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An impressive compilation of quotations.
Since the 1960s, little has been done about the man and his writings.
Now we have 260 pages of stories, editorials, articles, society
notes, and cartoons by this master of the written word.
— Alberta History, Winter 2005
chres·tom·a·thy
(kre-stúhm-uh-thi) n. A selection of literary
passages by one author.
Bob Edwards, the Great White North’s
equivalent to
H. L. Mencken, remains a
singular figure in Canadian journalism. His newspapers, published
in Wetaskiwin, Leduc, High River, Strathcona, Winnipeg, Port Arthur,
and most famously Calgary, skewered politics, society, and business
leaders with a fearlessness and outrageousness rarely seen then,
now, or in between.
[Bob Edwards was] the finest journalist Canada has ever had the pleasure of reading.
—Allan Fotheringham, Macleans
As editor James Martin points out in his illuminating introduction, Bob Edwards seems more modern the farther back in history he recedes; he was the granddaddy of Gonzo Journalism à la Hunter S. Thompson, a freewheeling cultural critic in the spirit of Lester Bangs, a pioneer of satirical reform as evidenced in Frank magazine, and a spoofer of the po-faced reporting of his day in precisely the same way that The Onion is now.
Irresponsible Freaks, Highball Guzzlers and Unabashed Grafters features mountains of Edwards's superb aphorisms, a generous helping of his longer and lesser-known works, and some choice items which have never before seen print, as well as miraculous archival discoveries and many cartoons from Edwards's celebrated Eye Opener. It is a welcome addition to the Bob Edwards canon for those who thought they knew everything about him, and an eye-opening introduction to the uninitiated: "He was writing this stuff a hundred years ago!?"
The irresponsible freaks, highball guzzlers and unabashed grafters who have been ruling the roost in Ottawa for so long are at last within measurable distance of their finish. The soup vats are ready.
— Eye Opener, January 2, 1903
You might also enjoy Eye
Opener Bob: The Story of Bob Edwards.
This book
is printed on ancient
forest-friendly paper.
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