The Art of Rube Goldberg: (A) Inventive (B) Cartoon (C) Genius HC
Publisher: Abrams
Release Date: November 2013
Price: $60.00
Creators: Jennifer George, Adam Gopnik & others
Format: 192 pgs., 14" x 10", Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0852-7
Age Rating: N/A
ICv2 Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5
 
This remarkable work documents the life and career of one of the most iconic cartoonists of the 20th century.  Even though people mostly remember him for a series of cartoons about improbable inventions, he was also a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist.  He also created other comic strips, including ones with ghastly puns and word plays.  Rube Goldberg was Dr. Seuss for adults, with a wacky view of the world around him.  On the serious side, his 1947 cartoon about the growing Cold War was what won him the Pulitzer.
 
The front cover is unusually thick, because it houses a moveable version of one of his cartoons, so that the reader can see how his orange juice squeezer really works. People often think that the term "Rube Goldberg device" just refers to a complex piece of machinery, but in fact his gadgets were a parody of invention gone wrong, creating mechanical methods far more complex than the problems they were invented to solve.  He drew inspiration from real inventions that had made it through the patent office, often addressing non-existent problems.
 
The book has hundreds of illustrations, ranging from rough drafts of cartoons to finished works of art.  The book is worth the price just to see those, but it also has a special connection to the artist.  Jennifer George, who selected the illustrations and wrote much of the annotated text, is the granddaughter of Rube Goldberg.
 
Primarily for adults, although teens and kids will enjoy many of the cartoons.
 
--Nick Smith: Library Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.