Whether poet, politician, homemaker, or diplomat, with wise and wicked words, these women take aim and always hit their mark.

It’s no secret that most New Yorker readers flip through the magazine to look at the cartoons before they ever lay eyes on a word of the text. But what isn’t generally known is that over the decades a growing cadre of women artists have contributed to the witty, memorable cartoons that readers look forward to each week. Now Liza Donnelly, herself a renowned cartoonist with the New Yorker for more than twenty years, has written this wonderful, in-depth celebration of women cartoonists who have graced the pages of the famous magazine from the Roaring Twenties to the present day. An anthology of funny, poignant, and entertaining cartoons, biographical sketches, and social history all in one, VeryFunny Ladies offers a unique slant on 20th-century and early 21st-century America through the humorous perspectives of the talented women who have captured in pictures and captions many of the key social issues of their time. As someone who understands firsthand the cartoonist’s art, Donnelly is in a position to offer distinctive insights on the creative process, the relationships between artists and editors, what it means to be a female cartoonist, and the personalities of the other New Yorker women cartoonists, whom she has known over the years. Very Funny Ladies reveals never-before-published material from The New Yorker archives, including correspondence from Harold Ross, Katharine White, and many others. This book is history of the women of the past who drew cartoons and a celebration of the recent explosion of new talent from cartoonists who are women. Donnelly interviewed many of the living female cartoonists and some of their male counterparts: Roz Chast, Liana Finck, Amy Hwang, Victoria Roberts, Sam Gross, Lee Lorenz, Michael Maslin, Frank Modell, Bob Weber, as well as editors and writers such as David Remnick, Roger Angell, Lee Lorenz, Harriet Walden (legendary editor Harold Ross’s secretary). The New Yorker Senior Editor David Remnick and Cartoon Editor Emma Allen contributed an insightful foreword. Combining a wealth of information with an engaging and charming narrative, plus more than seventy cartoons, along with photographs and self-portraits of the cartoonists, Very Funny Ladies beautifully portrays the art and contributions of the brilliant female cartoonists in America’s greatest magazine.

Where do women find inspiration' Often in the words of those who've been there. From creativity to careers, relationships to success, Sassy Wit from Savvy Women provides a collection of quotes, one-liners, and colorful anecdotes that showcase the best and brightest female minds. Sassy Wit isn't just about inspiration, however. This book has attitude with a capital A. I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn't itch. -Gilda RadnerI love the male body, it's better designed than the male mind. -Andrea NewmanIf you do things well, do them better. Be daring, be first, be different, be just. -Anita Roddick The gutsy, no-holds-barred tone creates a keepsake that's certain to make readers laugh, cry, and identify.

Where do women find inspiration? Often in the words of those who've been there. From creativity to careers, relationships to success, Witty Words from Wise Women provides a collection of quotes, one-liners, and colorful anecdotes that showcase the best and brightest female minds. Witty Words isn't just about inspiration, however. This book has attitude with a capital "A." "I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn't itch." -Gilda Radner "I love the male body, it's better designed than the male mind." -Andrea Newman "If you do things well, do them better. Be daring, be first, be different, be just." -Anita Roddick The gutsy, no-holds-barred tone creates a keepsake that's certain to make readers laugh, cry, and identify.

Published by Viking in 1991 and issued as a paperback through Penguin Books in 1992, Snow White became an instant classic for both academic and general audiences interested in how women use humor and what others (men) think about funny women. Barreca, who draws on the work of scholars, writers, and comedians to illuminate a sharp critique of the gender-specific aspects of humor, provides laughs and provokes arguments as she shows how humor helps women break rules and occupy center stage. Barreca's new introduction provides a funny and fierce, up-to-the-minute account of the fate of women's humor over the past twenty years, mapping what has changed in our culture--and questioning what hasn't.