by:
Mankoff, Robert (Editor)

Publisher:
Bloomberg Press
Published:November 1, 1999
ISBN:1576600335
Format:Hardcover
Pages:110

Description: Amazon.com
Freud saw money primarily as a fecal symbol: something to hoarded, treasured, and counted. That probably says more about Freud and the times he lived in than money. A more modern and accurate interpretation of money would be as a symbol of fertility and potency. So perhaps it is no coincidence that until the arrival of Tina Brown in 1992, The New Yorker never ran cartoons about sex. On the other hand, an astonishing 25 per cent of the 13,000 cartoons it has run since 1986 have been about money.

In his introduction to The New Yorker Book of Money Cartoons, Christopher Buckley, editor of Forbes FYI magazine, calls the cartoonists' obsession with business and money as a "sublimation" of this forbidden subject. One cartoon even shows two New Yorkers walking the streets surrounded by signs for money on the shops, billboards, buildings, vendors' umbrellas, and cars. "Remember a few years ago when everything was sex, sex, sex?" says one to the other. Another shows a couple standing at the entrance to a sumptuous living room. "See," says the man, "isn't this better than being happy?"

Of course American culture in general, and New York life in particular, has always been obsessed with money as an index of success, while other, older cultures such as the U.K. at least have a class system to fall back on. Nonetheless, this charming and relevant collection of cartoons will ring bells with anyone who has ever striven in the world of mammon. It's not so much the sort of book you would buy yourself, but it would be a real pleasure to give and to receive. --Alex Benady

Product Description:
The influence, power, and occasional insanity of money in our lives. If money makes the world go 'round, why does it also wreck havoc with our personal worlds, spinning them up and down, topsy-turvy, even out of orbit? Money can make us feel happy, sad, elated, stressed, crazed, and a whole host of other emotions. Now, thanks to the brilliant cartoonists of "The New Yorker," money can also make us giggle, chuckle, chortle, snicker, and laugh our loud. And, we can better understand why money does all of the above. This delightful collection about money in our everyday lives features 110 classic cartoons from the cartoonists of "The New Yorker"--artists like Charles Addams, George Booth, Roz Chast, Peter Arno, and Gahan Wilson. The wit within its pages will tickle (and often inform) everyone in all walks of life. Christopher Buckley adds to the merriment with an introductory essay in his own inimitable and hilarious style.

Featured artists: Charles Addams, Charles Barsotti, George Booth, Roz Chast, Tom Cheney, Leo Cullum, Sam Gross, William Hamilton, J.B. Handlesman, Bruce Eric Kaplan (BEK), Edward Koren, Robert Mankoff, Warren Miller, Victoria Roberts, Danny Shanahan, Bernard Schoenbaum, James Stevenson, Eric Teitelbaum, Mike Twohy, Robert Weber, Gahan Wilson, Jack Ziegler, and more.