It can be argued that political cartoons have existed as long as there have been people to lampoon and criticize; but the advent of the printing press; in particular the development of an industrial process in the 19th century; really allowed this manner of communication to flourish. Political cartoons were a critical element of communication in the American colonistsrsquo; drive for independence from Britain. Both Benjamin Franklin and Paul Revere used them to build support for the early revolutionary cause. Since then; every U.S. war and the citizensrsquo; sentiments about it can be described by political cartooning. But it wasnrsquo;t until the 20th century that the political cartoon came of age; riding the wave of widespread newspaper and magazine printing. Photography pushed the medium off the front page; however; and moved it to the editorial page. Political cartooning is either a dying occupation or a wide-open and growing field; depending on your point of view. It can also be a very dangerous endeavor for those of us who recall the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaardrsquo;s portrayal of Mohammed with a bomb in his turban and the death threats from Muslim fundamentalists that followed and still plague him today. Political cartooning is either a dying occupation or a wide-open and growing field; depending on your point of view. It can also be a very dangerous endeavor for those of us who recall the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaardrsquo;s portrayal of Mohammed with a bomb in his turban and the death threats from Muslim fundamentalists that followed and still plague him today. Today; the Internet has given political cartoons new life. They are more powerful than ever.
#2478009 in eBooks 2013-05-25 2013-05-25File Name: B00FMWDIBE
Review
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating; especially with some background infoBy Meks LibrarianI was captured by the beauty of its language from the start. Have a look at just a few lines from one of the first paragraphs; describing the Etna and the surroundings of Taormina; where David Herbert Lawrence and his wife Frieda von Richthofen (named Queen-Bee; or Q-B; throughout the book) lived at the time: "Comes over one an absolute necessity to move. And what is more; to move in some particular direction. A double necessity then: to get on the move; and to know whither. Why cant one sit still? Here in Sicily it is so pleasant: the sunny Ionian sea; the changing jewel of Calabria; like a fire-opal moved in the light; Italy and the panorama of Christmas clouds; night with the dog-star laying a long; luminous gleam across the sea; as if baying at us; Orion marching above; how the dog-star Sirius looks at one; looks at one! he is the hound of heaven; green; glamorous and fierce!--and then oh regal evening star; hung westward flaring over the jagged dark precipices of tall Sicily: then Etna; that wicked witch; resting her thick white snow under heaven; and slowly; slowly rolling her orange-coloured smoke. They called her the Pillar of Heaven; the Greeks. It seems wrong at first; for she trails up in a long; magical; flexible line from the seas edge to her blunt cone; and does not seem tall. She seems rather low; under heaven. But as one knows her better; oh awe and wizardy! Remote under heaven; aloof; so near; yet never with us. The painters try to paint her; and the photographers to photograph her; in vain."Lawrence and his wife travel to and from Sardinia by train and ship; and while on the island; they use the motor bus; still a novelty at that time. The people; the landscape; the villages and towns as well as the interior of the inns and hotels they stay at are described in a way that definitely makes you glad to live almost a century later; with all the comfort we have gotten used to. Most of the humble places where they stay are bitterly cold; no cleaner than a cow shed; offer too little food to make up for the lack of other comforts; and so the Lawrences never stay very long in one place.The author is fascinated by local costume and the rather archaic; simple way of life and character he finds in the village people. It helps that both he and Frieda are fluent in Italian; and he reports many a conversation with inn-keepers; bus drivers and fellow passengers.I enjoyed this read; and also enjoyed reading up about the couple on wikipedia. Frieda von Richthofen was German; six years older than David Herbert Lawrence; who became her lover while she was still married to an English professor and he was his student. They eloped to Germany (leaving her three children behind) and married after her divorce came through. They stayed together for the rest of Lawrences life; which ended early: he died in 1930; aged 44; from tuberculosis. Frieda married again and lived until 1956.Times have changed; and I guess most Sardinians wear their traditional costume only for touristy events and maybe a national holiday or patron saint feast; but Id like to know how much of what the author describes of Nuoro; Cagliari; Mandas; Sorgono and Terranova still is recognizable today.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Why Do Brits Travel ?By Hal BrodskyAfter reading this well written; quotable; but uneventful travelogue by D.H. Lawrence; I find myself wondering why British people travel. Here is Lawrence; 60 years before Paul Theroux (who I thought held the tittle of "Crankiest Travel Writer"); setting out on a whirlwind tour of Sardinia; and complaining about it every step of the way.With no explanation or preamble; D.H. Lawrence and his wife (The "Queen Bee"; who he criticizes relentlessly)set off for this remote island IN WINTER apparently so he can bitch about the weather along with the poor food and service in the hotels they can afford to stay in. This is post WWI/pre-Mussolini Italy and the economy is not too hot. The Lawrences spend no more than 1 night in any city; so they never get to know any town. (One night they arrive in a rural town to find that all the men are dressed as women. It is cold; so they scurry back to their hotel; make tea; and look out from their window a while before eating a bad meal. Lawrence never explores why the people are cross dressing; but he does describe the meal in detail).The writing at times is amazing and the book provides a peek at an area of the world at a moment in time that is long gone. For this reason it is worth reading. On the other hand; it is unclear why Lawrence ever left home.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. SardiniaBy TutuWell written; but not as much about Sardinia as the title would suggest and most of the observations were not particularly flattering.That being said the descriptions were exceptionally descriptive; occasionally amusing and made me glad I did not have to travel underthe circumstances of that era.