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book_concierge's review
4.0
Charles M Schulz always wanted to be a cartoonist. From early childhood he displayed an extraordinary gift for drawing and impressed his teachers and friends with his talent. He was just twenty-seven when his comic strip PEANUTS debuted on Oct 2, 1950. For the rest of his life he would be the sole creator of the strip – conceiving, drawing and lettering the daily and Sunday strips without assistants. Stricken with colon cancer and weakened by chemotherapy, he announced his official retirement and the end of the strip in a Sunday comic featuring some of his favorite scenes. That final Sunday strip appeared on Feb 13, 2000 … the morning after he died at age 77.
This is a detailed, well-researched, and balanced biography of a man who was most often described as “shy,” “humble” and “complicated.” Granted full access to family papers, business records, and the memories of those who survived Schulz, Michaelis does a wonderful job of portraying Sparky. The book includes photos of Schulz throughout his life, as well as many of the comic strips, which illustrate how PEANUTS was really Schulz’s autobiography.
The audio book is read by Holter Graham. It is abridged, but still very good. I also had the text hardcover (for the illustrations) and used it to read those sections which were not included in the audio. In addition to the photos and comic strip illustrations, the audio does not include longer background pieces on the people around Schulz. Although the audio version offers a pretty complete picture of Sparky, I recommend reading the full biography.
This is a detailed, well-researched, and balanced biography of a man who was most often described as “shy,” “humble” and “complicated.” Granted full access to family papers, business records, and the memories of those who survived Schulz, Michaelis does a wonderful job of portraying Sparky. The book includes photos of Schulz throughout his life, as well as many of the comic strips, which illustrate how PEANUTS was really Schulz’s autobiography.
The audio book is read by Holter Graham. It is abridged, but still very good. I also had the text hardcover (for the illustrations) and used it to read those sections which were not included in the audio. In addition to the photos and comic strip illustrations, the audio does not include longer background pieces on the people around Schulz. Although the audio version offers a pretty complete picture of Sparky, I recommend reading the full biography.
liann24's review
3.0
An example of a biographer who thinks he is a psychologist. Very biased and negative. I was not swayed. Charles Schulz impacted millions. I hope he was happy with his life.
thukpa's review
3.0
Makes me pay a lot more attention to the daily strips still running in the paper!
littlelady_28's review
5.0
This book was fantastic! It was a very detailed account of Charles Schulz’s life, the good and the bad. Unlike a lot of biographies, it included a lot of dialogue, which really made the story come alive, and I really felt that Michaelis was unbiased in his storytelling. It was also very interesting to learn the background of the strip, and where ideas for the stories and characters came from. It was kind of sad, though, to realize the full extent of the sadness that seemed to plague him his entire life. You sort of get an underlying sense of sadness from reading his comic strips, but I never realized until I read this book how much a part of him it was. This was a very enlightening and enjoyable book and I definitely give it an A+.
alexrobinsonsupergenius's review
2.0
Somewhat depressing, which is to be expected considering this is the creator of PEANUTS, but I was disappointed that his creative side was given little attention in favor of sordid personal details.
nightchough's review
5.0
Perhaps my favorite biography I’ve ever read. The author had a lot of support from the Schulz family and this is a masterful book.
bupdaddy's review
5.0
I've loved Peanuts since I can remember. I really liked Peanuts - the actual comic strip that appeared daily - not the Hallmark cards and movies and countless tv specials (save the original Christmas one). It drives me absolutely bonkers when people talk about what gentle humor it was, and how it was part of a nicer time that is gone today, and talk about it like it was a bunch of precious princess pony fairies.
(Admittedly, it drives me absolutely bonkers whenever anybody talks about Peanuts like they understand it better than I do.)
Schulz started all the subversive "modern" comedy. Without Peanuts, there would be no Simpsons or South Park or Family Guy. There is nothing gentle about a six-year old with an ulcer, or who has to visit a psychiatrist, or a girl who claims authority to kick her brother out of the house. There is something quietly surreal, and missable by people who grew up with all this stuff already established, about a girl running a psychiatric booth like a lemonade stand, and a little kid playing Beethoven on a toy piano with painted-on keys, and a dog who has extended surreal hallucinations about being a fighter pilot. Even when Snoopy first appeared balanced on the roof of his doghouse in an impossible way, it blew people away (because Schulz didn't call attention to it or explain it, he just did it).
Snoopy got gassed in a Viet Nam war protest, people! This was not a quaint, cutesy, staid thing!
Also, I used to draw a (bad, but still thematically related) web comic wherein the two main characters were essentially an adult, married, Charlie Brown and Lucy.
So if you're like me, you're going to love this book, of course. This book, for one, convincingly shows that Lucy was based on, and fueled by, Schulz' first wife (not his eldest daughter, as Schulz hinted), and that Charlie Brown (as well as Schroeder and components of Snoopy) were Schulz himself.
It's a fascinating, well-researched*, and not overly-flattering, but neither sensationalist, portrait of the only comic strip artist anyone will remember in 500 years.
*except that Diet Coke did not exist in 1972.
(Admittedly, it drives me absolutely bonkers whenever anybody talks about Peanuts like they understand it better than I do.)
Schulz started all the subversive "modern" comedy. Without Peanuts, there would be no Simpsons or South Park or Family Guy. There is nothing gentle about a six-year old with an ulcer, or who has to visit a psychiatrist, or a girl who claims authority to kick her brother out of the house. There is something quietly surreal, and missable by people who grew up with all this stuff already established, about a girl running a psychiatric booth like a lemonade stand, and a little kid playing Beethoven on a toy piano with painted-on keys, and a dog who has extended surreal hallucinations about being a fighter pilot. Even when Snoopy first appeared balanced on the roof of his doghouse in an impossible way, it blew people away (because Schulz didn't call attention to it or explain it, he just did it).
Snoopy got gassed in a Viet Nam war protest, people! This was not a quaint, cutesy, staid thing!
Also, I used to draw a (bad, but still thematically related) web comic wherein the two main characters were essentially an adult, married, Charlie Brown and Lucy.
So if you're like me, you're going to love this book, of course. This book, for one, convincingly shows that Lucy was based on, and fueled by, Schulz' first wife (not his eldest daughter, as Schulz hinted), and that Charlie Brown (as well as Schroeder and components of Snoopy) were Schulz himself.
It's a fascinating, well-researched*, and not overly-flattering, but neither sensationalist, portrait of the only comic strip artist anyone will remember in 500 years.
*except that Diet Coke did not exist in 1972.
meghan111's review
3.0
It's not that fun to read a book about a man who, while enormously successful, is never very happy. The success of Peanuts and Schulz in the context of the 1950s and 1960s, when a strip like that had never been done before, and in later years, when Schulz pioneered the merchandising of cartoon characters into products, never really seemed to affect Schulz's view of himself and his work. Michaelis does an excellent job of describing Schulz's early life in a way that lets you see how he could never enjoy his success in certain ways. Also, the use of selected Peanuts strips to illustrate his analysis is done very well.
scheu's review
4.0
A fascinating look at an American creative genius. I'm not the sort of person who has illusions of the perfection of one's idols, so the revelations of Schulz's depression and infidelity don't impact my love of Peanuts. (admittedly I would never have known that Schulz's personal life was at times intentionally reflected in the daily strip!) You'll also learn the origins of the Peanuts marketing juggernaut. Good times. Now if Mark Evanier's bio of Jack Kirby would show up ...