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ericthec's review against another edition
2.0
I love New Yorker cartoons but for me this mashup of memoir and cartoon collection fell flat. Not a smooth literary device.
sjgrodsky's review against another edition
4.0
A very fast read because most pages have only a few paragraphs of text. The larger part of the page is devoted to a cartoon or two or three.
A surprisingly substantive and informative account of how Bob Mankoff became cartoon editor of the New Yorker, how cartoons are created, and how Bob and his staff select the 17 cartoons they will print each week from the hundreds submitted.
The most interesting section described how cartoonists come up with ideas and develop them into cartoons. Some are doodlers: they draw something and work at the image. Others begin with words and see the drawing of the cartoon as drudgery.
Takeaway: being a cartoonist is 99 percent perspiration while waiting for that lightning strike of inspiration. Oh and persisting in the face of rejection. Lots of rejection.
Mankoff doesn't come off as a great guy. Smart, creative, funny, ambitious, hardworking, yes, all of these. But I'd watch my back when he was in the room.
A surprisingly substantive and informative account of how Bob Mankoff became cartoon editor of the New Yorker, how cartoons are created, and how Bob and his staff select the 17 cartoons they will print each week from the hundreds submitted.
The most interesting section described how cartoonists come up with ideas and develop them into cartoons. Some are doodlers: they draw something and work at the image. Others begin with words and see the drawing of the cartoon as drudgery.
Takeaway: being a cartoonist is 99 percent perspiration while waiting for that lightning strike of inspiration. Oh and persisting in the face of rejection. Lots of rejection.
Mankoff doesn't come off as a great guy. Smart, creative, funny, ambitious, hardworking, yes, all of these. But I'd watch my back when he was in the room.
hoodster's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very entertaining, light and quick read. My only criticism is ironically I would’ve liked to have heard more of the author’s story. I think I found the first chapters on his upbringing the most entertaining, but after that he switched to more of an analysis of the art of cartooning, which while interesting was oddly not as entertaining.
rigbylove's review against another edition
5.0
My northeast liberal ass loved this book; I believe other asses will love it too.
pitosalas's review against another edition
5.0
Really funny with lots of cartoons, and also about the world of cartooning and the New Yorker.
mschlat's review against another edition
4.0
I'll start with the not-so-good stuff. In my eyes, a little bit of Mankoff goes a long way. (I'm talking specifically about his writing, not his cartooning, which I find top-notch.) It's not surprising that someone who takes Jerry Lewis as a role model might be a bit grating. Mankoff loves the verbal gag, but the book goes a bit too far with it. For those reasons, I wasn't a big fan of the first part of the book which covered Mankoff's early years.
However, besides the biography there's some real gold here. Mankoff loves to explore what makes a New Yorker cartoon and cartoonist. Of course, there's a lot of cartoons that focus on and skewer the upper class readership of the magazine, but Mankoff carefully points out how no one style or content defines a New Yorker cartoon. (Compare the stereotype of the cocktail party cartoon to the surreal works of [a:Roz Chast|56952|Roz Chast|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1413377985p2/56952.jpg] and [a:James Thurber|16839|James Thurber|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1183238729p2/16839.jpg] .) My favorite part was Mankoff and four other cartoonists who broke into the magazine in the 70's describing their first sale. After all five stories, Mankoff shows you the cartoons again so you can see the range of ideas and artwork. There's other great stuff as well --- a description of how each issue's cartoons are picked, an exposition of and reaction to the Seinfeld episode where Elaine complains about a cartoon, and a guide to winning the cartoon caption contest.
It's a short read (because you have so many cartoons and other images among the words), but well worth it if you like the New Yorker.
However, besides the biography there's some real gold here. Mankoff loves to explore what makes a New Yorker cartoon and cartoonist. Of course, there's a lot of cartoons that focus on and skewer the upper class readership of the magazine, but Mankoff carefully points out how no one style or content defines a New Yorker cartoon. (Compare the stereotype of the cocktail party cartoon to the surreal works of [a:Roz Chast|56952|Roz Chast|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1413377985p2/56952.jpg] and [a:James Thurber|16839|James Thurber|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1183238729p2/16839.jpg] .) My favorite part was Mankoff and four other cartoonists who broke into the magazine in the 70's describing their first sale. After all five stories, Mankoff shows you the cartoons again so you can see the range of ideas and artwork. There's other great stuff as well --- a description of how each issue's cartoons are picked, an exposition of and reaction to the Seinfeld episode where Elaine complains about a cartoon, and a guide to winning the cartoon caption contest.
It's a short read (because you have so many cartoons and other images among the words), but well worth it if you like the New Yorker.
dvdpcp's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a little frustrating, first finding out how he got the job-by edging the last one out? And then how he found assistants (just call up the Harvard lampoon and then mold them exactly how he wants) it just feels like a pattern of privilege and inequality. Also the whole almost second half is just talking about the new cartoonists he brought to the magazine and their work. Feels a little cheap to fill “My Life in Cartoons” with the work of others. I don’t think I respect that move and then whatever came after it felt lessened. None of it felt like a meritocracy, because of the new people a lot of them were people he knew from the cartoon bank. So just, did you already know him and buy into his idea? And I think I’m a person where explaining humor drains it of its magic, so him explaining the caption contest and showing all the ones and going through them, made it all just so depressing and uninteresting to me. I liked a lot of the cartoons but I did not like a lot of what came in between them.
mmphil's review against another edition
5.0
Note to my HR department: it is nice to value the old folks while at the same time developing and encouraging the next generation. You can do both at the same time!
mary412's review against another edition
4.0
I had put this book on my Christmas wish list, but didn't really know anything about it. The title was enough to make me want it. So, it's not just a collection of New Yorker cartoons, but an inside look at Bob Mankoff, his job and his theory of funny. There's even advice on how to win the cartoon contest. Item #1: You have to enter to win.