How About Never - Is Never Good for You?

Description

People tell Bob Mankoff that as the cartoon editor of The New Yorker he has the best job in the world. Never one to beat around the bush, he explains to us, in the opening of this singular, delightfully eccentric book, that because he is also a cartoonist at the magazine he actually has two of the best jobs in the world. With the help of myriad images and his funniest, most beloved cartoons, he traces his love of the craft all the way back to his childhood, when he started doing funny drawings at the age of eight. After meeting his mother, we follow his unlikely stints as a high school basketball star, draft dodger, and sociology grad student. Though Mankoff abandoned the study of psychology in the seventies to become a cartoonist, he recently realized that the field he abandoned could help him better understand the field he was in, and here he takes up the psychology of cartooning, analyzing why some cartoons make us laugh and others don't. He allows us into the hallowed halls of The New Yorker to show us the soup-to-nuts process of cartoon creation, giving us a detailed look not only at his own work but that of the other talented cartoonists who keep us laughing week after week. For desert, he reveals the secrets to winning the magazine's caption contest. Throughout, we see his commitment to the motto "Anything worth saying is worth saying funny."

Bob Mankoff is the cartoon editor for The New Yorker. Before he succeeded Lee Lorenz as editor, Mankoff was a cartoonist for the magazine for twenty years. He founded the online Cartoon Bank, which has every cartoon since the magazine's founding. He is the author of the book The Naked Cartoonist: A New Way to Enhance Your Creativity.

Lucid, illuminating, and encouraging. "The New York Times Book Review" Fascinating, forthright, and funny ... Mankoff also writes with first-hand knowledge about the topic of laughter itself. He dares to ask the question, 'What makes something funny?', and answers it with intelligence, originality, and, of course, humor. "Roz Chast, cartoonist for The New Yorker" Mankoff's deep understanding of humor, both its power and its practice, is the live wire that crackles through his new book... "How About Never "is more than a memoir ... it's also an enormous window into the mystery and alchemy behind the creation and selection of "New Yorker" cartoons. "The Washington Post" "How About Never "is not just a charming memoir but also a charming grab bag of cartoon history, cartoon theory (nothing too woolly), and shop talk. "The New York Times Book Review" Is Bob Mankoff mad, a genius, or a mad genius? This book does not answer that question, but you'll love it. "Andy Borowitz" This is a generous book, giving abundant credit to both the older generation of cartoonists whom the young Mr. Mankoff hero worshiped to the new blood he has brought to the magazine during his tenure. "Janet Maslin, The New York Times" More than anyone, Bob Mankoff has kept the "New Yorker" tradition in cartooning alive, while managing to oversee its renewal. He's also a very funny guy, with either a stipple-pen in his hand or a computer keyboard beneath his fingers. And, if that's not enough, he's one of the few funny guys around who actually has something sensible to say about what makes funny "funny "and he does so here. "Adam Gopnik" Evidence that "The New Yorker"'s cartoons can still unerringly reflect the texture of our times. "The Wall Street Journal" Hilarious ... A unique look at how the best cartoons in the world are created. "Christopher Guest" Fascinating ... Mankoff offers a number of tips on the intelligent humor' that makes it into the "New Yorker"--and even how to better your odds in the weekly caption process ... Those who aspire to a career drawing for the "New Yorker "will find this essential reading. "Kirkus" "How About Never "serves up not only a mini-collection of great cartoons but also a look at the shift in styles through the editorships of legendary William Shawn, Tina Brown, and current editor David Remnick. Mankoff also provides a very funny and insightful look at how to win "The New Yorker "caption contest... A must read for devotees of the magazine. "Publishers Weekly"