Herblock : A Cartoonist's Life

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The prize-winning Washington Post editorial cartoonist Herblock is feared by erring politicians and admired by others for his humorous and pointed drawings on issues of the day. Along with 200 examples of his graphic style and ingenious ideas (Nixon holding the GOP elephant hostage, Carter viewing his own ``Fuzzy'' TV image, Ollie North turning shredded evidence into lucrative contracts), the artist here engagingly recalls a baseball-and-trolley-car Chicago boyhood followed by his start as a poorly-paid cartoonist, a career which ultimately won him nationwide recognition. Block includes hard-hitting capsule histories of Nixon, Reagan and Bush administration scandals he chronicled. His quietly told press corps anecdotes, such as helping a colleague authenticate a letter from President Truman, his insider bits on the famous and descriptions of correspondence he has received from people he has criticized are all pure delight.

Library Journal

In an era when small-time actors, minor sports figures, and a succession of shady characters distinguished only by appearances on talk shows feel entitled to tell us their life stories, it is refreshing to read the autobiography of a man whose life and work have counted for something. Block, a.k.a. Herblock, has clearly enjoyed every minute of his last 47 years as a syndicated political cartoonist for The Washington Post. ``What could be a more enviable or satisfying job,'' he writes, ``than drawing a picture every day and getting in your two cents worth on whatever is going on in the world.'' And plenty has gone on during his tenure at the Post : the Cold War; McCarthyism (Herblock coined the term in one of his cartoons); the Civil Rights Movement; the Kennedy assassination; the Vietnam War; Watergate; and the Reagan/Bush years. All were fodder for his acerbic pen. Accompanied by over 200 of these cartoons, the text is an easy mixture of anecdotes about famous personalities he has known, together with his political philosophy--a philosophy grounded in respect for human rights and high ethical values. -- Janice Zlendich, California State Univ. Lib., Fullerton

Library Journal

In an era when small-time actors, minor sports figures, and a succession of shady characters distinguished only by appearances on talk shows feel entitled to tell us their life stories, it is refreshing to read the autobiography of a man whose life and work have counted for something. Block, a.k.a. Herblock, has clearly enjoyed every minute of his last 47 years as a syndicated political cartoonist for The Washington Post. ``What could be a more enviable or satisfying job,'' he writes, ``than drawing a picture every day and getting in your two cents worth on whatever is going on in the world.'' And plenty has gone on during his tenure at the Post : the Cold War; McCarthyism (Herblock coined the term in one of his cartoons); the Civil Rights Movement; the Kennedy assassination; the Vietnam War; Watergate; and the Reagan/Bush years. All were fodder for his acerbic pen. Accompanied by over 200 of these cartoons, the text is an easy mixture of anecdotes about famous personalities he has known, together with his political philosophy--a philosophy grounded in respect for human rights and high ethical values. -- Janice Zlendich, California State Univ. Lib., Fullerton

John Kenneth Galbraith

The qualities that established Herbert Block as the greatest cartoonist of his time are more than evident in this story of his life. --The Washington Post