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* ( )

Schulz and Peanuts is biography of Charles Schulz by David Michaelis. It is the story about a cartoonist who created one of the best loved cartoon strip read weekly by millions of people and earned him millions of dollars each year.

Shultz, whose nick name was Sparky, knew that he wanted to be a cartoonist from the very beginning. He would spend hours drawing and constantly comparing his drawings with the best in the trade. His family really couldn’t understand his fascination with comics and his father who had his own business as a barber didn’t see how he could ever make a living. But his mother was his protector against the world that seemed to always treat him like an outsider. He didn’t have many friends because he was not considered attractive and, therefore, he was bashful and always appeared dumb. But the truth was that he was very intelligent but always feared criticism. This caused him to be bashful and self-conscientious. His motto was “that it is good not to talk too much or others would think you are bragging and expose yourself to criticism”. He put caution and humility above self-confidence. He did not like to expose his feelings to the public except through his comic strip. It was sort of therapy for him to say things or express certain thoughts that he would never say in public. Even during the break up of his first marriage to Joyce, no one knew of his discontent but could have read his comic strip to see his difficulty with Lucy who was continuously berating him publicly and privately. Joyce, like Lucy, was a take control person who was used to getting her way and made good use of the millions of dollars that he made every year. Then Schulz met Jeannie and he walked away from the continuous conflict that he experienced at home and started a new life at the age of fifty. Jeannie was only thirty-four. She was a person who gave him the freedom to express himself without criticism and constantly gave him the approval that he always desired.

Sparky lived a full life of success that most of us dream about but in the end he was not a happy person. He died February 13, 2000 from colon cancer and complications from a blood clot in his leg. When he died so did Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy, Linus, and the rest of the gang. Right at the end, Sparky said “you know, that poor kid, he never even got to kick the football. What a dirty trick-he never had a chance to kick the football.” He died believing that he never truly succeeded.

I found the book very interesting because it included many of his comic strips that describe what Sparky was experiencing at each stage of his life. It is over 500 pages about the life and times of person I have always admired. I imagine we all grew up reading Peanuts and seeing a little of ourselves in these characters. It was a good read and I would recommend it.