Satire Books

Dr. Nelson's grasp of the complexities of the satiric tradition and how Infante's work reflects and builds on this tradition, make her critical monograph a classic for the study of Infante's work.

This collection of cartoons from the Wall Street Journal pokes fun at all aspects of the American capitalist system. All the way from bums begging for a handout to CEO's at the highest levels pulling money from the hands of the poor and needy. Whatever the level or context, they are all funny and topical.
The cartoons are segmented into decades, the fifties, sixties and seventies. As society changed, so did the cartoons. Those of the fifties express low inflation and high optimism, and in the sixties they represent various aspects of the counterculture movement. You see long hair, beards, very casual clothing and statements about the failure of "the system." In the seventies, a degree of pessimism sets in; there is no greater demonstration of the changing social structure than the cartoon on page 84. A happy couple is getting married and the presiding official says, " I now pronounce you a two-income household." Nearly unheard of in the fifties, by the seventies it had become the norm and in most cases the necessity.
While it generally works well, capitalism does have its' faults and the cartoons in this book presents them in ways that you can laugh at.

This book was not received particularly well in the academic press, but I would like to suggest its intellectual rigour and sense of adventure rather put them off. It is a work of great value and deserves reappraisal.

As American editorial cartooning becomes more and more irrelevant, Alice Sheppard's fine book shows what a powerful tool this once popular medium can be. For ten brief years starting around 1910, dozens of women came out of nowhere and began cartooning for the womens' right to vote. Two or three like Rose O'Neil were well known as illustrators but most of the others picked up their pens simply to fight for what they thought was justice. Imagine! They won no prizes. No reprints in Newsweek. No 401K plans through their newspapers' corporate pension plans. Their only prize was the 19th Amendment. Sheppard does a great job of exhuming the stories of these funny, talented, now mostly forgotten cartoonists. Signe Wilkinson

After doing a lot of research into Catullus translations for a class, I picked this book. His edition is 1) complete and 2) consistently good. His use of modern slang and idioms is pretty convincing, and this is absolutely crucial since Catullus' poetry involves so much use of lively street expressions. Catullus selections in anthologies almost never reproduce the really filthy poems... I highly recommend the complete Martin translation for a more balanced view!

The wealthy are not like ordinary folk - they have a lot more money!! But being rich does have its drawback and the team of Joey Green, Debbie Green, and Alan Corcoran have spared no expense in ferreting them out!. They may live in luxury, but they have their problems. Such as when the Houston Astros play the Baltimore Orioles, not knowing who to root for because of owning them both. Paparazzi having no respect for privacy. Not being able to fit any more cares into a 24-car garage. Having box seats for the entire opera season and being expected to stay awake through every performance. A belly chuckling read of the first magnitude, "Champagne And Caviar Again?" is the perfect gift for those who aspire to becoming wealthy themselves one day.

This fresh and exciting critique belongs on the bookshelf of any student who has an interest in nineteenth-century British literature--or an interest in aesthetic-cultural issues. I had to write a paper on the art of Romantic prose and this book saved my sanity. The connections between Lamb's specific essays and those of other artists of his time and earlier periods is its best feature. Lamb was tapped in, clued in, but until now has never been psyched out (unless Monsman's earlier study of Lamb in 1984 was an anticipation). It's the work of an open-minded writer, a "reconceptualization" that spices up a difficult area with compact, free-flowing commentaries. A++ for sure.

This book contains classic strips and thoughts of Mr. Schulz, Mr. Melendez, and Mr. Mendelson. A must have for any Peanuts fan (including die-hard fans like myself)

The book contains several stories about Burton and his twin brother growing up in Southern Arkansas during the depression. Despite this time frame, the book is a great read for all ages. It has warm wit and humor and very inspiring messages.

Chunks is the best book ever written. Ever. The day we found it buried in a pile of used books on a street vendor's table was the greatest day of our lives.

"What are Chunks? Chunks are, quite simply, non-hunks. Chunks do not look like Richard Gere (although they may think they do), and they don't model bikini underwear. Chunks can be chunky, but they fdon't have to be. Wimps, lawyers, obsolete hippies, accountants, aging dumb jocks, and guys with receding hairlines all qualify as chunks."

"CHUNKS profiles twelve choice chunks, men who typify this new masculine ideal. Here you'll find chunks on the job, chunks on the go, and chunks on the make. And you'll find answers to the pressing questions, 'What are these men really like?' and 'Where can they be found'"

Some favorite quotations from some of the Chunks profiled:

"It's fun to watch mice 'do it'." --Alvin J. Porter, Ph.D

"I don't like any nasty surpirses when I get a girl undressed." --Rusty Dallas.

Buy this classic book for laughs, for kicks, or for lots of luscious chest hair. This is one purchase you'll never regret...and you'll even thank me for it,