André Schiffrin (1935–2013)

A rather grossly misleading title, in that we only see a small handful of artists represented here, and practically all of the cartoonists are of the left-wing persuasion; a great chunk of the cartoons were originally published in New York City's briefly-lived tabloid newspaper PM. Granted, some of these cartoons (especially the ones done by Carl Rose, more known for his New Yorker work) are not really available anywhere else, but over time, you're getting only one side of the argument. Also noteworthy is that it's a semi-rehash of a similar, previous book that focused just on Ted Geisel's work for PM.… (more)

When I searched for this book on goodreads *by its title*, the first two suggestions were a freakonomics sequel and a Malcolm Gladwell book, which more or less proves that Schiffrin is right and large publishing conglomerates who expect each individual book to make a profit, and each publisher to make a super-profit, are simply incapable of printing good, worthwhile books.

When I finally found it, the two first reviews were both from people who read this book before setting up their own press. I have no idea if their presses publish things I would consider good, but Schiffrin (R.I.P.) has written that kind of inspiring book. He discusses his father's role in setting up Pantheon, his own travails in publishing, and his own founding of The New Press. He makes me want to start a press of my own, a substantially easier proposition now than when he wrote this one (c. 2000).

As an historical document, this is fascinating, too: only one mention of amazon, nothing (of course) on publishers like NYRB and Europa, only a glimmer of how important Dalkey would become... Not even the occasional "great books I have published" paragraph kept me from finishing this in a day. He published some great books! Good for him.… (more)

In Dr. Seuss & Co. Go to War, editor André Schiffrin offers a companion volume to Richard H. Minear's Dr. Seuss Goes to War. Like that volume, this contains various political cartoons from Theodor Geisel that originally appeared in PM magazine during World War II. Schiffrin includes comics from Melville Bernstein, Eric Godal, John Groth, Al Hirschfeld, Mischa Richter, Carl Rose, Arthur Szyk, and more along with short background essays placing the cartoons in context. Those interested in World War II history or Dr. Seuss' early work will find this particularly interesting, though the material itself deserves close attention for its ability to distill the culture in which the artists worked.… (more)