On the One Hand / On the Other Hand

About this book

A double-sided book with over 70 years of the wit and wisdom of the iconoclastic artist and author R.O. Blechman! Many readers will be familiar with Blechmans covers for The New Yorker magazine more will be familiar with the countless books for children and adults hes illustrated (or written and illustrated) since 1953 and many more will be familiar with his animated Christmas short for CBS his commercials for Alka-Seltzer and for his Emmy Awardwinning animated presentation The Soldiers Tale (PBS). On The One Hand / On The Other Hand collects the best of Blechmans writing and drawing from across the breadth of nearly his 70-year career as cartoonist commentator and iconoclast. Presented as a handsome double-sided book On the One Hand includes a portfolio of 17 of Blechmans graphically sublime covers for the fabled Story magazine. On the Other Hand includes a collection of essays that offer his trenchant insights both playful and profound on the state of our culture today including his personal perspective on film theater ("Well lets be fair to Franz Kafka. Can you blame a cockroach?") literature history politics social change and his fellow cartoonists and illustrators. Blechman shares his hard-earned insights and personal anecdotes on persisting your way to success ("Second Acts") on growing older but not surrendering youth ("Im Not Finished") and on the constraints that every artist from caveman days to the present must overcome. ("Against those odds confidence is hard to come by.") Black and white illustrations and full color.