Most Popular Books by Ted Rall

Real Estate Billionaire. Reality TV star. President? Donald Trump inherited a fortune from his father. But he wanted more. Shrewd and indefatigable, he never missed an opportunity to expand his holdings. He transformed himself into an international brand. He marketed his personality into a product. He built an empire. But that wasn’t enough. He wanted to be President, and he was willing to do and say whatever it took. Donald Trump, who never held political office, pulled off his ultimate acquisition: the hostile takeover of the Republican Party. Everyone was shocked — except those who knew him.

Now a NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, Bernie is the must-have guidebook to the Bernie Sanders campaign -- and the uncompromising candidate behind it. Insightful, funny, and accessible, this biography-in-graphic-novel-form of the presidential candidate explains both his early life and political rise, but also shows the broader political shift that made it possible for a Jewish socialist to rally voters and become a real presidential contender. Political cartoonist and Kennedy Award winner Ted Rall interviewed Bernie Sanders at length for this book and delved deep into his background to create this one-of-a-kind biography. Sanders'' upbringing in a struggling working-class family in a hardscrabble section of Brooklyn during the 1950s taught him that poverty is a disease, one that affects us all. Incredibly, the lessons he learned back then are revolutionizing the political process this year, marking the resurgence of political progressivism on the left at the same time as the two-party system seems to be on the way out. From McGovern’s 1972 loss to Nixon to the Occupy movement, Rall shows readers exactly how the American public was primed to embrace a socialist calling for a political revolution. Twice the winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Rall is a political cartoonist, opinion columnist, graphic novelist and occasional war correspondent whose work has appeared in hundreds of publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Village Voice, and Los Angeles Times. He is the illustrator of the full-length comic in Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps, written by Greg Palast, and the author of After We Kill You, We Will Welcome You Back as Honored Guests among many other books. www.tedrall.com

Part graphic novel travelogue, part tongue-in-cheek travel guide, this collection gathers the adventures of caustic cartoonist Ted Rall in the wild and woolly central Asian countries, a veritable powder keg sitting atop the oil the world will need tomorrow. The book combines articles with comics in chapters that relate Rall''s experiences retracing the legendary Silk Road, from the sublime history of China to the absurdity of the present-day petty dictatorships of the "The ''Stans," to which the author had the temerity—or perhaps stupidity—to return, including once with a group of listeners on his radio show, on a dare. This always-lively compendium offers readers an exotic adventure, satire, and a fun way to find out more about an often overlooked part of the world that looms in importance with its immense, and immensely coveted, reserves of oil.

Introduction by Bill Maher. When U.S. bombs started raining on the Taliban, Rall jumped on a plane straight to the war zone to get the real story for himself. Featuring his Village Voice articles and a graphic novel.

As many as 1.4 million citizens with security clearance saw some or all of the same documents revealed by Edward Snowden. Why did he, and no one else, decide to step forward and take on the risks associated with becoming a whistleblower and then a fugitive? Rall delves into Snowden''s early life and work experience, his personality, and the larger issues of privacy, new surveillance technologies, and the recent history of government intrusion. Rall describes Snowden''s political vision and hopes for the future. In a way, the book tells two stories: Snowden''s and a larger one that describes all of us on the threshold of tremendous technological upheaval and political change. Snowden is a portrait of a brave young man standing up to the most powerful government in the world and, if not winning, at least reaching a stand-off, and in this way is an incitation to us all to measure our courage and listen to our consciences in asking ourselves what we might have done in his shoes.

Culminating his bestselling series of graphic biographies (Snowden, New York Times Graphic Books Bestseller Bernie, and Trump), Ted Rall''s Pope Francis presents the life, ideas, and political impact of the most progressive spiritual leader the world''s Roman Catholics have had since Jesus Christ himself. And just in time too! Can a reformer, working within an established, conservative, bureaucratic institution make real change? Usually, radical thinker and political cartoonist Ted Rall would be among the first to shout "hell no." But Rall believes that Pope Francis may be the one notable exception. By expressing sympathy and outrage on behalf of the poor and hungry, solidarity with same sex couples, and righteous anger against the world''s banks'' use of capital to gain profit at the expense of local communities and on the backs of the middle class, Pope Francis may have already changed the tone and substance of the conversation, Rail believes. As the world''s governments persist in ignoring global warming, and exporting war and suffering, Rall considers Pope Francis to be the one world leader who might be able to encourage and inspire a new populism to turn the tide. Raised Roman Catholic himself, Ted Rall is able to bring depth to his latest graphic biography as perhaps no other writer or comics artist could. Rall''s art is always attuned to the human comedy, his protagonists funny at the same time as they provide a serious account of some of the most pressing issues and struggles of our times.

How did a charismatic young president elected in an atmosphere of optimism and expectation lead the United States to the brink of revolution? From a chance encounter in the early 1980s to the Democratic primaries of 2007-08, syndicated columnist and political cartoonist Ted Rall was one of the first to size up Barack Obama as we know him now: conservative, risk-averse and tonedeaf. In The Book of Obama Rall revisits the rapid rise and dizzying fall of Obama--and the emergence of the Tea Party and Occupy movements--and draws a startling conclusion: We the People weren''t lied to. We lied to ourselves, both about Obama and the two-party system. We voted when we ought to have revolted.

A hilarious compilation of true stories as related to the author. From a lamefully botched stick-up to selling seriously bad acid, to putting away a bileful relative in a funny farm, you won''t believe some of the outrageous - or pathetic- things we all do and get away with!

Formerly titled Kill Your Parents Before They Kill You, Revenge of the Latchkey Kids is an illustrated manifesto for surviving the 90s and beyond, with 24 chapters of edgy insight, personal histories, advice, and cartoons.

Ted Rall''s latest is a no-holds-barred look at the civil war raging within the Democratic Party in the graphic style of his national bestseller, Bernie. There''s a split in the Democratic Party. Progressives are surging with ideas and candidates like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 72 percent of Democratic voters are progressives. But centrists like Tom Perez and the Clintons still run the DNC party apparatus--and they don''t want to compromise. Intraparty warfare exploded into the open in 2016. It''s even bigger now. The struggle goes back decades, to the New Left and the election of Richard Nixon over George McGovern. It continued with the Democratic establishment''s quashing of insurgent progressives like Jesse Jackson, Ralph Nader and Howard Dean. The vast scale of the DNC''s secret conspiracy to stop Bernie Sanders in 2016 nomination came out courtesy of WikiLeaks. Will Democrats again become the party of the working person? Or will the corporatists win and continue their domination of electoral politics? Ted Rall gets to the bottom of the story neither the Democrats nor the Republicans want you to know: how the civil war in the Democratic Party poses an existential threat to the two-party system.

Move forward two decades and see the world where giant media moguls and software corporations have become our big brothers. They want the best for us. They know what''s best for us. And what is best for us we have chosen ourselves, to be a consumer heaven with no questions asked. A terrifying future where the past doesn''t matter and no one cares. Ted Rall updates and spoofs 1984 in a scathing look at where we could be heading. His best and most chillingly funny work to date.

In arguably the most radical book published in decades, cartoonist/columnist Ted Rall has produced the book he was always meant to write: a new manifesto for an America heading toward economic and political collapse. While others mourn the damage to the postmodern American capitalist system created by the recent global economic collapse, Rall sees an opportunity. As millions of people lose their jobs and their homes, they and millions more are opening their minds to the possibility of creating a radically different form of government and economic infrastructure. But there are dangers. As in Russia in 1991, criminals and right-wing extremists are best prepared to fill the power vacuum from a collapsing United States. The best way to stop them, Rall argues, is not collapse—but revolution. Not by other people, but by us. Not in the future, but now. While it''s still possible.

Here''s a new turn for the controversial cartoonist and commentator Ted Rall. Not only is this autobiographical but he has paired up with the acclaimed artist of Bluesman and The Castaways for fully painted art. It''s the eighties and Ted is in college in New York City and slipping. His pranks, lack of focus and restlessness get him kicked out of school. Unable to find a job, rejected by his parents, he''s on the verge of suicide. Instead he finds comfort in the arms of many women he meets casually and puts up a front for. Hey, better than being homeless and begging, but then... is it? It may sound like an ideal grift but the toll is much higher than one may imagine. Between acidly funny and disturbingly real, Rall, a cartoonist whose work has alienated half the world, pours out his guts on a hard turning point in his life. Callejo adopts a new fully painted color style for this work, showing his versatility.

Ripped from the headlines, Meet the Deplorables: Infiltrating Trump America ventures deep into Red State territory and explores the current shape of our divided country, providing a fresh, first-hand perspective of right-wing subcultures and the mindsets of the so-called “deplorables” who helped propel Donald J. Trump to the Oval Office. In his inimitable Gonzo-style, infiltration journalist HARMON LEON—whose stories have appeared in VICE, Esquire, The Nation, and National Geographic—dons a variety of disguises and goes undercover into the heart of Trump America where his exploits include canvassing door-to-door as a Trump supporter, hanging out with Trump fanatics as they receive free Donald tattoos, demonstrating how easy it is to purchase an assault weapon on Facebook, visiting an anti-Muslim hate group on the same day as a mass shooting, spending time with anti-choice protesters in front of Planned Parenthood, joining a conversion therapy group that tries to “turn” gay men straight, and many, many more. Adding an innovative extra dimension to the book, two-time winner of the RFK Journalism Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist TED RALL enhances the carefully crafted narrative—and connects Leon''s audacious accounts to the greater Trump phenomena—with his own distinctive full-color cartoons and insightful analysis, including a poignant epilogue. A necessary read in the time of Trump, this unique collaboration by the formidable team of Harmon Leon and Ted Rall holds up a mirror to modern conservative life and reflects a reality that is outrageous, entertaining, and always illuminating.

Rall is back recounting his junior-high years at the hadns of a merciless bully who just wouldn''t let up. Ted, now a strapping fella over 6 feet happily lost in the Big Apple, was a wimpy egghead trapped in the middle of Nowheresville, Heartland USA back then, and hated it with a passion. This no-holds-barred recollection begs the question: was his attitude so snotty that he deserved the abuse?

In a world of shrinking budgets, can a veteran war correspondent survive? Mark Scribner faces layoffs and irrelevance. His hard-won knowledge could save his career, but at a cost. He must embrace social media and abandon everything he values. Can Mark navigate the cynical twists of the digital age? Will he find wealth and fame, or lose his soul in the process? Perfect for readers interested in journalism, media ethics, and the impact of social media. A gripping graphic novel exploring the changing landscape of news.

An unflinching account—in words and pictures—of America''s longest war by our most outspoken graphic journalist Ted Rall traveled deep into Afghanistan—without embedding himself with U.S. soldiers, without insulating himself with flak jackets and armored SUVs—where no one else would go (except, of course, Afghans). He made two long trips: the first in the wake of 9/11, and the next ten years later to see what a decade of U.S. occupation had wrought. On the first trip, he shouted his dispatches into a satellite phone provided by a Los Angeles radio station, attempting to explain that the booming in the background—and sometimes the foreground—were the sounds of an all-out war that no one at home would entirely own up to. Ten years later, the alternative newspapers and radio station that had financed his first trip could no longer afford to send him into harm''s way, so he turned to Kickstarter to fund a groundbreaking effort to publish online a real-time blog of graphic journalism (essentially, a nonfiction comic) documenting what was really happening on the ground, filed daily by satellite. The result of this intrepid reporting is After We Kill You, We Will Welcome You Back as Honored Guests—a singular account of one determined journalist''s effort to bring the realities of life in twenty-first-century Afghanistan to the world in the best way he knows how: a mix of travelogue, photography, and award-winning comics.

At first glance, the United States invasion of Afghanistan seemed like an obvious response to the horrifying attacks of September 11th, 2001. Now, as America remains threatened by Al Qaeda and Afghanistan has disintegrated into the bloodshed of renewed civil war, the occupation looks like a disaster. But fighting terrorism wasn’t the real goal of the Afghan war. Picking up where his groundbreaking travelogue To Afghanistan and Back left off, Ted Rall’s extensive research reveals the truth behind the spin and the new dangers we face as a result.