Gene Basset's Vietnam Sketchbook

A Cartoonist's Wartime Perspective

by Thom Rooke

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Pub Date Sep 15 2015 | Archive Date Jul 14 2015

Syracuse University Press

Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga | History

Description

In much the same way that M.A.S.H. gave viewers an irreverent, wry view of war and its devastating effects on citizens as well as soldiers, Basset’s sketches portray the everyday, often mundane, aspects of wartime with an intimate touch that eases access to the dark subject matter. In this affectionately curated collection, author, doctor, and longtime friend of the artist, Thom Rooke, deftly leads us through more than eighty of Basset’s cartoons, organizing his insights according to the well-known stages of grief, from denial to acceptance, and demonstrating how Basset’s images convey moments of trauma, coping, and healing.

A Note From the Publisher

Gene Basset is an American cartoonist primarily known for his editorial cartoons. He was the chief editorial cartoonist with Scripps Howard newspapers for twenty years. Thom Rooke is professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He holds an endowed chair in vascular medicine and is former head of the Section of Vascular Medicine and director of the Gonda Vascular Center.

Gene Basset is an American cartoonist primarily known for his editorial cartoons. He was the chief editorial cartoonist with Scripps Howard newspapers for twenty years. Thom Rooke is professor of...

Advance Praise

"Calling Gene Basset a cartoonist is like calling Da Vinci a pretty good sketch artist. He draws with his head, his heart, and hand, and holds a wonderful mirror. Rooke’s adaptation of the stages of grief is totally apt. Vietnam was the death of American innocence, and this book is a wonderful, insightful way to begin healing."—Steven Northup, former United Press International staff photographer, Saigon, 1965–66

"This is a truly worthy addition to the well-stocked shelves of books on the Vietnam War. Rooke writes with tremendous verve and wit and is a likeable and knowledgeable guide through a remarkable collection of sketches. The visual history of the Vietnam War is dominated by photography and film, so Gene Basset’s drawings provide a fresh and fascinating angle of vision. This book is more than a history, it is a meditation on grief in war."—Todd DePastino, author of Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front