A Doonesbury Selection by G.B. Trudeau
I first learned about the Vietnam War by reading a set of Doonesbury books: Even Revolutionaries Like Chocolate Chip Cookies, Just a French Major from the Bronx, The President is a Lot Smarter Than You Think, Don’t Ever Change Boopsie, and Bravo for Life’s Little Ironies. I don’t remember how old I was when I went scrounging around my parents library looking for something, anything, to read. Collecting the earliest strips starting in 1970, these books covered student riots, race relations, women’s rights, the Vietnam War, unemployment and more, all seen through the characters of schlump Michael Doonesbury, football star B.D. and activist Mark Slackmeyer. Butthe supporting characters made me love these books: Rufus the tutoring student, wacky Zonker, ditsy Boopsie and mad scientist Bernie. The cartoons are funny, depressing and political, and probably as good a way as any to learn about the early 70’s United States. They’re also a good complement to my recent reading on the Vietnam War.