The 20th Century in Cartoons

by Tony Husband

A picture says more than a thousand words and this is a decade-by-decade résumé of the twentieth century featuring the work of the greatest cartoonists of their time. This book summarizes the major events of the century, which saw the sinking of the Titanic , the First World War, Prohibition, the Depression, the rise of the automobile and cinema, the Second World War, the nuclear bomb, civil rights, the space race, Chernobyl, and a host of other events, all captured in cartoon form to provide a vivid history as it happened. Features the work of the greatest cartoonists of the twentieth century, from Clifford Berryman, Bernard Partridge, and Ed Valtman, through D.R. Fitzpatrick and Leslie Illingworth to David Low and Ray Lowrie. This book not only tells you the story of the twentieth century, but is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. You are in the hands of expert artists as their work guides you around their life and times. A fresh take on history with over 200 cartoons of the highest standard.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Comics, Cartoon

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Tony Husband was a British cartoonist known for his black humour. He was mainly known for his work in Private Eye magazine, and his work has appeared in The Times, the Daily Mailand the Sunday Express as well as magazines including Playboy and The Spectator.

Reviews

[Josh Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of political cartoons, albeit one with a strong bias towards Anglo-American ones, and focused on the first half of the century. Would have liked to see at least one cartoon featuring an allegorical evil octopus. Seriously, those are the best, get one for the revised edition, Tony.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no more powerful force in social movements and public opinion than properly drawn cartoons. Generally using only a few words as a supplement, the best cartoons can represent, parody and if necessary, ridicule the most powerful and famous people. The cartoons in this collection reflect some of the most significant events of the twentieth century.
Some of the cartoons are nationalistic in nature, reflecting on the leaders of nations that are considered adversaries. A short caption of explanatory text is included with each cartoon, very helpful to the reader that is unfamiliar with history and the physical appearance of world leaders. These cartoons cover the political and social spectrum, some of the best were drawn by people that were pacifists or politically left.
My favorite appears on page 55 and shows a hanging Frank Little. He was a prominent official in the Industrial Workers of the World and in July 1917 he traveled to Montana to head a strike by the miners of the Anaconda Copper Company. He was attacked and lynched from a railway trestle. This cartoon was designed to counter an attempt by Anaconda and their allies in the press to suppress the story. It is a reminder of how the bogus claim of foreign infiltration and subversion is often used against people trying to improve the living conditions of the downtrodden.
This book is a treasure trove of cartoons that can be used to effectively teach the history of the twentieth century.

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the one hand, this is a lovely collection of cartoons from the twentieth century, drawn from various sources (mostly English-language, admittedly, and most that are not from European sources) and each accompanied by a brief comment (sadly, the artist is not always identified in these). The reproduction is ... uneven, though that probably reflects sources as much as anything--though I am pretty sure that some work that originally appeared in colour appears here in black and white. On the other hand, this book sets itself an impossible task. The history of the twentieth century in cartoons ... in 200 pages? Ten times that many pages would still barely scratch the surface. The 1990s are represented by a mere 10 cartoons. Inevitably, then, the book is superficial. It also focuses mainly on political cartoons, which makes sense, but there are thousands upon thousands of cartoons from other sources (the New Yorker, Playboy, to name but two) that would have fit. And while it was kind of cool to see a Bachle Johnny Canuck page, and the cover of a MLK biographical comic book, neither of these are really cartoons, per se, so don't really fit the book's remit. A good book to flip through, perhaps especially for those who are not cartoon fans already, as they'll see alot of cool stuff they're unlikely to come across anywhere else.

[Kereesa · Rating 2 out of 5]

While definitely showing a wide variety of cartoons as it's title suggests there is, however, a substantial lack of 'history' in this distinctly Western (mainly British and American) look at the 20th century. More of a sampler than an actual look at print cartoons and their historical context; and a picture filled one at that.

But hey, everyone loves a Nazi cartoon. So there's that.

/sidenote: at the very least the middle to second half of this book kept me entertained so I didn't have to humiliate myself by succumbing to playing Rock Band.

[Glyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my high school history courses, I didn't appreciate the political cartoons as much as I should've. By the time I was in university, I was starting to realize how they reflected current events.

This book is brilliant, with clear photos and captions that provide context to each image.

Favourite images include:
-a photo criticizing apothecaries in the 1900s, for selling morphine etc to mothers so they could "help their kids sleep" (and would often not wake up after)
-image reacting to the 125 women killed in a factory fire (they were locked in so they couldn't take unauthorized breaks), showing the need for worker's rights
-Hitler as Snow White, with the 7 dwarfs as the countries he was steam-rolling over, a reminder that the Disney movie was a contemporary film at the time
-a cartoon comparing talking films to a squalling baby (with the implication that "it'll never catch on")

The book has some weak moments - a random drawing on the Beatles, with a blurb about the band's breakup, when that was the first time they were mentioned in said book - the section for the 80s and 90s being small and weak - the intro for the later eras being full of irrelevant facts, such as mentoring "The Rachel Haircut"

Still, a fabulous collection of art, especially if you're a history buff like me.

[Diz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection was a bit of a disappointment. First, it was really difficult to see why many of the cartoons were selected. There were comic book covers and caricatures thrown in as well. There was no theme that connected the selected, so it just felt really random. To make it worse, the descriptions that accompanied the cartoons often just name dropped the artists and the publication that the cartoon was printed in along with a short description of the historical event it was covering. There was not analysis or criticism of the cartoons themselves, so it felt like a shallow presentation with little substance, which is a shame since the works deserved more from the editor of this book.

Second, the reproductions aren't very good, especially with the older cartoons. It was difficult to read some of the smaller text. Overall, I would say there are better collections of political cartoons out there. Give this one a pass.

[Steven Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love political cartoons. I think in many ways they better capture a historical moment and emotion than any essay, news article or video. Tony Husband attempts to capture the great historic moments of the 20th century. However, in 207 pages it is hard to capture all of the important moments, or perhaps to uncover a diversity of cartoons that capture the time periods.

I think the most interesting comics come from the earliest decades of the 20th century and well reflects the diplomatic, social and political conflicts and ethos of the periods. Even still it feels like certain moments are given short shrift. World War II feels thinly covered, as does the Great Depression. A great deal of attention is given to the Cold War throughout the book.

Fans of political cartoons may take something from this book, but I feel it is far too broad to be of much benefit. A more focused book on a particular time period, theme or geography would probably be far superior.

[Mylesgorton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book in one sitting while ill. A good history of 20th century through cartoons covering the events you'd expect aand some others which were on the periphery. Divide d up by decade. Worth having a magnifying glass handy to get the most out of some of the illustrations. I must admit to being a big fan of Pont and so i was very pleased to find a cartoon of his I had never seen before (p96).

[Canavan · Rating 2 out of 5]

✭✭

[obs20 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great material but I needed my magnifying glass to see the detail in many cartoons.