My thanks to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for an advance copy of this book that turns the camera eye to the the people who make us laugh, or leave us wondering what this series of doodles is supposed to be doing, along with ideas about creativity and loving what one does.

Two things that have always interested me are creativity and cartooning. I love to read how creators get there ideas, be it buying them wholesale from a store in Schenectady, as Harlan Ellison used to quip, a chance conversation, or just sitting at a table and sketching one's way to brilliance. As a person who can't draw a straight line with a ruler, I have always loved cartoons, especially single panel works. The idea that the story, the setup the punchline and a picture take place in one drawing is always astonishing to me. This love took awhile. I grew up with the funnies, Dick Tracy, Dondi, Broom Hilda, and loved the stories, the places the panels would take you. My father was subscriber to The New Yorker and started sharing the cartoons with me. I must admit I was a bit like a Seinfeld character in the beginning, not getting the one panel sketch, nor the jokes. Soon though I came to appreciate it, the work involved, and would pick up cues that told me who various illustrators were, and what I could expect. This is why I loved this book so much. At Wit's End: Cartoonists of The New Yorker features photographs by famed photographer Alen MacWeeney with words and commentary by cartoonist and historian Michael Maslin featuring over 50 cartoonists from The New Yorker, from the past, the present and future up-and-comers.

There have been about 700 cartoonists who have had work appear in the one hundred years that The New Yorker has been published. Many have been lost to time or produced works in anonymity. The cartoons were started as a way to fill in spaces in the magazine, as their was not much money in the beginning and articles could only be stretched so far. The book features 50 cartoonists, with photos taken by MacWeeney. Accompanying this photos are essays either featuring commentary on the art, interviews with the artist, or a bit of both. These are written by Michael Maslin, a cartoonist whose work has appeared in the magazine, and who also has a website about the history of The New Yorker's cartoons. These photos show the cartoonists at rest, at play, and sometimes at work. Along with the essays are panels of some of their works, so one gets an idea of the creative sparks these people have within them.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. I loved putting names and faces to cartoons that I have enjoyed over the years. The writing I thought was quite good, knowledgeable and understanding about being a cartoonist, and full of interesting tidbits. The idea that there was a time when cartoonists would travel from magazine to magazine, selling single panel pictures, meeting for drinks, and going home to draw is seems like from a far distant world. Many cartoonists have five or six jobs to keep the lights on in their studio. What also becomes clear from the interview is the love they have for what they do, and the pride they take in their work.

I love to see people living their dream, and this book is full of that. There might be a lot of struggling to do so, but one can see they really love what they do. That is rare. A great book for burgeoning cartoonists, people who love portraits, as the photos are really quite good. And people like me who loved to read about creativity no matter where it comes from, or what it creates.

What a delightful book! It is so great to meet the many cartoonists from the New Yorker! The photos of them are wonderful and I loved learning about them as well as seeing some of their work (It was cool to recognize some of the cartoons and laugh again!). This would be a great gift for those who love cartoons (especially from the New Yorker) or interested in artists in general. This is a fun and quick read and really enjoyed learning about what goes into the cartoons.

Thank you to Netgalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

I learned from this book that The New Yorker has had over 700 cartoonists, and they seem to be as funny in real life as in their cartoons. The chosen artists get a section where they pose in unique, funny ways, and we get to learn more about them, their inspirations, and other parts of their lives. Humor can be difficult, and each of these artists had such an interesting view of the world. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

At Wit’s End is such an interesting book, all of the artists are beautifully photographed and reading about each of them is fascinating. What I really enjoyed was recognizing the styles of the cartoons and matching them to the cartoonist, it is like meeting a whole room of people!
Obviously getting a good laugh at each cartoon is also a big plus!