Cartoonists-in-Chief?

Well, not exactly. But the new book Presidential Doodles: Two Centuries of Scribbles, Scratches, Squiggles and Scrawls from the Oval Office presents all kinds of - well, doodles from America's presidents. I learned about this book from a story on National Public Radio's program All Things Considered yesterday; you can listen for yourself here.




In the audio, the authors discuss the oeuvres of several presidents, including Ronald Reagan (top), whom they describe as a "one-time aspiring cartoonist." Some presidents displayed a bit more talent than Reagan, such as Ulysses S. Grant and his horse (upper), while some present work which, as the authors note, seem definite analyst-fodder, such as Lyndon B. Johnson and his bunny, three-headed woman, and, um, ? (lower).

For more information about the book, be sure to visit its official website, which includes the story of the book's genesis, as well as web-extras like a quiz, ecards, on-line presidential resources, and more.




All images from the NPR website, presumably taken from the book.