Please recommend a book like Dr. Seuss Goes To War

March 19, 2012 10:41 PM

Need a book recommendation for a friend. Something like "Dr. Seuss Goes To War".

My friend got me a nice gift and I want to return the favor. His tastes veer towards dark/odd things. Something like "Dr. Seuss Goes to War" would go over pretty well. I know he also really liked the Cloud Atlas. Can anyone recommend a similarly "cool" book? Preferably a table book (illustrated or photos) of an obscure/interesting era, movement or historical figure? Just for clarity, I'm not looking for anything shocking or obscene.

posted by jengapiece to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

I have no idea why this is the first book to come to mind, but Alex Garland's The Coma?
posted by mannequito at 11:05 PM on March 19, 2012

A nice coffee table book by the inimitable Robert Williams.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:13 AM on March 20, 2012

Closest thing to Dr Suess goes to war I can think of is The Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman. A children's book about the Falklands War, and the price and pointlessness of it. Not sure how it holds up for adults, I haven't seen it since I was a kid, but at least one Amazon reviewer is offended.
posted by -harlequin- at 1:17 AM on March 20, 2012

George Saunders' The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil?
posted by Su at 3:13 AM on March 20, 2012

The closest thing to Dr. Seuss goes to war would be his very own Butter Battle Book, but my go to recommendation for dark/odd is Edward Gorey. Start with The Gashlycrumb Tinies.
posted by zanni at 3:52 AM on March 20, 2012

You said that "shocking or obscene" is out, but what if it's in historical context? Tijuana Bibles: Art and Wit in America's Forbidden Funnies, 1930s-1950s is an excellent book about dirty comics, and I think it would make a great companion to Dr. Seuss Goes To War, which I also enjoyed.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:54 AM on March 20, 2012

There's quite a good coffee table book called 100 Suns, which is one hundred very nice military test photographs of nuclear explosions.
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 5:19 AM on March 20, 2012

Link.
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 5:21 AM on March 20, 2012

Perry Bible Fellowship might fit what you're looking for. It mixes whimsical drawings with dark humor. I believe he's published a few books.
posted by helloimjohnnycash at 5:51 AM on March 20, 2012

Charles Addams' Dear Dead Days sounds like a good fit: "It is a twisted macabre journey through the human mind's process of life, death, and the workings of these processes." It's fantastic, truly.
posted by MrMoonPie at 6:45 AM on March 20, 2012

Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book! It's a Shel Silverstein parody of a kid's alphabet book, so dark humor aplenty.
posted by ActionPopulated at 7:14 AM on March 20, 2012

"The Tough Coughs as he Ploughs the Dough" is a book that collects a lot of stuff by Dr. Seuss which isn't related to his children's books. For instance, he did advertisements for a kind of insecticide called "Flit", and those are in there.

It also includes cartoons he drew during WWII, about the war.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:36 AM on March 20, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks all. Great suggestions. I'll try to remember to update everyone.
posted by jengapiece at 3:08 PM on March 20, 2012