Publisher: Car Busters (http://www.carbusters.ecn.cz)
Format(s): Paperback, CD-ROM available
ISBN(s) 80-238-7020-3
Price: AU$18/ US$10/ CN$15/ and UK 6.50 pounds. Available in other countries, see author's web site www.andysinger.com/.
This book is the third recipient of the LiFE Award: Literature ForEnvironment.
Every conservationist needs ammunition. Therefore, every conservationist needs a copy of CARtoons, written and drawn by Andy Singer, designed by Randy Ghent.
This little book is actually three things. On the surface, it is a comic book, with drawings on almost every page. Also, you will find hundreds of little quotes from a great variety of sources. Some are humorous, others poignant, still others hard-hitting. But both of these aspects are actually window-dressing for Andy's well-researched, even scholarly essays on the car, the damage it is doing to us, and how to cure society's addiction to it.
I have been a 'greenie' since 1972, and thought I knew it all. Just the same, I have found many gems in CARtoons, and next time someone extols the virtues of the automobile, or tells me how great car racing is, I'll be able to use facts from this book to support my case that the car is a killer in many ways.
It is perhaps a little unfortunate that Andy gets too carried away by his passion and conviction. The book is great, but would be improved if it had more humour and less anger in the cartoons and their captions. As it is, it will be well received by those already convinced of its message, but induce defensiveness and rejection in those addicted to the automobile.
On balance, however, I can thoroughly recommend this mini-textbook on the damage the car is causing to humanity. Well done, Andy and helpers.
The author, Andy Singer, is a cartoonist whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Discover, and dozens of other magazines and newspapers in the US, Canada and Europe. The cartoons and illustrations in the book have appeared in such publications as Z magazine, The Boston Globe, The Progressive, Amicus Journal (now "On Earth"), The Funny Times and Adbusters.