. Mr. Bok's very incisive cartoons, coupled with brief but descriptive captions, provided a context to important events that you could never glean from a history textbook.

In his introduction, Mr. Bok provides a window into the life of an editorial cartoonist and gives tremendous insight on the importance of freedom of speech. Indeed, some of his cartoons will challenge the reader - but you don't have to agree with them to appreciate them!

Humor, political discourse, rational thinking....if you value those things, you will love "The Recent History..." Overall, a great book!