 | |
| Author | Richard H. Minear |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | The New Press |
Publication date | 1999 |
| Publication place | United States |
| ISBN | 1-56584-565-X |
Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel is a 1999 book written byRichard H. Minear, containingDr. Seuss's political cartoons created duringWorld War II.[1]
Creating his cartoons for the liberal New York magazinePM, Seuss denouncedAdolf Hitler andBenito Mussolini and was highly critical of non-interventionists ("isolationists"), most notablyCharles Lindbergh, who opposed US entry into the war.[2] One cartoon[3] depicted allJapanese Americans as latent traitors orfifth-columnists while at the same time other cartoons deplored the racism at home against Jews and blacks that harmed the war effort. His cartoons were strongly supportive of PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt's handling of the war, combining the usual exhortations to ration and contribute to the war effort with frequent attacks on Congress[4] (especially theRepublican Party),[5] parts of the press (such as theNew York Daily News,Chicago Tribune andWashington Times-Herald),[6]isolationists (notablyCharles Lindbergh),[7] and others for criticism of Roosevelt, criticism of aid to theSoviet Union,[8][9] investigation of suspectedcommunists,[10] and other offenses that he depicted as leading to disunity and helping theNazis, intentionally or inadvertently.
The book was well received.Entertainment Weekly gave it an "A" grade: "This is scathing, fascinating stuff, and with Minear's commentary, it provides a provocative history of wartime politics."[11]People described the book as "How the Führer (Almost) Stole Christmas" and called it "a revelation", although (like many other reviewers) it noted with distaste Seuss's "incongruously, appallingly caricatured Japanese-Americans".[12]Gaby Wood ofThe Guardian commented on the connection between Seuss's war cartoons and the messages in his later work for children, observing, "It is as if, having fought for common sense during the war, Dr Seuss performed a canny shift and turned non-sense to his advantage, making it the plain universal language we needed to hear."[13]
The book led to a number of museum exhibitions about Seuss's political work.[14][15] In 2009, a follow-up volume was published entitledDr. Seuss & Co. Go to War, presenting Seuss's cartoons forPM together with those by otherPM artists, includingSaul Steinberg.[16]
