Précis of the book

Drawing the Days of Blunder and Lightning by James Lynch (2015) is published by Steele Roberts Wellington: http://www.steeleroberts.co.nz.

The book is a unique mixture of semi-autobiography, cartooning art practice, historical commentary and cartoon compendium covering the life, art, times, and cartooning career of Jim Lynch during the period 1980 until 1986. This neatly spanned most of the Muldoon/Lange years and this era of change and tumultuous events is the central theme of the book.

The Muldoon era (from 1975 until 1984) represented years of stagnation, acrimony and unfulfilled promise and by 1980 when Jim began cartooning the country was at a turning point. Between 1980 and 1984 the nation was racked by social unrest and division, including the 1981 springbok tour and constant union troubles, while the Muldoon government struggled to come to grips with internal and external deficits, a faltering economy and rising inflation and unemployment. The Muldoon government seemed anchored in the past, always looking backwards to Britain and Europe, with an out of date vision of where New Zealand should be headed.

The momentous election of 1984 saw the Lange government and Roger Douglas come to power. They proceeded to rapidly sweep away the old economic order, orientate New Zealand towards Asia and the Pacific and forge an independent minded and modern nation which once again became a leader in social and economic thinking. These years were some of the most transformative in New Zealand’s history.

Jim’s commentary and cartoons offer a unique perspective into this tumultuous time from someone who was both a political commentator and an active participant in some of the key events.

See the Cartooning section of this website for full details of Jim’s cartooning career and a gallery of selected cartoons. Jim’s cartooning career is covered in detail in the book.

The book features:

• A brief overview of the history and heritage of cartooning.
• Jim’s early artistic life and what inspired him to try political cartooning
• A brief historical summary of how New Zealand came to a crucial turning point in 1980.
• How Jim became a cartoonist and the tricks of the cartoonists trade that he had to master to become a published contributor.
• The key events of the final years of the third National government led by Robert Muldoon.
• The rise of David Lange and the Labour party.
• The election of the fourth Labour government under David Lange
• The key events in the term of the fourth Labour government and the reforms introduced by Roger Douglas (Rogernomics)
• The downfall of the fourth Labour government and the election of and reforms introduced by Jim Bolger’s fourth National government and Ruth Richardson (Ruthenasia)
• A brief analysis of the impact and scale of these momentous years.

The book is witty and fast paced in style and the middle chapters are illustrated with approximately 100 published cartoons which are used to complement and interpret the insightful and detailed narrative of the times.

Reviews

Following are reviews of the book.

“New Zealand politics in the eighties were exceptionally exciting: think Muldoon, the Springbok tour, the snap election, Rogernomics, and Lange’s nuclear-free policy. In “Drawing the Days of Blunder and Lightning”, Jim Lynch’s original cartoons and commentaries constitute a vivid reminder of a unique and important period in New Zealand history.”

Nigel S. Roberts. Emeritus Professor of Political Science and International Relations programme, Victoria University of Wellington.

“Generally, New Zealand cartoonists have written very little about how their initial interest was stimulated, how the first opportunity came, and the mental and physical process they go through to produce their work. Jim Lynch’s description of his cartooning life is particularly valuable.”

Ian F. Grant. Founder, NZ Cartoon Archive, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington.

Jim Lynch’s new book does us the great service of returning his astutely-observed and hilarious body of work back into print. It’s funny and insightful, and a must for anyone interested in a fascinating and pivotal moment in our history – or in the vocation of political cartooning.

Tim Shoebridge, Historian

Order “Drawing the Days of Blunder and Lightning

You can order “Drawing the Days of Blunder and Lightning either from the Steele Roberts website http://www.steeleroberts.co.nz/ or direct from the author by email link jimeve@xtra.co.nz.