I have always identified with Charlie Brown. Somehow Charles Schulz had gotten into my head and put my life into his comic strip. Not surprisingly David Michaelis found this to be a common reaction to the Peanuts strip among many people that he talked with, in preparation for this book.

Charles Schulz was given the nickname Sparky, in infancy, after the racehorse character in the Barney Google comic strip. The comics page in the newspapers of the early 20th century served some of the same purposes as television does today, adventure series ran in installments, comedy was served up daily. The comics were discussed around the office water cooler like he latest Seinfeld episode, or whatever it is people talk about now.



Amazingly, Sparky Schulz determined that he would be a cartoonist at the age of 6. He was a shy withdrawn child, preferring to draw pictures rather than participate in the rogh and tmble play of the neighborhood children. Then again he formed and managed his own sandlot baseball team. Just like Charlie Brown.

There has been some negative reaction from the Schulz family to the conclusions that Michaelis has drawn. Family members object to his assertion that Schulz suffered from depression, feelings of inadequacy, agoraphobia. Yet Michaelis uses the Peanuts strips to illustrate his points. Certainly Charlie Brown believes that no one likes him, despite his good nature, intelligence and willingness to pitch in and help the other characters.

According to Michaelis, Schulz peopled his strip with representation of those in his daily life. Lucy as his first wife, Joyce Halverson; the little red haired girl as Donna Johnson, the woman who rejected his proposal; Snoopy, Schulz's fantasy life. He carefully inserts strips from Schulz's 50 years of work to illustrate each point. Schroeder, the unrecognized genius, another aspect of Schulz, yet he was always surprised when people complimented his work.

I found the small type, and particularly the speech balloons of the greatly reduced comic strips, shrunk to fit the page of a standard hardcover book, to be difficult to read. I will be wandering over to the large print section sooner than I thought. I persevered, however and, using a magnifying glass to read the strips, I was able to watch, as Schulz aged, a tremor appear and grow in his drawing hand. And I was able to watch as Schulz learned to master, and use that tremor to enhance, rather than detract from, the quality of the drawing.

In the end Schulz, as he was dying of colon cancer, was saddened that Charlie Brown never got to kick the football. I was more than ever convinced that Sparky Schulz had been reading my mind and putting my thoughts into Charlie Brown's speech balloons.

I'll Never Forget The Day I Read A Book!

I'm always hesitant to read biographies of people I admire, afraid of risking becoming disenchanted with a hero. I knew before reading Michaelis' work that Schulz was a conflicted man, but aren't we all? The Schulz family's disputes with Michaelis over the portayal of their father are probaly partially founded, but I can only imagine it's difficult to see someone so close to your heart in an objective light. I walked away from this read still loving Sparky Schulz and seeing new layers of richness to the Peanuts strip that I hadn't before. Schulz said that he never intended Peanuts as a strip for children and revisiting them as an adult opens them in a whole new way to me. Cheers to Sparky and long live the WW1 Flying Ace! ( )

Read 2/28-3/15/09

Synopsis: An extremely well researched and in depth account of Snoopy & Charlie Brown's creator. The book begins with the marriage of Charles Schulz parents, and continues through his childhood, military career, Art Institute career, fame, marriages, and up to his death in 2000. "Sparky" Schulz always wanted to be a cartoonist. He went through many rejections and setbacks on his road to Peanuts. His mother died when he was 20, leaving deep scars. He was anxious, depressed, and felt misunderstood all of his life. He revolutionized the cartoon industry with his simplistic, big-headed children in his strip "Lil Folk," later changed to "Peanuts" - a name he always hated. The Peanuts gang later became one of the most recognized and popular cartoon characters in the world, making Schulz rich, but not any happier.

Pros & Cons: This book took me FOREVER to get through. There is so much information and detail, including addresses of Schulz's former homes, relatives and in-law names and relationships, Sparky's thoughts and feelings, and strip samples to add to a point that Michaelis was trying to make. If there is a flaw, that is it - too much detail. The author never met Schulz, but was able to gain access to his personal papers, and interviews with family and business acquaintances shortly after Schuz's death. Some of the information did not seem pertinent to the life of the cartoonist and made the book drag along. Recommended for those who are true Peanuts fans or those who enjoy a well detailed biography. ( )

I grew up with Charles M. Schulz. His Peanuts strip had already been in newspapers for over a dozen years by the time I was born, and some of the earliest books I can ever remember reading on my own were the paperback comic strip compilations and Happiness is a Warm Puppy, which were so popular in the late 1960s. Schulz, who died in 2000 less than a day from the publication of the very last original Peanuts strip, provided an environment that was a mixture of "cute and safe" and "bitingly satirical" at the same time. Thus, it was with some trepidation that I read this new Schulz biography, having seen reviews that indicated the Schulz family was shocked at the portrait of Schulz that this book painted. Overall, I'd have to say this is an excellent biography, that goes a long way towards explaining Schulz' psychology and how he created such a lasting cultural contribution. At the same time however, it is somewhat disheartening to learn of Schulz' personal failings (affairs, distance from his children), and emotional problems (to his dying day he believed people didn't love him). Still, despite the shattering of his "kindly grandfather" image, I found this to be an engrossing read. If you can handle the unvarnished truth about an American icon, this book will help you understand Schulz, the brilliant but flawed man, and Peanuts, the timeless comic strip. ( )

I’ll never look at a Peanuts comic strip in the same way.

I have to admit it took me 5-1/2 months to pound my way through this book. I really enjoyed the beginning of his career with the Art Institute in Minneapolis. I struggled with the beginning of his marriage and put the book down. I carried it with me when I traveled, had it by my bedside and brought it with me to the beach. I just could not get any more pages behind me for the longest of time.

I really do not like to start another book until I have finished the one I am reading.

Anyways, I picked the book back up last week and knocked out the rest of the book. I’ll walk away from this book knowing that Charles Schulz was not the man I thought him to be. That he played hockey well into his years and got a hole in one. I’ll know that he played out his desires, his needs, his questions and his life in his comic strip regardless of how much he publically denied this.

*WOW NOTE: repeat of The Office just referenced Charlie Brown *

I’ve always enjoyed A Charlie Brown Christmas and I really can’t wait to see it again this winter.

Overall, I enjoyed this book despite how poorly put together this review is …

*good grief* ( )