Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front

by Todd DePastino

The definitive biography of the greatest cartoonist of the Greatest Generation. “The real war,” said Walt Whitman, “will never get in the books.” During World War II, the truest glimpse most Americans got of the “real war” came through the flashing black lines of twenty-two-year-old infantry sergeant Bill Mauldin. Week after week, Mauldin defied army censors, German artillery, and Patton’s pledge to “throw his ass in jail” to deliver his wildly popular cartoon, “Up Front,” to the pages of Stars and Stripes . “Up Front” featured the wise-cracking Willie and Joe, whose stooped shoulders, mud-soaked uniforms, and pidgin of army slang and slum dialect bore eloquent witness to the world of combat and the men who lived―and died―in it. This taut, lushly illustrated biography―the first of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bill Mauldin―is illustrated with more than ninety classic Mauldin cartoons and rare photographs. It traces the improbable career and tumultuous private life of a charismatic genius who rose to fame on his motto: “If it’s big, hit it.”

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, World War II, War, American History, Journalism

384 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2008

About the author

Todd DePastino is the author of BILL MAULDIN: A LIFE UP FRONT (W.W. Norton) and editor of WILLIE & JOE: THE WWII YEARS (Fantagraphics Books). He teaches at Waynesburg University and lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania."

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was always aware of what a fantastic cartoonist Mauldin was, but to be honest my knowledge of him ceased with the end of World War II and his "Willie and Joe" cartoons, so I was completely unaware (oh...let's call it ignorant) of what a feisty little bastard he continued to be after the war, how his cartoons helped fight discrimination, and government corruption, and so much more.

After reading this book I had a good deal more respect for Maudlin and his methodology of jumping onto fires to see if he could withstand the heat. He made it through the war, he made it through McCarthy, he made it through race riots, and Vietnam and even a bit of the first Iraq scuffle (I refuse to call it a war), although in the later conflict Bill was all but pissed on by George the First. And Mauldin did all this with pen in hand, and often blood on his uniform. It destroyed much of his life, but he just couldn't quit trying to give the little guy his say.

thanks, Bill. I read the book to learn more about a great cartoonist, and as a bonus I got a great man.

[Kathleen Hulser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who knew that he was part Chiricahua Apache? Mauldin's crazy family and childhood are riveting, especially since he was essentially a child when he did his most famous drawings. It is particularly revealing to see his relations with the famous commanders (Patton persecuted him for undermining discipline, whereas Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower thought he was straight forward, honest and good for ordinary soldiers).

[DeWayne Neel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill was born in the Southwest (New Mexico) just 15 years before me at a much different time in the history of our nation. The west was just being settled following the last of the Indian Wars, shortly followed by the great depression. I read with interest the early life of Bill and his brother and their departure from the "shelter" of their parents at ages 14 and 15 to make it on their own in a new strange city in Arizona. The early part of their lives is sad but entertaining to observe how freely they dealt with poverty, unstable parents, and a hostile environment. Then came the correspondence course to learn" the trade of cartooning" and World War II. In my elementary years, I got most of my war news via the war cartoons of Bill Mauldin and the Saturday matinee new film at the movie theater.
Arriving in Phoenix in his wired-together Model T, he enrolled in school while living in a boarding house, and on the side made enough money by peddling his art and while being mentored by his art teacher.`ROTC gave him a uniform which he wore every day, so he had no clothing concerns. "A Country Boy Can Survive" became a reality.
The first half of this book is informative and fast-moving, but the second half is a slow review of the war and the final days of the declining years of his career. In general, he was an example of a poor guy of his day who knew how to survive as he became a well-known cartoonist of the Greatest Generation.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

On Saturday, Nov. 23, 1963, the back page of the Chicago Sun-Times carried what may be the most memorable editorial cartoon of the 20th century.

Cartoonist Bill Mauldin’s drawing of a weeping Abraham Lincoln from his Lincoln Memorial chair captured the emotion of a nation when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

That Mauldin was able to get to the core of human feelings shouldn’t have been surprising to those who had been able to literally be in the foxholes with soldiers during World War II thanks to the cartoons of “Willie & Joe” that Mauldin drew from the front lines and newspapers across the nation carried.

How Mauldin was able to document history in the space of an editorial page cartoon is documented itself by Todd DePastino in a thorough biography published by Norton in 2008 and now out in paperback, “Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front.”

There’s all the usual biographic information, of course, but DePastino takes us inside the complex artist-journalist-author to learn what drove the man to do all he did. Readers will learn not only how Mauldin crafted those “Willie & Joe” cartoons by why he did them and why they were important enough to society to earn Mauldin the Pulitzer Prize.

The war-time “Willie & Joe” cartoons first made Mauldin a celebrity, but the cartoonist’s path to fame took him first to Army life where pettiness and inequality reigned, allowing Mauldin to take the side of the underdog, the abused foot soldier, with the aim of helping them make it through the grim, grimy, death-filled, often hopeless side of combat and army life.

Mauldin’s confrontation with Gen. George Patton — and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower telling Patton to leave the cartoonist alone — is a freedom-of-the-press scene that never made it into the award-winning “Patton” movie but DePastino tells well.

Like each of us, though, Mauldin was not without his faults, and DePastino isn’t shy about recording the lows of his subject’s life as well as the highs. The ambiguity of human life becomes clear as we read how this one talented artist could prick the conscience of so many — and really have an impact that forces change — while having conscience failings of his own in his personal life.

More than a few Mauldin cartoons help illustrate each chapter, but this isn’t a picture book. For a complete list of that kind of work, go to www.billmauldin.com. Most of his work is out of print, but they might make for a fun search when your browsing your local used books store. — bz

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting and easy to read biography, but I found it a little disappointing. It seemed incomplete. On page 242 the year is 1949 and Bill is 28. The remaining 53 years of his life are covered in just 83 pages. Since he didn't just crawl into a cave after WWII, his later work and life deserved better coverage.

[Joe Miley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Mauldin continues to be an inspiration for soldiers, veterans, and their family members. This excellently written biography is a must-read for aspiring doodlers, writers, and former soldiers overcoming the limitations of their military service. It should be a must read for leaders in the U.S. service, as the differences between rank and privelege still exists in far too many military units. His life serves as a great reminder that military service should be more about serving your fellow soldiers than the egos of generals. The interchange between General Patton and him made me cheer out loud. Instead of learning about the military through reading about its generals, read about soldiers like Bill Mauldin instead. His dedication and legacy to his craft, his willingness to add his voice to public discourse throughout his life, through his art, speaking engagements, etc., makes this my personal Book of the Year (so far.) Need something inspiring to read in 2020? Pick this up.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A newer book about Mauldin, (2008). This book covers his early hardscrabble life in souther New Mexico and Arizona. He attended Phoenix High School and came under the influence of Reg Manning, who went on to become a famous political cartoonist for the Arizona Republic news paper.

Mauldin had a wild and crazy life in the post-war world. Many marriages to different women, winning followers to his political leanings. His battles with various newspapers are followed in the book. I felt that this book is well done, it leaves you with the choice of wether Mauldin was misunderstood or just a product of his early upbringing.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A biography of the cartoonist who created Willie and Joe, the dogface soldiers of World War II, but it shows that Mauldin was so much more than just a great cartoonist. He authored many books and literary pieces, flew his own plane, fixed his own Jeep. He continued to create editorial cartoons for many years after WWII, and covered the Korean War, Vietnam, 1967 Israeli War, and the First Iraqi War (Bush 1). It is an amazing story of an amazing man.

[M. I. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully well written biography of a truly interesting individual. I'm left wanting to track down more of the works that Mauldin himself created during his life of work and adventure. To my way of thinking, Mauldin is the editorial cartoon artist equivalent of Norman Rockwell in the way he captured the human condition in his era. It's just wonderful and reading about his life has been a joy.

[Marianne Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost 50 years ago, I read The Brass Ring and fell in love with Bill Mauldin. It was sweet to grab this book off the shelf. At first, I felt like I was rereading Mauldin's book, but as the pages flew by, I experienced DePastino's research into the deep personal flaws of the cute little guy I adored in my 20's. I'm saddened by Mauldin's tough childhood and how his memories scarred his future with his family. But, oh how I marvel at Mauldin's gifts, genius and influence. He was something else.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

DePastino does a great job of telling the rest of the story! Bill Mauldin is a man of his times. A unique individual with many talents and numerous flaws. Clearly a man who rose like a shooting star then struggled to regain the former glory. All in all, a well told tale of a complex man of the greatest generation.

[Lesley Manning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this biography. The author didn’t hold any punches about Bill Mauldin’s character flaws but given the fact that Bill witnessed the brutality of WW2 his flaws pretty are understandable. Dealt the same hand anyone might have become the same. The last chapter had me in tears and once my son is at least 16 it will be a book I’ll have him read.

[Vince · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting account of the life of Bill Mauldin from his childhood in the American Southwest to the European Theater in World War II to the tumultuous political battles of the American Civil Rights era. The cartoon illustrations are well picked and the anecdotes of Mauldin’s life are poignant. I don’t think I really understood him before this book or his innumerable cartoons.

[Norm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy led a pretty interesting life...went from poverty with an alcoholic (if loving) mother and a distant, ne'er-do-well father to hobnobbing with presidents..he had amazing creativity and ability to learn (art techniques, mechanics, flying, etc). But the book is a bit dry, I thought.

[Primejoistgmail.Com · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frustratingly Incomplete

I purchased this book in the anticipation of revisiting some of Mauldin's wonderful drawings as well some of his family photos. None - no illustrations in this book, undoubtedly caused by a royalty squabble.

[JoAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Mauldin's name came up in a course I was taking on the films of World War II. I knew him for his political cartoons especially those of Joe and Willie which I often used in my classroom. When I reserved A Life Up Front, I expected it to be mainly his cartoons from the war, but in addition to many of those, was the very interesting story of his life. After World War II he was called upon to go to Korea and Vietnam. He won two Pulitzers for his World War II work and he counted among his friends almost every other famous cartoonist working at the same time he did. Although receiving honors for his later work such as for a cartoon of Lincoln tearing out his hair after learning of JFK's assassination, his work covering the infantry men of WWII was his greatest achievement. At the end of his life after having been scalded in a bathtub and suffering from Alheimer's, he lay in a bed at a nursing home. During his final months, he received over ten thousand letters and was visited by former soldiers he never knew. His cartoons had captured what they had endured during the war and their thanks was to file by his bed even when he could no longer communicate with him.

[Strick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic.

[James Currin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have otherwise rated this book a 5, but the absence of Mauldin's cartoons in the Kindle addition detracted greatly!

[James Griggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Bill Mauldin since discovering a worn copy of "Up Front" in seventh grade. I was unaware of his later work and his life which was just as exciting as his war years.

[David Schwinghammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

BILL MAULDIN: A LIFE UP FRONT begins with thousands of WWII veterans coming to see Bill at a nursing home in California where he is suffering from Alzheimer's. He stares off into space until one of them pins a medal on him; then his eyes light up.

Author DePastino then shows us how Bill moved from a hell-raising kid living on a mountain in New Mexico to STARS AND STRIPES cartoonist and premier morale booster of World War II. DePastino shows us Mauldin's undaunted will to succeed. Prior to WWII, he labored at his craft, sending out thousands of cartoons with little chance he would ever get anything published. He borrowed money from his grandmother to go to the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. We also see his mischievous side. He never did graduate from high school, thanks to a prank he pulled in a science class. He lit a cigarette and put it in the mouth of the class skeleton, too much for the teacher to overlook when he relit it and took a few drags.

Prior to WWII, Bill joined the Arizona National Guard. Four days later the guard was mobilized into the United States Army. He began his cartoonist career working part-time for the 45th Division News, going full-time when it was sent overseas. It was the hell-raiser kid who appealed to the soldiers. Bill was a sergeant in the Infantry before he was a cartoonist. There's a cartoon of Bill's characters Willie and Joe throwing tomatoes at the head of an officer as their unit enters a liberated city. This was one of the cartoons that would arouse the wrath of General George S. Patton, who wanted Bill fired. Thankfully other generals, Mark Clark among them, liked Bill's work enough to ask for signed originals.

When he returned from the war, Bill eventually went to work for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, then the Chicago Sun-Times
as a political cartoonist where he took on such issues as segregation in the South and the House Un-American Activities Committee. His cartoon of Lincoln holding his head in his hands after the Kennedy assassination would become one of the most famous of the 20th Century. He won the Pulitzer Prize twice.

The book also examines Bill's personal life in elaborate detail. He was married three times, his second wife dying in a car accident after a massive stroke. There's an especially touching anecdote about how he reconciled with his first wife after fifty years apart.

As a writer I found Bill's work regimen especially impressive. For one thing he used a Polaroid camera to take pictures of himself in various poses. "Capturing precisely the curl of an arm, the twist of a face, or the wrinkles in an overcoat was an ongoing obsession." The man never stopped trying to get better, and should be remembered as an authentic American hero. Like Snoopy, let's all quaff a root beer with Bill Mauldin on Veteran's Day.

[Jonah Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The authors purpose in this book is to both inform and entertain. It informs you of Bill Maudin's life as a child, growing up and being poor, becoming a cartoonist, joining the military, and much more. This book entertains by the explanation of his life. I find much interest in veteran biographies. That is a reason why I would consider this book was made to inform and entertain. The point of view is first person by using the words "I" and other such words.

The theme of this book is that you can go from being unsuccessful to very successful. Bill was very poor and left home at an early age with his brother. He went from being almost nothing to being a well known cartoonist and also a decently ranked soldier. This definitely shows that almost anything can be done if you set your mind to it. Bill is a prime example of this.

The style of this book is an obvious narration by the use of "I" and "me" and other like words. The author explains in Bills words how he came from a poor family in the mountains and how he got a bone disease from a lack of calcium and didn't mature physically like a normal boy or man would. He eventually became a cartoonist and also joined the military. Which helps describe the theme of the book.

My opinion of the book is that it was very well written but didn't have very much action. It mostly explained all about his cartoons all throughout the book and the topic never really changed. I would change the way that all through the book the topic is his cartoons, I would involve more about other things that happened in his life. I would consider this book a original because I haven't seen any other biographies like his and it is his own life.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does an excellent job of showing how Bill Mauldin went from a war cartoonist to a prominent figure in the editorial pages, and how complicated his feelings were with his own fame and trying to be a voice for the common combat soldier while never truly being part of the infantry. It also delved into his often rocky personal life. Especially as he aged, he seemed to be prickly and not a terrible good spouse.

It starts with discussing Mauldin's rather itinerant upbringing in the southwest during the Great Depression and how he entered into the US Army. I had already seen a lot of Mauldin's work in Willie and Joe: The WWII Years and Willie and Joe: Back Home, so I was familiar with his work. This book was one of the first I've read to clearly explain how brutal and miserable the Italian front was in World War II.

It was interesting also of how Mauldin transferred back into civilian life and how he transitioned from Willie and Joe to an editorial cartoonist. His dislike of the American Legion made for very interesting reading. One of the most fascinating portions of the book was Mauldin's strong support of civil rights after the war and his complicated feelings towards the Vietnam War.

[Jeremy Mcafee · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy an action packed story that is filled with humor then Bill Mauldin: A Life up Front by Todd DePastino is for you. The book is biography of Bill Mauldin who was a cartoonist during the Second World War. I believe Depastino wrote this book to inform. He wanted to inform the world about the great life of Bill Mauldin. The author tries to relay the message that all lives are amazing in their own way. He shows this when he talks about Mauldin’s travels around Europe and Italy drawing cartoons of the soldiers fighting there. A secondary theme is one can find humor almost anywhere. This is shown in all of Mauldin’s cartoons. This book was written in the style of a narration. I believe it is a narration since it is told in chronological order. I also think this because it tells a story through events that really happened. I really enjoyed this book for two big reasons. The first is that it told a story of the Second World War. The second reason I like liked this book is because it had humor woven it to the story. One thing that I disliked was how Mauldin had his cartooning career ended in a tragic way. This story is similar to In Harms way by Doug Stanton because they bolt tell a story about WWII

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill Mauldin was a soldier and political cartoonist, who became known in WWII for his cartoons in Stars and Stripes. His characters, Willie and Joe, represented the enlisted men, and he focused on some of the struggles that they faced, including putting up with the military's own hierarchy. His cartoons showed these soldiers realistically as exhausted and dirty, and readers got a sense (albeit a small one) about how brutal the war was. Gen Patton objected to these images and tried to stop him from drawing these cartoons, but Mauldin prevailed.

Having read his own Up Front, I knew some about his war experiences, but this biography covers his whole life. I particularly enjoyed looking at Mauldin's cartoons with the commentary about how he viewed these cartoons after they were published.

We need someone like Bill Mauldin today. Garry Trudeau has some cartoons about the Iraq war from the soldiers' point of view, but we could do with more of that. Regardless of what anyone thinks about the war, we should keep in mind the sacrifices people are making.

[Bookmarks Magazine]

Every critic who reviewed A Life Up Front welcomed this biography; apart from Mauldin's own memoir, Back Home (1947), it is the first full-length biography of the man. Because DePastino was the first to provide such a work, critics were inclined to be forgiving even when they found failings, such as a focus on career over personal life. The book's sympathetic subject and engaging illustrations couldn't have hurt either. While a few reviewers suspected DePastino of hero worship, they also appreciated his thorough research and his candor in describing the difficult episodes of Mauldin's later life. Given the usual glowing treatment of "The Greatest Generation" and "The Good War," the overall assessment was that A Life Up Front is a respectful but balanced biography.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I prefer reading autobiographies to biographies. But, I've always been intrigued by Bill Mauldin. When I found this book on the library 'for sale' rake I couldn't resist picking it up for a dollar. I also knew I was the only one to read a large section of this particular book because a bundle of it's pages were improperly set, and thus were folded rather than cut at the top. I used an exacto knife to free the pages. Cutting into the pages set the tone for the book. You don't get anything worthwhile without a little work. Oh, that came out wrong. Reading this book was easy. It had a clear even pace that covers the events that created the man while the man was creating a visual legacy. When you finished with the book you realized the author did a fine job leading you to the insight that soldiers prefer dying when they are old. It was tasteful way to reflect the grim humor of Bill Mauldin's work.

[Kurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little remembered today, but one of the biggest celebrities coming out of WWII because of his groundbreaking cartoons, Bill Mauldin deserves to be remembered. In many ways, his earnest and honest yet still humorous takes on the life of the front line soldier helped generate the modern political cartoon and his influence can be seen even in today's grapic novels. A hero to every GI suffering the indignities of warfare and army idiocy, his postwar career was uneven until settling in to being an award winning political cartoonist as well as war hoping journalist. While the book is a good and informative read, it suffers from lacking some depth....too brief a take on a fascinating subject. A website where some of his work can be appreciated: http://oddlots.digitalspace.net/upfro...

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been familiar with Bill Mauldin's name forever due to the annual mention of him in the Peanuts comic strip every Veterans Day. I became aware that he was a legendary World War II cartoonist, but until I read this biography, I knew little else about him.

The book, I think, is at its best when it displays Mauldin's cartoons with annotations beneath them; it gives us a chance to see his work and get a feel for its context. Much of Mauldin's WWII work hasn't aged well in that it's hard to "get" (without an explanation) if you weren't actually a grunt on the front lines in Europe. That doesn't apply as much to his later political cartoons.

Mauldin's life was certainly an interesting one, but it wasn't as interesting as his creative output. I suspect this book may have been better if it had focused more on the cartoons and less on Mauldin's personal life.

[Megargee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a full biography of Bill Mauldin, a wild kid from the wrong side of the tracks, who became a prize winning cartoonist for Stars and Stripes in WW II. Willie and Joe, his unshaven GIs, became the anti-authoritarian voices of the dog faces. An outraged Patton often tried to stifle Mauldin, but Ike intervened. As in Andy Rooney's My War, Mauldin's perspective was not grand strategy but the individual GIs in their mudfilled faxholes.
This book, which depicts Mauldin warts and all, is illustrated with many of his best cartoons from throughout his life. It deals not only with the war, but also his life before and after the war. When Mauldin lay alone and dying in a VA hospital long after the war, nameless GIs came from all over to keep him company during his final days.

[K.N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relevant .gif is relevant; Schultz was a fan of Mauldin too.

What can I say? I fell in love with Bill Mauldin while reading this biography. What a talented, fascinating, and, in my opinion, wonderful man. I picked this book up because Mauldin's Up Front is highly-applauded for its less-than-glamorous and much-more-honest portrayal of WWII veteran experiences, but it was his post-war work and life that truly fascinated me.

I'm not kidding. He was awesome, and this book was too.