From the Very Big Desk Of...: Business Cartoons by New Yorker Cartoonist Charles Barsotti

by Charles Barsotti, Andrew Tobias

People on every step of the corporate ladder will identify with the 100 hilarious business cartoons from "New Yorker" cartoonist Barsotti.

Genres: Humor, Business

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Charles Branum Barsotti was an American cartoonist who drew cartoons for major magazine publications including The New Yorker.

Reviews

[Immigration Art · Rating 5 out of 5]

These collected Barsotti cartoons lampoon the corporate world and remind everyone why working in an office will eat your soul and crush your spirit.

To give you an idea, the corporate world is like high school, except the students are the "grown ups."

Remember all the jocks from high school? And the bullies? Well, in a corporation, they are all in charge. Sure, they are mediocre morons, but they are in charge -- corner office; very big desk.

And remember the quiet, the reserved, the pretty smart, and the really smart kids in class? In the corporate world, they all work in cubicles.

And guess what? The jocks and bullies are afraid to get fired if they make a mistake, so they hide behind policy and offer half-baked, lukewarm ideas. And surround themselves with "yes men." AND, THEN, when the numbers look bad, and results are poor, they blame the workers in the cubicles for the underperformance.

Oh! And everyone wears uncomfortable business suits, ties, blouses, skirts, and sensible shoes. And is stressed. And miserable.

The corporate world -- screw it. Work for yourself if you can. And read this book.

[Janie Cakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not exactly part of this books audience, so my rating on it isn't really credible [at least I'm honest:]. I think that in order to fully understand the comedy in this book, one would have to understand how life goes in the office/corporation-world. Or, one would really have to get a beat down from the office/corporation-world. I pretty much just vaguely understood most of the jokes, and pictures. Still, a little imagination can get you laughing up a storm, or hey maybe that's just me.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book uses the simplest effects to explain the inequities and inequalities that abound in the business world. With basic line drawings, the book deals with complex themes such as temp hiring, business as warfare, accountability, committee decision making, et al.

Mr. Barsotti also plays with line, scale and figure to whimsical effect. What his characters may lack in the way of facial expression in one panel is made up for in an abrupt juxtaposition or figure. People soar, get struck by lightning or turned into boxes. Sometimes the drawings don’t change much at all; only the captions do, lending their own witty commentary to what seems like a deceptively insipid drawing. In short, Mr. Barsotti knows when to think out of the box and when to pen a silly drawing inside of it.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining, the combination of Barsotti’s somewhat childlike drawing, his inventiveness and his cynical attitude towards business management really works for me. While the book’s byline mentions that he’s a New Yorker cartoonist, there’s no real indication whether any of these particular cartoons appeared in the magazine.

[melydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this quickly, in a single sitting, as one might expect. I generally like New Yorker cartoons and I generally understand business cartoons and I think somehow the combination of the two into one collection soured me. Like, after a dozen or two, I started feeling kind of depressed about business and capitalism in general. And maybe that was the point. In that case, well done, Mr. Barsotti!

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[The_J · Rating 4 out of 5]

The joy of laughing at the "boss"

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would have gotten five stars, but it was too short!

[Jim Melcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the New Yorker cartoonists, but a bit amusing.