Gene Basset's Vietnam Sketchbook

In 1965, Gene Basset, a well-known political cartoonist, was sent to Vietnam

by his newspaper publishing syndicate. His assignment: to sketch scenes of the

increasingly controversial war in order to help the newspaper-reading public

better understand the events occurring in Southeast Asia.

In much the same way that M.A.S.H. gave viewers an irreverent, wry view of

war and its devastating effects on citizens as well as soldiers, Basset s sketches

portray the everyday, often mundane, aspects of wartime with an intimate touch

that eases access to the dark subject matter. In this affectionately curated collection,

author, doctor, and longtime friend of the artist, Thom Rooke, deftly

leads us through more than eighty of Basset s cartoons, organizing his insights

according to the well-known stages of grief, from denial to acceptance, and

demonstrating how Basset s images convey moments of trauma, coping, and

healing. From scenes of American GIs haggling with Vietnamese street vendors

to a medic dressing the wounds of a wide-eyed soldier, Basset s endearing

sketches and Rooke s friendly prose humanize life during wartime. The seriocomic

vignettes and analyses are delivered with wit, compassion, and subtle

charm sure to please academic, artistic, and casual readers alike."