The Devil Made Me Do It by Zapiro

The Devil Made Me Do It (Zapiro's Year 2000 Political Cartoons, First Published)

A Year of South African Politics Skewered in Zapiro's Satirical Cartoons from the Mail & Guardian, Sunday Times and Sowetan

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: The Devil Made Me Do It: Cartoons from Sowetan, Mail & Guardian and Sunday Times
• Author: Zapiro
• Publisher: David Philip Publishers (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town & Johannesburg
• Publication Date: 2000
• ISBN-13: 9780864863690
• ISBN-10: 0864863691
• Edition Details: First published 2000 by David Philip Publishers, softcover release.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated black card wrappers, perfect bound, landscape format.
• Physical Format: Landscape softcover, 160 pages. Black and white cartoons throughout.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Wraps: Black printed card wrappers in landscape format. The spine shows some white creasing and wear along the edges and at the head. Fine white creasing or scuffing along the front hinge edge and light wear to the corners. The back cover is generally clean with slight corner wear.
• Interior: The pages are clean and cream, with no obvious foxing. The binding is tight. A faint smudge is visible along the lower edge of the text block and a small pale mark at the upper left of an early page. No inscriptions, stamps or bookplates.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

The Devil Made Me Do It gathers Zapiro's editorial cartoons from the Mail & Guardian, Sunday Times and Sowetan, taking a satirical look at South African and world events of the year 2000. Published by David Philip in Cape Town and Johannesburg, it belongs to the author's long-running series of annual cartoon collections.

The title cartoon responds to Hansie Cronje, whose remarks in the Sowetan in June 2000 about living a Christian life and letting Satan and the world dictate terms gave the cartoonist a sharp target during the cricket match-fixing saga.

Zapiro regards such collections as a 'third life' for cartoons, turning daily commentary into a historical record. This volume captures the political mood of South Africa in the first years after the Mandela presidency, and is a useful companion for collectors of South African political satire.

Author Profile: Zapiro (Jonathan Shapiro)

Jonathan Shapiro, known as Zapiro, was born in Cape Town on 27 October 1958. He studied architecture at the University of Cape Town, was conscripted into military service and refused to bear arms. He became editorial cartoonist of South in 1987 and later held a Fulbright award at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

He has been editorial cartoonist for the Mail & Guardian since 1994 and the Sunday Times since 1998, and house cartoonist for Daily Maverick since 2017. His honours include the Prins Claus Fund Award (2005) and the MISA Press Freedom Award (2009). Other collections include The Madiba Years (1996), The Hole Truth (1997), The ANC Went in 4x4 (2001) and Bushwhacked (2002).