This text includes multiple black and white political cartoons by the author, captioned with their titles and original print dates.

1. Memory lane to campaign trail -- 2. Economics and all that stuff -- 3. Heads of state and vice versa -- 4. Frontier town -- 5. Self-government for Americans! -- 6. Goldwaterland -- 7. Cuba, from behind to razor's edge -- 8. War and peace -- 9. Consumers guide to Washington -- 10. The genie and the bottle -- 11. A time for living -- 12. Toys in the attic, the garage, the bureau drawer and other easy-to-reach places -- 13. Feature film... -- 14. ...Newsreel... -- 15. ...And selected short-on-civil-liberties subjects -- 16. Changing world -- 17. Readin' and riotin'... -- 18. ....And religion -- 19. Hot spots -- 20. Code of the hill -- 21. Rich man, poor man -- 22. The march -- 23. Open for postal inspections -- 24. Outline.

"As the ship of state rushes through turbulent seas, the surest way to keep one's footing is to reach for the daily cartoon by Herblock. This has long been the daily practice of Presidents, Senators, Congressmen and millions of the plain citizens who hopefully vote them in and out of office - and Herblock is today the most widely followed, admired, and influential political cartoonist in the country. Straight Herblock is his first book in six years. In it: 456 of his incomparable cartoons; plus an up-to-the-minute, never-before-in-print 37,000-word commentary, whose every sentence proves once again that Herblock the writer is as exciting, vigorous, and startlingly perceptive as Herblock the cartoonist. In these pages, his words and his pictures cut through the political smog and cast a brilliant light by which the reader can clearly see and follow the twists and turns of the political landscape from Capitol Hill to Cuba and Vietnam. Herblock's guided tour offers something for every taste. For the lover of Disneyland, he conjures up an even more fabulous pleasure park: Goldwaterland, featuring the quaint old general store where, with today's salaries in our pockets, we can acquire all the good things of life and Gay Nineties prices. For the connoisseur of cinema - a review in depth of a notable film called "Operation Abolition." For the student of Dante, a select list of candidates (names and full citations) for Herblock's Inferno. For advocates of prayer in the public schools, a meticulously worked out plan for giving the Federal government full control of religious activities in the U.S. For hero-worshippers, notes on a courageous champion of the overdog. For conservatives, a ringing plea that we implement, at last, some basic political tenets of our funding fathers; or, in Herblock's own words, "Government by the people sounds so good, I think we should get it." For people who don't particularly care to think about the Unthinkable, Herblock offers a rich array of magnificently thinkable observations and ideas, fresh and bracing. For everyone concerned with the present state of the union and the future of America and of the world, his book is a tonic and a revelation." -- From the book jacket.