Karl Kae Knecht's name is synonymous with the city of Evansville. As editorial cartoonist for the Evansville Courier, he amused readers and spurred them to a higher social good. He mocked the Axis powers and kept local morale high during World War II and commented daily on issues from the Great Depression to the Space Race. He also worked tirelessly as a civic booster. Knecht helped establish Evansville College and was almost single-handedly responsible for the establishment of Mesker Park Zoo. In this absorbing account, illustrated with over seventy cartoons, University of Evansville historian James Lachlan MacLeod tells the fascinating story of Knecht's life and analyzes his cartooning genius.
James L. MacLeod was educated at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He taught history and British studies at Harlaxton College from 1994 to 1999, and since 1999 has been a member of the history department at the University of Evansville. He conducts research and teaches courses in European history and the two world wars and lectures frequently on the history of editorial cartoons. He is the author of two books: The Second Disruption (2000) and Evansville in World War II (2015). He has written many other scholarly publications and in 2016 coproduced a two-part documentary for WNIN Public Television on Evansville in World War II. Dr. MacLeod has published thousands of editorial cartoons, most of them in the Evansville Courier and Press.