By Amy Tsurumi
Garry Trudeau has been shaping the national conversation on social and political issues since his satirical comic strip, Doonesbury, made its debut in twenty-eight major newspapers on October 26, 1970. The main character, Mike Doonesbury, is a student from Tulsa, Oklahoma, at Walden College, which is modeled on Yale, Trudeau’s own alma mater. As a Yale undergraduate, Trudeau drew a strip, Bull Tales, in the student newspaper, which was the forerunner to Doonesbury. For the past fifty-five years, Mike and other larger-than-life characters have navigated the trials and tribulations of the Baby Boom generation. In 1975, Trudeau made history when he became the first comic strip artist to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
Based on extensive interviews with Trudeau himself, his close associates, and politicians he spoofed, as well as a vast trove of archival materials, such as Trudeau’s original sketchbooks and letters, Joshua Kendall’s “Trudeau & Doonesbury: A Biography,” meticulously chronicles Trudeau’s life and offers insights into how his Doonesbury characters came to be and developed over the years. This highly anticipated book was featured on The New York Times list of “26 nonfiction books we are excited about this spring” in March, was favorably reviewed by Smithsonian Magazine last month, and hailed by The Boston Globe as a “perfect biography for Trudeau” this month.
A New York City native, Kendall completed his bachelor’s degree in comparative literature at Yale, then subsequently did graduate work at John Hopkins, before moving to Boston and eventually settling in Beacon Hill. An acclaimed biographer, his previous books include, “First Dads: Parenting and Politics from George Washington to Barack Obama” (2016), “The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster’s Obsession and the Creation of American Culture” (2012), and “The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Madness, and the Creation of Roget’s Thesaurus” (2008). Moreover, as an award-winning freelance journalist, he has reported on politics, history, and healthcare for numerous major news outlets, including BusinessWeek, Mother Jones, The Nation, Politico, Slate, Time, Wired, The Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
Neighbors interested in hearing Kendall discuss this book are in luck, as Beacon Hill Seminars will be hosting an author talk and book signing at the West End Museum on Wednesday, June 24 starting at 5:30 p.m. The event, which includes refreshments, is free and open to the public, and one can reserve a spot by visiting https://trudeauanddoonesbury.eventbrite.com. His book tour will also take him around New England to the New Haven Museum and the Redwood Library & Athenaeum in Newport.