And the Pursuit of Happiness

by Maira Kalman

With her trademark style, wit, sensitivity, and spontaneity, Maira Kalman guides a whirlwind tour of American democracy.

And the Pursuit of Happiness is beloved artist and author Maira Kalman's yearlong investigation of democracy and how it works. Energized and inspired by the 2008 elections, on inauguration day Kalman traveled to Washington, D.C., launching a national tour that would take her from a town hall meeting in Newfane, Vermont, to the inner chambers of the Supreme Court.

As we follow Kalman's wholly idiosyncratic journey, we fall in love with Lincoln alongside her as she imagines making a home for herself in the center of his magisterial memorial; ponder Alexis de Tocqueville's America; witness the inner workings of a Bronx middle-school student council; take a high-speed lesson in great American women in the National Portrait Gallery; and consider the cost of war to the brave American service families of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The observations she makes as she travels charm and inform, and-as we have come to expect with Kalman-the route is always one of fascinating indirection.

Kalman finds evidence of democracy at work all around us. And the cast of characters we meet along the way is rousing good company, featuring visits from Benjamin Franklin, Eleanor Roosevelt, and many others. And the Pursuit of Happiness is a remarkable tribute to our history and a powerful reminder of the potential our future holds, from a true national treasure.
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Genres: Art, Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, History, Comics, Politics, Memoir

471 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2010

About the author

Maira Kalman was born in Tel Aviv and moved to New York with her family at the age of four. She has worked as a designer, author, illustrator and artist for more than thirty years without formal training. Her work is a narrative journal of her life and all its absurdities. She has written and illustrated twelve children's books including Ooh-la-la- Max in Love, What Pete Ate, and Swami on Rye. She often illustrates for The New Yorker magazine, and is well known for her collaboration with Rick Meyerowitz on the NewYorkistan cover in 2001. Recent projects include The Elements of Style (illustrated), and a monthly on-line column entitled Principles of Uncertainty for The New York Times.

She lives in New York and walks a lot.

(http://www.saulgallery.com)

Reviews

[Lars Guthrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this fractious time and place, when the future can seem futile, where the landscape can appear forlorn, you could do worse than spend an hour or two pursuing happiness with Maira Kalman. For Kalman, the majestic and the modest carry equal weight. Small wonders are as carefully observed and noted as grand ones. A masterpiece by Velasquez is no less important than the ‘woman in the red dress with a snappy hairdo’ examining it. Kalman’s loopy lines, just north of childlike, splashed with bold color, are a window into a United States where a plate of sausage and eggs transcends mundaneness and where epic figures, say, George Washington, become neighbors. Where you tour the Supreme Court and a Brooklyn sewage plant, equally charmed and delighted. Kalman is not exactly wearing rose-colored glasses—‘everyone has to be sad part of the time; otherwise, you would be insane’—but she refuses to dwell on the dreary. ‘And the Pursuit of Happiness’ is a palliative tonic of a book recommended to the world-weary.

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is most charitably read through the eyes of an immigrant who is super stoked to become an American citizen and to immerse themselves in the history of democracy in this country. The time in which this was written: 2008 (published 2010) was a time of great optimism for the U.S. We had just elected our first President who wasn't some old white dude. We were ready for hope and change. We expected to move forward and leave our ugly troubled past behind. We thought we had evolved.

The art is the big draw for me in this book. It's wonderful and varied: paint, ink drawings, all text by hand. And I learned a few fun facts. I think the early patriots are shown in their best light, though the author does point out their obvious flaws and does not give America a pass for trying to genocide the inhabitants of the land, or for those 400 yrs. of slavery.

This is very upbeat, and the art is terrific.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maira Kalman, primarily an illustrator, inspired by the 2008 presidential election results, took the road to see how democracy, at its best, works, in her characteristic idiosyncratic style. Not a systematic vision, but inspired by hope and crazy wonderful color and fun. Kooky and smile-inducingly optimistic, sort of makes you feel nostalgic about how positive everyone (many of us, okay) felt after that election.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming, somewhat random mediations on democracy, starting with the artist/author's attendance at Obama's first inauguration. It's a picture book for adults. Her whimsical drawings and completely personal approach make for some poetic insights.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? I adore books that are about traveling... and I don't mean, travel books. It's not like I'm sitting at home reading Frommers Las Vegas 2009 (classic Frommers- totally busted a gut reading about the Wynn!)

No, I like reading about people striking out on their own (or with friends, or family, or lovers, or dogs, cats, bears, emus, whatever)and traveling across this great land of ours- or heck- even perhaps a pretty nice land of theirs.
I loved the books Assassination Vacation (Sarah Vowell), and Killing Yourself to Live (Chuck Klosterman) I loved that they taught me a bit about the land I live in, and you know, a bit about themselves.
I'm a sucker for a bad one liner- She/He/They/It traveled 250,470, 5,000 miles to discover a truth that was inside them all along.

Reading those books makes me want to take to the open road. Just walk into my job, and say, "I'm taking three weeks off- and uh- can I get like a Two thousand dollar advance? No? Okay, well forget it! I can just rough it out on the road! I can totally Dean Moriarty myself across the side roads... Oh, crap- have you seen the price of gas a gallon? You sure I can't have an advance on the pay check? Okay, never mind."

I guess being sensible is okay too... but I, like most people I would assume, long to get out there and have a unique experience while looking out over a mountain pass, or out into the Pacific Ocean.

I used to take annual trips to New Mexico during the summer months (back when I was young, and didn't have things like a car payment, or rent, or a full time job) I loved the 12-14 hour drive through Texas, and into New Mexico, watching the landscape change from the hot Texas grassy plains, to the dry New Mexico desert, to northern New Mexico were all the foresty pine trees are. I would hop of the car out snap a few pictures of the mountains, then hop back into the car. I'd eat in interesting restaurants, I'd meet lots of people. I long for those days again. I would love to hop in the car and drive in any direction, and randomly stop and take lots of pictures, and eat in interesting places, and meet interesting people... and just kind of hold on to those memories- just like Richard Marx.

BUT THEN, whoa nelly, I just read (or looked at?) And the Pursuit of Happiness- and realized that I've been doing it all wrong the whole time.

Happiness is more art book than anything else. I'm sure Maira Kalman took plenty of pictures while she took her trip across parts of the country. I wouldn't be surprised if she recorded some of the "interviews" she conducted. I'm sure she had issues where something exploded in her suitcase... but none of it comes across in this book. What comes across is someone who loves to travel, to meet new people, to see new things, to have new experiences, to learn, and to take all that stuff, all those experiences, and all those voices, and filter them into a clean, simple book with clean simple paintings, and clean succinct wording. And I loved every bit of it.

It made me want do to the things she did. It made me want to go to the places she went. I wanted to see Jefferson's bed at Monticello. I wanted to go to Springfield, Illinois to hang out where Lincoln hung out. I even kinda sorta wanted to see the sewage treatment plant she visited. Who knew poop could be made interesting?

Doctors I'm sure.

I would love to meet Maira for pie sometime. I figure she likes pie (pgs 150-151), and I like pie- she seems to like history, I like history. She can tell me all about her travels and I can tell her all about mine. So it's a date- right? I just need gas money to get up to New York.

[Ann Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just re-read this book that I love so much. With not enough time for novels lately, it's been perfect to have beside my bed to read one "month" a night. When the blog came out, I looked forward to the first Friday of the month when it would appear online in the NY Times. I love Maira Kalman's illustrations, but equally love her musings on democracy. I've read the Lincoln and Jefferson chapters many times over but loved seeing all the others again this time. It's a book that makes me feel good and want to learn more.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this bunches. Kalman made me want to go places and think about things. What more can you ask from a book?


(This is the book form of what began as a blog project. It's still online if you'd like to try that first: http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/ )

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Expectations! They are a bitch.

About a week ago, I read Maira Kalman's other book The Principles of Uncertainty and loved it. It is full of charming joyful paintings, paintings of all manner of things/couches/hairstyles/hats, lists and photos of people's backs, etc. All strung together in the loosest wandering free-form way possible, which is part of the charm. Afterwards, I read online about her newest book 'And the Pursuit of Happiness':

Inspired by the 2008 elections, artist Maira Kalman set out across these great states with pen and paper in hand to explore facets of American democracy that many Americans only contemplate on the Fourth of July.

So what I expected was this: Maira stops in rest areas and gas stations, painting weird southern ephemera, philosophizes about the South and our history of slavery, suddenly she spots a duck-shaped hat and goes berserk and paints 20 pages straight of this same hat from different angles! Then she gets sidetracked and starts talking about the variety of trees beside the highway, then she follows an old abandoned train track to see where it goes, meets some hillbillies and talks with them about 'America', shoots a few deer, paints them, hitchhikes with a single mom in her yellow Honda civic hatchback to California while painting exquisite reproductions of her right ear as seen from the passenger seat, then paints some lean-tos in Nevada, paints the interior of several houses where she stayed on the floor on her epic roadtrip across the country, people-watches in a mall, paints a well manicured poodle, paints someone's sequined shoes, wonders to herself "Could the meaning of America be sequined shoes?" and there you have it THE END!

Instead, I got: Maira, filled with optimism after Barack Obama's inauguration, decides to write a book about the beginnings of this country. She doesn't do much travelling (though she does some) or meeting of regular people. Instead, she dives into history books and history museums... OK, already not as exciting a concept to me as what I had imagined... but let's give it a shot anyway.

Most of this information is common knowledge about our forefathers. History that seems to brush the surface, history that seems like myth (i.e. what they want you to believe happened). The book is filled with paintings, but most of them are paintings of oil paintings of dead white men. These paintings lack the kind of verve and observation of the paintings in her other book... Because in her paintings of regular people, you can tell by the way she paints them how she feels exactly about this person's nose, or how much she loves this woman's hair, or how the squirrelly quality of that man on the street comes out in full color. Here, we have reproductions that seem stale by comparison. I find posed oil portraits so boring, and though she tried her best, she was basically just reproducing them in this book, without adding much of her own character or interpretation into the mix (there are exceptions, of course).

Later, when she shows real people (like the kids involved in the organic farms) she opts to show photographs of them instead of paintings. Why she decided to paint oil reproductions of Thomas Jefferson while photographing the kids is a mystery to me. It seems like the opposite choice would've produced much better results, with more room for interpretation. We've all seen Thomas Jefferson a million times, in that same pose!

Then, instead of traveling to the little known spots to discover the spirit of what America is now, she goes straight to Washington D.C. What follows are portraits of government workers and congresspeople, sitting in their offices, in their business suits. All pretty boring to me. What's more, it's not like she gets below the surface of who these people are. Example: on one page we see a painting of a woman against a yellow background and the words say "I meet Haeda Mihaltses, the director of the office of intergovernmental affairs." Then the very next page, she tells you of some other people she met. OK... so what's the point of introducing the reader to Haeda Mihaltses for a page if it's not going to be followed up by anything? Who cares? She's some director or other, I didn't need to know that!

I know I've been focusing on the negatives so far, but that is because I was so disappointed. I wanted so much more from this. I don't want to mislead you though: there is a lot of good stuff in here as well. It's just spaced further apart. There is still a number of humorous, witty, quirky things sprinkled throughout. But if you've never read Maira Kalman before, DEFINITELY read The Principles of Uncertainty first, instead of this book!

Also: I found the first half of the book to be much better, visually; it felt like she stopped trying in the last half. Her brushstrokes were less subtle and the detail seemed to go away.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first, I didn't know what to think about the book, because I wasn't sure what it was. I, like many a human, really like to categorize, and this book seemed to defy categorization for me. I've seen Kalman's illustrations in my copy of Strunk & White's The Elements of Style, which is also a beautiful book. The illustrations are whimsical and colorful, but the spirit of the book is what really captured me as a reader.

I don't often say things like this, but I was really delighted by this book. Every page I wanted to savor, but I still devoured this book in a single morning. Kalman's meditations on American history and politics and material culture are perceptive, and funny, and hopeful.

Here are some quotes from passages that I marked:

"I looked deep into his eyes and found that I was falling in love. In love with A. Lincoln."

"And in front of the Supreme Court facade that states, 'Equal Justice Under Law,' stands a woman in a shocking pink coat. Inside it is all polished wood and marble an red velvet drapes and decorum and history and everything you would want in a Supreme Court. In the court the lawyers are arguing cases that I kind of understand. But not really. Not really is putting it mildly but that is not the point. It is all ab out language, the language of dissent and the search for meaning. There are faults, biases, political leanings, differences of philosophy. Unavoidable. They are human beings."

"Don't we need both the warriors and the artists on this planet?"

"If you want to understand this country and its people and what it means to be optimistic and complex and tragic and wrong and courageous, you need to go to [Jefferson's] home in Virginia. Monticello."

"Everything is invented. Language. Childhood. Careers. Relationships. Religion. Philosophy. The future. They are not there for the plucking. They don't exist in some natural state. They must be invented by people. And that, of course, is a great thing. Don't mope in your room. Go invent something. That is the American message. Electricity. Flight. The telephone. Television. Computers. Walking on the moon. It never stops."

"We hope. We despair. We hope. We despair. That is what governs us. We have a bipolar system.

Anyway, the bottom line is that I liked the book a lot. It is a celebration.

[Kathrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm drawn to pretty pictures and artistic ramblings on personal experience, tidbits of rarely-acknowledged history, oddball nonsequiturs, etc. This one looked cute and maybe inspiring and elucidating. I was excited. I mentioned my plans to read it to a friend. She said, "Oh, you mean the one by the woman who had an affair with Len Riggio?" WHAT?! Suddenly the book felt dirty. Len Riggio is the CEO of Barnes & Noble, the company that's been putting food on my table for over a decade. He's a multimillionaire, and I'm not, but still I think he's a decent fellow. Anyway, Maira's husband, Tibor,also an artist, died in 1999. Soon after, Maira published the The Elements of Style Illustrated, which was hugely marketed by Barnes & Noble. Really huge. The book was everywhere. Maybe it did not do so well. Suddenly the book was discounted half-off. Then it was remaindered. Rumors flew. Are they having a lover's tiff? Is it personal?
Well, it's all just rumors. I cannot and will not speak for the quality of their relationship. It is fact that Riggio gave Tibor his first job in New York, managing the flagship store. The couples (yes, Riggio is married) were close. Maybe it's all innocent and remaindering her book was just business. Who knows. I will not let the sordid story dirty my appreciation of Kalman's work anymore...
But still, I did frequently ask myself, why am I reading this? The art is quirky, and I like the mix of paintings, quick sketches, and photography. I like her theme of pursuing the patriotic pursuit of happiness. But she kept tempting you with maybe a word of insight from her interviews with Ruth Bader Ginsberg, or Katherine Abbott, or the man on the street, but she never brought it all the way home. She'd suddenly end with a picture of a cake or pie, and I'd be like, yeah, I like pie, too, but what where you going to say about Ginsberg?! This book would maybe make a nice template for a homeschool project or family vacation journal, but don't expect a history lesson here. Nonetheless, it's Kalman's optimistic approach to life which makes this book worthwhile, and a little bit contagious. But not with Riggio cooties.

[Relyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't even know what to write for the date I started this book. It caught my eye on a shelf in Barnes and Noble months ago. I sat right down with it and gobbled up the first chapter, ready for more, but I had to go. Since then, I've been back to Barnes 3 or 4 times. This always one of the books I grab. I love it. LOVE IT! Each time I start from the beginning again reading it because it it SO delightful! I love Maira Kalman. I want to meet her. I want to invite her over for dinner and chat about our mutual love of Mr. Lincoln.

I have a self-imposed rule about book buying. I don't buy books at Barnes. I browse at Barnes, gather a list of books to read, get them from the library, and eventually buy only the very best. This keeps me from wasting money of books that aren't very good, or books I won't read twice. It's also necessary since our home library is about 4,000 or so volumes strong. So, when I tell you this book was too good to leave on the shelf any longer, you should know that dropping $30.00 on a new book is something I don't do lightly and only do very rarely.

And, let me tell you, it's worth every penny. Thank God I still have half the book to read. This odd, quirky, hard to characterize book is a pure delight.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you know Maira Kalman?


I like her writing.

This week I only finished one book, but it was a good one. And the Pursuit of Happiness by Maira Kalman.

I often check out books from the library, read them, and return them. Even when I buy books, I usually give them away.

I buy Maira Kalman books and keep them. I read them and then I read them again.

She writes children's picture books as well as grownup books. Honestly, her books for grownups are really just grownup picture books.

A new genre, maybe.

I hope this is okay, but I can't really show you how wonderful Maira Kalman is without showing you a few pages from her books.

Do you see what I mean?

I saw Maira Kalman at the Texas Book Festival. I would have been very sad if I had not gotten to hear her speak. She was not as I'd imagined. I'd expected a morose person. No. She actually laughed a lot. And told funny stories.

She seemed quite wise.

"Reality was never part of our household," she said.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven't read anything by Maira Kalman, don't wait. I love her. This is a brief overlook of the history of the US told in her point of view, with her charming illustrations and graphics. I can't do the book justice- you have to open it to understand. I love her and will pick up anything of hers.

[Reuben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustration; fantastic relation of Our Country's history to every-day life. Comes off as preachy at times, but Kalman's reverence for democracy, intellectual curiosity, and the pursuit of happiness is abundant and compelling. It's difficult to dislike this kind of book.

3.5/5

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reads oddly in 2025. To appreciate it, you have to understand page 25:

““Why [swear] on the Bible? Why not on the constitution?” And I think that is a very good question. But now we are taking a short break from questioning. Right now, we are opting for naïveté.” Kalman writes in reference to the inauguration day of Barack Obama.

These days I find it hard to be naïve.

Kalman keeps up the naïveté through her portrait of the people who make government, past and present, as vibrant and joyful. She treats the founding fathers not as political entities but as people. (If you liked that theme in this book - parasocial relationships with dead people - you might like Dora Bruder by Patrick Modiano.) She does mention slavery to complicate the story, but she does not center the complications. This is a celebration of American democracy. This is not a place for questions.

Though sometimes she comes close:

“Do the wealthy have access to the really healthy food while the less affluent do not? When you look at it that way, it does not feel at all like a democracy.”

“Is it naïve of me to think, while acknowledging the myriad problems, that the system is basically just?”

(Yeah, I believe it is.)

I could appreciate the relative commitment to naïveté were it not for the one moment that breaks the illusion of non-political positivity. Outside the Supreme Court building, Kalman sees a small protest demanding circumcision be made illegal and derides the protestors as schmooks (I’ll grant it’s an excellent pun). This protest and her reaction get two pages. Jefferson’s relationship to slavery gets five; Washington's gets none. It feels strange — stranger still for those of us who find the protesters correct.

In exchange for Kalman’s breaking naïveté for an oddly pointed expression of distaste, I’ll allow myself one as well:

At the capital building, she notes that various parts, including the bathrooms, are bipartisan. Quotes above the men's and women's bathroom doors describe hatred as a wedge designed to attack our civilization. Kalman is right, the bathrooms are bipartisan. They are segregated along a different binary.

I think of how very little I care about the bipartisanship of buildings in which my friends and I cannot pee.

I enjoyed this book. It’s a very good read with beautiful illustrations and prose and an admirable respect for the grand and mundane in equal measure. And not every political thing has to talk about everything political.

I just also think it reads differently in 2025.

[Marcie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, 471 pages of the author’s private thoughts, observations, and favorite trivia about our country, each page bursting with her bright child-like paintings, sketches, and photographs. She travels to Monticello, the Pentagon, Capitol, White House, Supreme Court, etc. The font is really nice.

But, it’s an odd book. Who is it for? On the inside back cover, I read that the author writes and illustrates children’s books. Ahhh. At first I thought a child wrote it, or an adult with a child-like mind. Then it clicked into place. It feels dreamy, with an air of innocence.

It certainly offers many very sweet nuggets, such as the trivia that Thomas Jefferson changed the words Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Property to the Pursuit of Happiness. She also poses the question of why does the president swear his oath of office on the Bible, why not the Constitution.

I also enjoyed the many connections drawn between yesterday and today (the aristocratic Salisbury political refugee family with Salisbury steak), macro and micro viewpoints (the types of trees near famous sites, a page from Jefferson’s slave roles), and abstract and concrete concepts (war and soldier No. 53).

My favorite piece on Alexis de Tocqueville:

“He spent a year traveling and interviewing people, then wrote a book, aptly titled ‘De La Democratie en Amerique.’ His writing was filled with astute reflections: ‘If one asked me to what do I think one must principally attribute the singular prosperity and growing force of this people, I would answer that it is to the Superiority of its Women.’

However, its repeated leaning to the left annoyed me after awhile. She’s obviously anti-war (who isn’t?, but some of us understand the price paid for the cherry blossom trees) and pro-government subsidy for organic farmers. She talks about “a Democracy of Healthy Eating.” I happen to eat organic. But I don’t need to pay for everyone’s food. Grow your own garden, for Pete’s sake. Regarding immigration, she talks about specific immigrants she encountered at a swearing-in ceremony. She says she has to focus on details because often the big picture is too overwhelming to understand. I can appreciate that sentiment, but do not always agree with the details on which she chooses to focus. I’ve used the same heart-tugging tactic myself, but to buoy my conservative case. This book is a celebration of a utopian America, never mentioning crime, drugs, obesity, taxation…

So, this delightful little, child-like book has quite the insidious hidden liberal agenda. I don’t think it’s intentionally sinister, though, because liberals are child-like in their desire for the government to take care of everyone, and no one ever has to do anything they don’t want to. We can eat candy every day!

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maira Kalman’s “The Principals of Uncertainty” was a quaint little surprise when I first read it a few years back. It’s blend of whimsical artistry and poetic text was such a treat that I eagerly picked up her newest work, “And the Pursuit of Happiness” when it hit shelves. Happily, it contains the same defiantly eccentric art that blends childlike doodles with lush and vibrant painting, and wraps the whole thing up in simplistic, almost naïve text that is almost absurdly optimistic, but so childlike as to be actually inspiring.

But in spite of all its similarities to “The Principals of Uncertainty”, “And the Pursuit of Happiness” is really a superior work, thanks to its central theme, which is a celebration of patriotism. And this celebration isn’t merely an “America is Awesome” love fest, but more an exploration of our country’s history and a prideful boasting of all the mundane little things. Whether she’s recounting a visit to Mt. Vernon, an interview with Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a tour of a sewage treatment plant or school garden, or multiple depictions of cafeteria meals at government facilities, Kalman seems obsessive as she innocently wanders around and points out things no one else was noticing, and with each drawing or ribbon of text, seems to say, “Isn’t that neat?”

I read “And the Pursuit of Happiness” at the same time as I was reading Matt Taibbi’s excellent (and direly cynical) “Griftopia” which is a depressing and otherworldly look at how American investment banks and government officials bungled their ways into the financial crisis. Taibbi’s book makes some very strong cases for how really rich people very purposefully screwed over everybody else so they could get more rich. It was all rather gloomy.

Reading Maira Kalman reminds you that America certainly has its issues, but it is also a wonderful and amazing place full of beauty and hope. I don’t think Taibbi is wrong in many of his dour conclusions about our capitalist society, but Kalman demonstrates that there is a far bigger, more gratifying picture to look at.

Thank you, Ms. Kalman for beauty and hope and optimism in a world that tries very hard not to deserve it.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maria Kalman is an illustrator, an artist with a whimsical eye for the stuff of everyday life. "And The Pursuit of Happiness" is basically a book of her richly colored, Matisse-ish art with a sprinkling of commentary about American life and governmental functions. That sounds a bit dull, and I feel ashamed of myself for not being able to put it better, because nothing about Kalman - her personality,her art, or her writing - is in any way dull. On the contrary, she brings a delightfully fresh perspective to everything in this book - from the sewage plant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn ("And there is no smell. WHAT?") to the Jell-o Mold Competition (also in Brooklyn) "run by this ENTERPRISING, BEAUTIFUL WOMAN in a GREEN JACKET and YELLOW BLOUSE", to the complexities of Thomas Jefferson's character ("Imagine the elegant evenings of brilliant discourse and fine wine and the best of everything. Thomas playing the violin, Martha playing the pianoforte. Alongside that, evening of endless labor and deprivation and freezing in pitifully small rooms, each on of which housed an ENTIRE FAMILY. Jefferson was a kinder master than most. And he was greatly conflicted.")

I loved the gentleness of this book, and I loved Kalman's ability to see beyond complexity to simplicity, and beyond simplicity to complexity. And most of all, I loved her deceptively primitve, brilliantly colored art, which I cannot help but think is a direct expression of the artist herself - who knows what to look at when she travels, sees a glorious pageant of wonder and excitement in the most simple things, and knows how to convey it to her readers.

[nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not that I've never read about Benjamin Franklin before or anything. It's just that until now nobody had ever made me stop and think "hmm. Wish I were a bit more like THAT GUY".

There's just something about Maira Kalman. Whether she's writing or illustrating a children's book, style manual, or in this case, some unplaceable something that falls somewhere between American History and personal diary/sketchbook... the woman has great energy. Everything she touches pen to appears playful, spontaneous, approachable and there is a confidence in her childlike drawings. More often than not, I find her palettes garish and her seemingly haphazard handle on perspective odd. And yet. I always want to see more.

In the Pursuit of Happiness, Kalman travels across the US visiting historical sites and studying up on historical figures, and it seems these are the very same qualities she looks for in the founding fathers; she gives us pause to marvel at their creativity, absurdity, and genius. You may only learn odd facts (the basics you may remember from your elementary school text books) here, but it's such a pleasure to peruse you'll probably, like me, read it straight through in an hour or two.

Take a look for yourself. The book was first serialized online for the New York Times: http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had a full page comic from the New Yorker done by Maria Kalman stuck to my fridge for years now. I use it everyday to remind myself to be thankful for my breakfast. It’s lovely to start the day off with gratitude.

This graphic memoir (of sorts) conveyed much of the spirit of that comic — optimism, thankfulness, a fascination with how the small things connect to the large. It was so nice to be sitting for a brief while in the sunny glow of 2009, fresh off of a historic inauguration and feeling a kindredness with everyone. The overall mood of the book was breezy; though there were frequent mentions of government and politics, it was often invoked with a sense of pride. Civic pride, more precisely, for the durability of American institutions and their capacity to absorb the changes of the time. Never perfect, but endlessly perfectible.

I really loved the section of Ben Franklin, with the excerpt from his planner. I’ve already taken to writing a question to myself each morning that’s inspired by the question he asked himself each morning: “what good will I do today?”

A nice book for feeling some patriotism, and for feeling encouraged by our complicated and winding history.

[Kasey Jueds · Rating 5 out of 5]

So hard to choose shelves for this book, or, really, for any of Maira Kalman's work. Her books are so purely HER, and like nothing else I've ever read--surprising and vivid and full of joy and sadness, both at once. Her words and pictures move effortlessly between ideas and worlds--one thought follows another in a way that's both unexpected and absolutely right. I love how surprised I am, over and over, by the way Maira Kalman's mind works, how surprised I am to be entertained and deeply moved again and again by her quirky, beautiful images and quirky, beautiful mind. I love the way her colors seem to jump right off the page. I love the way she humanizes historical figures like Jefferson and Franklin, making them funny and flawed and brilliant and real. I love the odd details she zeroes in on: a tea cup given to Franklin by one of his French women admirers, a slice of pie filled with bright red cherries on a bright red tray. I love the way she weaves back and forth between past and present, history and now, and how much she seems to love both. I love how alive her work is, and how it sparkles.

[Becki Iverson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's amazing how things in life coincide when it's right. I've been on a Maira Kalman kick, and this was the next book in line. It just so happened that I saw Hamilton the week before I started this, and it couldn't have been better timing. This book is like a monthly diary, written / illustrated in the first year of Obama's presidency. Each month covers a different facet of patriotism, American history, civics, and generally exploring what it means to be an American. I enjoyed this so much more than I expected to based on the description. I've been thinking a lot lately about the significance of being born in the U.S., the unearned privileges therefore accorded, the difference between the truth of our country's origins and the current mythology surrounding those origins, etc. This book fit neatly into my thoughts about these issues and the illustrations (lovely as always) bring an extra clarity and joy to that exploration. I left this book feeling so much more hopeful about what is possible, and with lots of creative ideas about mixed media projects.

[Corrie M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Hallelujah for knowledge and for the honor of language and ideas. And books. For Jefferson's glorious library full of Cicero and Spinoza and Aeschylus and Thomas More and books on bees and trees and harpsichords all intact in the Library of Congress."

Hallelujah for Maira Kalman, and her amazing illustrated book about America and Democracy and Happiness. These illustrated essays (they are most assuredly not cartoons) first appeared as a monthly column on the New York Times website.

Maira Kalman first came to my notice when she illustrated "Fireboat", a children's picture book about the John C. Harvey, a retired NYC fireboat that came out of retirement on September 11, 2001. My admiration for her has only grown since. My friend Jessica loves Kalman so much, she wrote her a letter asking her out for a drink the next time she was in the city. "I know she won't respond, but I had to try," she told me. Such is the effect of the great Maira Kalman.

[Bryan Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember anxiously reading several of these entires on Maria's blog, and loving what an unusual, simple but profound tribute to America her writings and art were. That was a more hopeful time, at the beginning of Barack Obama's presidency.

Compiled together in a book, this is extremely powerful in its simplicity. Reading the entires now, during a darker and more dangerous time in our country's history when the lives of so many are at risk, this book takes on a whole new level of meaning. The hope of what our country can- throughout history- be still shines through, and that is everything. And a great comfort during these disturbing times. In a time when our government is led by men who's presence in their office disgrace the greatness of this country, this book is a poignant reminder that the American dream will always win over men such as these and their ideas.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I’ve fallen in love with Abraham Lincoln, too! What a fun, awesome book! And even if you don't think it's fun, it's a super quick read with hundreds of colorful pictures.

I’ve often wondered how America could be such a great idea, but such a dysfunctional reality. Maira Kalman’s whimsical year-long essay on democracy makes me think that we’re not that bad in reality, nor that unattainable in our ideals. It also makes me think I’d like a nice piece of cherry pie (which George Washington probably enjoyed, even though he never actually cut down a cherry tree) complemented by a well-folded napkin (ha! I won’t spoil the napkin thing for you!).

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. I love all of Kalman's works but this was particularly great b/c of how optimistic and community-minded it is. It was written pre-Trump and it's all about politics, history and our founding fathers--and what democracy is (and is not). It's even more profound to read this book now, two years into a Trump presidency, to see how fragile our democracy is. I wish this book was read to children in elementary school. Several times this book made me misty-eyed about what it means to be an American, and a good citizen.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but not really my cup of tea. It reminded me too much of Eat, Pray, Love, just in the sense that the author was incredibly privileged and spent time roaming around doing whatever moved her and then wrote a book about it. Excessively self-indulgent and not terribly insightful. But the paintings sure are pretty. And I enjoyed some snippets.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gorgeous, fun and eclectic graphic tour of significant people and places in early American history, with thoughtful commentary on democracy as well as numerous other random and charming observations. I'm surprised I hadn't encountered Kalman's work previously, as she is quite prolific. I like the insightful way she thinks, and it seems like she'd be fun to hang out with.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved, loved, loved, loved, loved, loved, loved. You may borrow it but you MUST give it back.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cool book (it's kind of like a graphic novel/art book?) I agree with Gwen that this would be an awesome gift, especially for lovers of American history.