Deeply considered and information rich, a useful, fascinating work of comics history.
Digging into a popular medium’s roots.
Manga, in its current form, is inextricably linked to Japan’s cultural profile and exercises aesthetic influence on cartooning trends worldwide. But Japanese cartooning—manga as a medium—has always been at once a reflection of and a testing ground for cultural conventions, as well as a canvas for creative experimentation. Horbinski’s adaptation of her doctoral dissertation considers manga’s development through five eras, exploring publishing practices, the expansion of fan culture, and the development of gender- and age-segregated genre trends. Some manga histories begin with the classical ukiyo-e (woodblock print) tradition, and others lean in on Osamu Tezuka’s copious midcentury output, but Horbinski begins her study with Kitazawa Rakuten’s deliberate reimagining of Western-style political cartoons introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868-1912). Next, the book considers comics as a locus of cultural cohesion and dissent during the Japanese government’s power consolidation approaching World War II. After the war, capitalism drove culture, and manga sold widely and well and was consumed ravenously, causing many artists to put in long hours for low pay in response to public demand. The 1960s and ’70s saw genres splintering and narrative experimentation broadening, with impressively varied results. Even Tezuka, midcentury manga’s standard-bearer, formed an avant-garde magazine for aspiring artists—understanding that manga must respond to its moment. Finally, the author arrives at century’s end, wherein manga commingled content and themes with anime and video games. What’s truly impressive about Horbinski’s project is that she returns, insistently, in every decade, to the many layers of historical precedent for manga’s marvelously multifaceted nature. What might appear uniform or formulaic to the untrained eye is instead, by Horbinski’s excellent estimation, a priceless, powerful record of Japan’s modern cultural development.
Deeply considered and information rich, a useful, fascinating work of comics history.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9780520403994
Page Count: 424
Publisher: Univ. of California
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.
Portraits in a post-pandemic world.
After the Covid-19 lockdowns left New York City’s streets empty, many claimed that the city was “gone forever.” It was those words that inspired Stanton, whose previous collections include Humans of New York (2013), Humans of New York: Stories (2015), and Humans (2020), to return to the well once more for a new love letter to the city’s humanity and diversity. Beautifully laid out in hardcover with crisp, bright images, each portrait of a New Yorker is accompanied by sparse but potent quotes from Stanton’s interviews with his subjects. Early in the book, the author sequences three portraits—a couple laughing, then looking serious, then the woman with tears in her eyes—as they recount the arc of their relationship, transforming each emotional beat of their story into an affecting visual narrative. In another, an unhoused man sits on the street, his husky eating out of his hand. The caption: “I’m a late bloomer.” Though the pandemic isn’t mentioned often, Stanton focuses much of the book on optimistic stories of the post-pandemic era. Among the most notable profiles is Myles Smutney, founder of the Free Store Project, whose story of reclaiming boarded‑up buildings during the lockdowns speaks to the city’s resilience. In reusing the same formula from his previous books, the author confirms his thesis: New York isn’t going anywhere. As he writes in his lyrical prologue, “Just as one might dive among coral reefs to marvel at nature, one can come to New York City to marvel at humanity.” The book’s optimism paints New York as a city where diverse lives converge in moments of beauty, joy, and collective hope.
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781250277589
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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