America Gone Wild: Cartoons by Ted Rall

"Insightful and venomously cynical political cartoons . . . Rall straddles stereotypes, avoids party lines like live wires. . . . A true freethinker." --Las Vegas Mercury

There simply isn't a more polarizing, more controversial, or more widely read political and social cartoonist than Ted Rall.

Matt Groening: "Ted Rall makes me laugh out loud."

Rush Limbaugh: "What is sad is that such an ignoramus ends up as a prominent cartoonist in major newspapers."

Janet Clayton, L.A. Times editorial page editor: "He's wonderfully incisive. He has a way of looking at the world that is rarely articulated in editorial cartoons."

Bernard Goldberg, author of 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America: "There is loathsome and there is beneath loathsome. And then there's Ted Rall."

Love him or hate him, Rall has a unique drawing style and makes caustic social commentary that sets him apart from the pack. America Gone Wild features Rall's most controversial cartoons assembled for the first time in a single collection. Rall views his strips as a vehicle for driving social change. He applies his outrageous sense of humor to volatile topics from 9/11 and the Iraq war to social issues such as unemployment, the environment, and religion. This collection comprises his edgiest material and features lengthy behind-the-scenes commentary from Rall.

Read more Continue reading Read less ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ted Rall is a two-time winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and a Pulitzer Prize finalist. His cartoons appear in the "Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, MAD Magazine, Village Voice," and more than 140 other publications. Inspired after meeting pop artist Keith Haring in a Manhattan subway station, Ted got his start by posting his cartoons on New York City streets. After a few years of self-syndication, his cartoons were signed for national syndication. He moved to Universal Press Syndicate in 1996. Ted lives in New York City. --This text refers to the paperback edition. FROM SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Grade 10 Up - Rall's style of humor ranges from abrasive to just plain silly. Often the barbs are designed to make readers confront uncomfortable subjects. This collection of cartoons is accompanied by a long essay in which the author elaborates on the inspiration and aftermath surrounding some of his most controversial cartoons. Brief annotations add depth to readers' understanding of his work or put his words and drawings in a new light. His commentary on 9/11 and the Iraq war earned him death threats as well as ridicule, and pressure from conservatives has coincided with decisions by some media outlets to withdraw his syndication. He shares some of the hateful e-mails he has received, and their hyperbole is oddly reminiscent of Rall's own satire. The author describes his fervent addiction to cable news, and his knowledge of world politics is evident in his nuanced references to current events. By contrast, his caricature of George W. Bush lacks any notion of subtlety - Bush sports pointy fangs and a dictatorial military getup. The blockish bodies and high-contrast black-and-white faces add an almost deadpan delivery to the artist's humor. In addition to political cartoons that have been featured in national newspapers such as the New York Times, this volume includes comics that appeared in the magazine Men's Health. With these panels, Rall turns his scathing wit on relationships and the human condition. Politically aware teens will find his work provocative. - Heidi Dolamore, San Mateo County Library, CA
Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the paperback edition. Read more Continue reading Read less