Satire Books

This is very comprehensive. It details characters, and creators of both the strip and book variety, in various incarnations. Did you know Dashiell Hammett and Alex Raymond worked on a strip together? Me either. A very impressive piece of work by Goulart.

If you can't find a humourous anecdote here you can't find one anywhere. Perfect for the reference shelf of speakers and writers.

In the sixties, seventies and eighties, Donald Kaul was the writer of a regular column known as "Over the Coffee" that ran in the Des Moines Register. He was so popular that I knew people who subscribed to the Register just to read his column. When I went to restaurants in the local small towns, I would hear people discussing his column of that morning. He combined a wit that was biting, yet never reached the point of being mean. Although, when he referred to Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, he came very close. Clearly, he despised them.
This book is a collection of his columns that ran in the seventies. Like the best social commentators (satirists), his humor is very subdued, sometimes a second read is necessary to spot it. But it is delicious, when reading this book it was clear to me why he was so popular in his prime. My favorite columns are those where he is describing his involvement in RAGBRAI (Register Association Great Bike Ride Across Iowa). He was there when there were only a few people involved. It has now become a major event with thousands of bikers taking part.
Subtle humor is sometimes the best, thinking people appreciate having to think a bit when being tickled. Kaul does this very well, he is one of the best satirists/humorists that this nation has ever had.

Following in the tradition of Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels," the English novelist, essayist, and iconoclast Samuel Butler published "Erewhon" privately in 1872. The title is an anagram of "Nowhere," which is the literal translation of the word "Utopia," the title by which Thomas More's 1516 work has commonly become known. "Erewhon" is arguably the first anti-utopian or dystopian novel, anticipating the later and better known works such as Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" and George Orwell's "1984." Whereas More and other utopianists are primarily interested in attacking society's ills and making the world a better place, the anti-utopians engage primarily in either satire of the society in which they live or in making dire predictions about the dismal fate that awaits humanity. Butler is most decidedly in the former category, since he proves in not only "Erewhon" but also his more famous work, the semi-autobiographical novel, "The Way of All Flesh," that his main concern is in attacking the complacency and hypocrisy he saw infecting Victorian society.

Like More's island of Utopia, Butler's Erewhon is a remote kingdom, not to be found on any map, which is discovered by the narrator of the novel (biographers of Butler have assumed it is modeled on a part of New Zealand, which anyone who has viewed the "Lord of the Rings" movies can attest has some spectacular landscapes). Cut off from the rest of the world, the citizens of Erewhon lives according to their own rules and dictates. Butler breaks from the tradition of creating an idealized world that goes back from More to Plato in favor of a more realistic society. In Butler's world there is still money, and both the rich and the poor still exist; there is even a monarchy in charge. It is when we notice strong parallels between Erewhon and the members of Victorian society that we start to see Butler's true purpose.

Hypocrisy is rampant in Erewhom, where citizens think nothing of agreeing with things they do not believe in and their friends know that they are doing so. While the citizens pretend to worship deities that are the personification of lofty human qualities such as love, justice, and hope, they really worship a goddess, Ydrgun, and the Church of England is transformed into the sytem of "Musical Banks." As Butler hits his stride in this novel he creates a topsy-turvy world where illness is treated as a crime (there are no physicians in the country) and criminal behavior, such as theft, are seen as minor weaknesses in character.

Unlike Francis Bacon's utopian work "The New Atlantis," where science was seen as the salvation of humanity that would correct all ills and provide all necessities, Butler's world has outlawed machinery because they might one day become the masters rather than the servants of humanity. Clearly Butler was no more enamored of the Industrial Revolution than he was of Victorian society. In many ways this is the section of "Erewhom" where Butler makes his most cogent arguments. It is also the point where the book's narrator, whose initial attitude of admiration turns to one of surprise, now beocmes one of condemnation as the eccentricities of the citizens of Erewhon are fully revealed. Ultimately, the shortcomings Butler sees in them are the same of which he accuses British society, politics, and religion.

Because Butler is satirizing Victorian society his value to modern readers remains inferior to that of Huxley and Orwell, not to mention Edward Bellamy ("Looking Backward 2000-1887") and Yevgeny Zamyatin ("We"). However, in many ways "Erewhon" is a pivotal novel in the history of utopian literature, not only because of how it follows and breaks away from More's original work and how it sets the stage for what other forgotten writers of dystopian fiction, such as Alexander Bogdanov ("Red Star") and even Jack London ("The Iron Heel"). "Erewhon" remains one of those novels where its historical significance outweighs its literary appeal.

I really enjoyed this book - great pics and items photographed that had been hidden away in the Morecambe household - particularly liked the few pages of a short story Eric had been working on. A real collector's book ...can't get enough of this type of thing.

Matt Feazell's stick figures may seem simple, but they express so many emotions and ideas..! This book collects strips from the early 90's -- and they tackle everything from _The Hobbit_ to the Exxon Valdez.

The characters rock. Cynicalman saves the environment, hangs out with Gandalf and teams up with Psycho Woman ("Don't touch me.") Antisocialman (the most obnoxious man alive) lives up (or maybe that should be "down") to his name. A massive cat terrorizes Cute Girl.

The topics range from silly to serious, but the strips always entertain. Anyone who loves comics, stick figures, or cool humor would love ERT!

^_^

Yes indeed. This book is A dictionary. Only difference between a Webster's dictionary and an Esar's dictionary is that every definition in Esar's dictionary is a joke.

This is probably the funniest book I have ever read in my life. Every page you turn to there's a great joke. I took this book to my work and it became an instant hit. I had to leave it in the common area so that everybody can browse through it in their break time.

Even though this book was written in 1943, the jokes are still funny. I was surprised that there were stereotypes in 40's also and some of them are still valid.

Here's one of my favorite from the book:

Courtship: Courtship is the time where a girl decides if she can do any better.

If you think that definition is funny, then this book is for you.

For the college football fan out there, this fun little distraction of a book would be an excellent stocking -stuffer. I enjoyed the book greatly, check it out.

I have this book sitting on my desk at work - it's absolutely hilarious. Gets a laugh from everyone who reads it - not to mention, many of the rules are truth-isms. Worth every penny!

Me parecio un libro muy educativo y a la vez facinante, da a conocer hechos de la historia contemporanea, y los presenta de una manera llena de humor.