The Art Of Rube Goldberg

Welcome to the world of that archetypal American, Reuben Lucius Goldberg, the dean of American cartoonists for most of the twentieth century. For more than sixty-five years, Rube Goldberg's syndicated cartoons -- he produced more than fifty strips -- appeared in as many as a thousand newspapers annually He was earning a hundred thousand dollars a year...in 1915. He wrote hit songs and stories and was, in succession, a star in vaudeville, motion pictures, newsreels, radio, and, finally, television. He even, at the age of eighty, began an entirely new career as a sculptor, and, in inimitable Goldberg fashion, was soon selling his work to galleries, collectors, and museums all over the world. Sure, Rube won the Pulitzer Prize. Every yearsomecartoonist wins the Pulitzer Prize. But the National Cartoonists Societynamedits award -- the Reuben -- after you-know-who. But it was Rube's "Inventions," those drawings of intricate and whimsical machines, that earned Rube his very own entry inWebster's New World Dictionary: Rube Goldberg...adjective...Designating any very complicated invention, machine, scheme, etc. laboriously contrived to perform a seemingly simple operation. "Inventions," even the earliest ones that date from 1914, are still being republished and recycled today as they have been over the last eighty-five years. New generations rediscover and enjoy them every day, even though their creator cleaned his pens, put the cap on his bottle of Higgins Black India Ink, and cleared his drawing board for the last time almost thirty years ago. The inventions inspired the National Rube Goldberg™ Machine Contest, held annually at Purdue University, an "Olympics of complexity" in which hundreds of engineering students from American universities and colleges -- and even middle and high schools -- compete to build and run Rube Goldberg invention machines that perform, in twenty or more steps, the annual challenge. In 1970 the Smithsonian Institution hosted a show honoring Rube Goldberg's lifework. In a life filled with superlatives, it hardly needs mentioning that Rube is the only living cartoonist and humorist to have been so honored. In his speech at the show's opening, Rube said, "Many of the younger generation know my name in a vague way and connect it with grotesque inventions, but don't believe that I ever existed as a person. They think I am a nonperson, just a name that signifies a tangled web of pipes or wires or strings that suggest machinery. My name to them is like spiral staircase, veal cutlets, barber's itch -- terms that give you an immediate picture of what they mean..." So welcome to a collection of spiral staircases and veal cutlets -- to the inventions of an American original, a creative genius named Rube Goldberg.

Discover how Rube Goldberg followed his dreams to become an award-winning cartoonist, inventor, and even an adjective in the dictionary in this inspiring and funny biographical picture book. Want to become an award-winning cartoonist and inventor? Follow your dreams, just like Rube Goldberg! From a young age, Rube Goldberg had a talent for art. But his father, a German immigrant, wanted Rube to have a secure job. So, Rube went to college and became an engineer. But Rube didn’t want to spend his life mapping sewer pipes. He wanted to follow his passion, so Rube got a low-level job at a newspaper, and from there, he worked his way up, creating cartoons that made people laugh and tickled the imagination. He became known for his fantastic Rube Goldberg machines—complicated contraptions with many parts that performed a simple task in an elaborate and farfetched way. Eventually, his cartoons earned him a Pulitzer Prize and his own adjective in the dictionary. This moving biography is sure to encourage young artists and inventors to pursue their passions.

If Rube’s inventions are any indication, “normal” means something very different in the Goldberg household. For Rube, up is down, in is out, and the simplest path to accomplishing an everyday task—like brushing his teeth or getting dressed—is a humorously complicated one. Follow Rube as he sets out on a typical school day, overcomplicating each and every step from the time he wakes up in the morning until the time he goes to bed at night. This book features fourteen inventions, each depicting an interactive sequence whose purpose is to help Rube accomplish mundane daily tasks: a simple way to get ready for school, to make breakfast, to do his homework, and so much more.

A collection of more than 90 humorous inventions which have appeared in the author's cartoons during his career.

The hilarious first book in an all-new illustrated middle-grade series starring young inventor Rube Goldberg—now in paperback Grab a wrench, flip a switch, and get ready to spring into this all-new, sidesplitting illustrated series featuring a young master of machines—Rube Goldberg! With summer gone too quickly, Rube must finally face what he’s been dreading all vacation: middle school! He’s not ready for new classes, new people, new everything—and it’s really taking a toll on him. With his anxieties in full gear, all Rube wants to do is do what he does best: invent! When Principal Kim announces that the school is going to throw a Contraption Convention—Con Con—Rube is ready to show off his skills and get out of his funk! But things just can’t seem to go right for Rube: He gets banned from Con Con, his friendships are strained, and weird, ghostly incidents begin to throw the town into total chaos. But Rube has a big solution to every little problem, and he’s ready to get back on track, solve the ghostly mystery, and come up with something brilliant before it’s time to face the judging table!

A “generously illustrated and well-designed appreciation” of the Pulitzer Prize–winning illustrator, with an introduction by New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik.(The New York Times) Cartoonist, humorist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor, Rube Goldberg wrote and illustrated nearly 50,000 cartoon in his seventy-two-year career. Goldberg (1883–1970) was the most famous cartoonist of his time, best known for his comical inventions, which were syndicated in daily newspapers throughout the world. Author Jennifer George celebrates all aspects of her grandfather’s career, from his very first published drawings in his high school newspaper and college yearbook to his iconic inventions, his comic strips and advertising work, and his later sculpture and Pulitzer Prize–winning political cartoons. Also included are essays from such writers and comic historians as Adam Gopnik, Al Jaffee, Carl Linich, Peter Meresca, Paul Tumey and Brian Walker, as well as rare photographs, letters, memorabilia, and patents, many reproduced here for the first time. Brilliantly designed and packaged to capture the inventiveness of Rube Goldberg’s work, The Art of Rube Goldberg is a coffee table book the whole family can enjoy. “Goldberg’s cartoons touch the edge of modern art.” —Adam Gopnik “There will likely never be another Rube Goldberg. Fortunately, his granddaughter’s wonderful book ensures that we’ll always remember this one-of-a-kind cartooning legend.” ―The Washington Times

Rube Goldberg's classic 'Foolish Questions' collection.