Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination

Very engaging and even-handed biography of the man responsible for several generations' earliest memories of reading. I read another Geisel biography at least twenty years ago that clearly had Audrey Geisel's oversight; this one did a much more complete job of showing you the positive and negative aspects of a complex human being. While he wasn't a saint (by any means - and Jones treats the darkest aspects of Geisel's story very sensitively, and with care), I came away with a fair amount of respect for someone who developed into a real perfectionist and something of a philosopher, finding true success at writing for children - whom he empathized with, but didn't actually like very much - well into his forties. If nothing else, the show more biography really made me want to read the early Dr. Seuss books I didn't recognize, such as Scrambled Eggs Super and On Beyond Zebra, many of which have turned out to be just as charming as the more famous Cat in the Hat, Grinch, and Lorax. show less

I remember reading many Dr. Seuss books when younger and more recently reading them to my nephew. Despite that, I didn't know much about the man behind them beyond his name. As I read this, I found things to admire about the man and things I didn't admire so much. In the end, it left me a little disappointed in the man.

Oddly enough, I didn't realize cancer had played a role in his life until I read this book--and a head and neck cancer at that!

What I liked:

Learning that he struggled with his creations gave me hope. He worked hard to create the final products that we saw. He would discard or throw out things that he didn't feel were working. He refused to compromise on his standards. Considering how much I struggle with writing, it was show more nice to see that it didn't always come easily to him either.

He believed in writing to people rather than writing down at people. He managed to change the world of children's literature.

He produced many memorable stories and characters. Many still endure to this day.

He did mentor some authors and artists. I also remember reading the Berensteins and P. B. Eastman--two authors who published in the same department as Seuss's books.

How he and Helen worked as a team for so many years--complementing each other. It was something different than what he had with Audrey.

What I didn't like:

He could be difficult and tempermental--it probably made him difficult to work with. He threw his weight around after achieving success, managing to get control over one of the children's divisions even at the expense of the owner's wife's role in that department.

He fell in love with Audrey while he was married to Helen (and Audrey was married also). It's unclear in this book if they had a sexual affair while both were still married--it seems implied that they might have after Helen committed suicide (while Audrey was seeking her divorce).

That Audrey shipped her daughters off to live with their father after she and Ted got married because she didn't feel Ted was ready to have kids around. (Though he did later develop good relationships with them both apparently.)

Helen apparently committed suicide (reasons behind it only speculated at in this book).

He smoked a lot through his lifetime. In fact, his cancer was possibly attributed to this habit. He also drank often (though not to the level of alcoholism, though his sister apparently suffered from that affliction.) show less

Well written, but with a few punctuation errors and a few too many sentence fragments. The tale he tells is not one of spectacular feats and adventures, but of a boy who seemed ordinary, but grew up to be one of the most extraordinary writers of all time. It is a thick book, but reads more quickly than many of its size. It is hard to put down, and takes the reader on a journey. For those of us who grew up on Dr. Seuss, it brings back a lot of memories, and gives us some background behind the stories we loved the most. He spends a great deal of time on the formative years, as the title would suggest, and also more details on his period in the army, in Frank Capra's film propaganda unit, than any others I have read of him. Recommended for show more anyone who finds his writing wonderful, or for anyone who is interested in how writers grow up to be the writers they are. show less

3.5 Like many of us I grew up with his books, but it was my youngest daughter and my grandchildren who really loved his books. "Do you like my hat?" "I do not like your hat." will forever be stuck in my mind. His books were quirky, fun, for both adults and children.

A good biography gives us a good sense of what made the man and who he was, who he became. This book certainly did that. Reading about his youth it is easy to see Dr. Seuss in the young Theodor Geisel. A practical joker from the get go, he would learn as he went, in college writing for the humor magazine and Dartmouth. His career path was far from straightforward, continually changing. Writing for advertisers, magazines, it wouldn't be until much later before he found a show more publisher for his children's books. Some of his published jokes were misogynistic, bigoted by our view now, but it was acceptable at the time. He would later regret this period in his life.

We find out much about his personal and professional life. I thought his college escapades went on to long, a few other parts too, that period of time certainly showed us his early path to becoming Dr. Seuss. I was surprised to learn that this man whose books have made such an impression on generations, never had children of his own. He was happy that he could make reading fun, and he certainly did that.

ARC from Edelweiss. show less

Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and The Making of An American Legend
by: Brian Jay Jones
2019
Dutton
3.9 / 5.0

One of of America´s most beloved icons, Dr. Seuss had a controversial and active life. This ia a definitive and detailed biography that left me with an honest sense of the person he was, and his career. I did not like his overall attitude and the way he treated his wife left me cold. Its interesting that a man whose life revolved around entertaining children, never had any and never adopted. However, this was really well written, detailed without being repetitive and boring. I really enjoyed reading it.
Jones begins with Theodor´s childhood and his love of the zoo, his years at college and graduate school writing satirical show more political cartoons. He joined the army, working on manuals and instruction books, and began publishing controversial cartoons that many called him on. Rightly so!
It was interesting to read about the inspirations for his books and the details of their origins.
Jones biography of Dr. Seuss is comprehensive and well written.
Thanks to Dutton Books for sending this e-book ARC for review. #NetGalley #BecomingDrSeuss show less

Don't like many Dr. Seuss books, but this biography about the man behind the books was great!

Hearing negative things about Dr. Seuss? People change. People grow. Read this well-researched book and make up your own mind.