Just What the Doctor Disordered: Early Writings & Cartoons of Dr. Seuss

Before his worldwide fame as a bestselling children’s author, Theodor Seuss Geisel was a prolific writer and cartoonist for humor magazines of the early twentieth century. The creator of Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who, and other classics wrote and drew comic features for publications such as Judge, Life, College Humor, and Liberty. This entertaining compilation of items from the Doctor’s early and often overlooked career offers a captivating blend of visual hilarity, nonsense language, and absurdist humor.
Articles and essays abounding in literary surrealism include “memoirs” of spying on General Grant during the Civil War and visiting England on a daily budget of 90 cents. Seuss investigates the origins of contract bridge (played by Druids armed with croquet mallets), explains how to eject a cow from your apartment, and presents charts with helpful pointers, including “How to Punish Your Offspring Scientifically.” With their humorous commentaries on people and googly-eyed animals, these cartoon essays and fantasies offer delightful views of reality as seen in the Seussian fun-house mirror.