Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel

A biography of Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, aka a beloved icon of much of the world's collective childhood.

I'll admit, I wasn't too sure about this book early on, as I found myself thinking that it was fine and all, but Geisel's life simply wasn't anywhere near as interesting as his work. Despite a surprisingly dramatic development or two, that is very much true, but I found myself growing fond of the biography after a while, anyway. Possibly just because it is liberally peppered with quotes and jokes and comments from the man himself, and, gosh, he really was exactly as offbeat and witty and delightful as you would expect. And the account of his death, and the tributes paid to him afterward, actually choked me up a little bit. Also, show more it's interesting as a portrait of a life that spanned most of the 20th century; the earlier chapters do perhaps provide a lens through which to view some history that is already fading from living memory.

(By the way, I kind of don't want to, but I guess I really need to address this or it's something of an elephant -- sadly, not Horton -- in the room. So: no, the reason I read this now isn't as some sort of protest against the recent-ish decision of Seuss' publishers to stop printing a few of his works because they contain racially stereotyped images that I'm sure raised no eyebrows among white people at the time, but that the publishers obviously feel aren't something they want to put in front of 21st century children. The timing was purely coincidence. And while I can't say what Mr. Geisel would have thought about the whole thing, having read the bio I can be pretty sure that the people who are most vocally offended by that aren't the sort of folks he would approve of. And that's all I have to say about that.) show less

The person who sets out to write a biography of Dr. Seuss ought to be screened for Seussian magic. The Morgans would not have passed the screening. A very ho-hum biography of a man who was never ho-hum. I went into the book curious about Seuss: How does such a writer come about? Instead, the book recites the life events of Seuss, as seen from a distant, remote planet. I sought the secrets of Seuss; instead, I saw a semblance of Seuss.

I just stumbled on this one at the library, and thought, wow, 'who wouldn't want to read more about the genius of Dr. Seuss? That's got to be a fun book.' It was fun, but it wasn't as much fun as it could have been.

I definitely learned a lot about Ted Geisel, about his childhood, his education, his courtship and marriage, and then his early career. Lots of good stuff in here about his friendship with Bennett Cerf and his work for the Army during World War II. He didn't fully commit to children's books for longer than you might expect. He enjoyed writing for children, but was still trying to make a movie career work for a long time. Eventually he gave up on Hollywood and threw himself into writing for children.

Lots of personal stuff in show more here I had never heard, about the suicide of his first wife and his marriage to his second wife, his health challenges, and so on. If you are a fan of Dr. Seuss, I think you'd like the book.

My one disappointment is that there are not really any Seuss drawings in here, other than a few line pictures at the beginning of each chapter. There are some photos, but I'd love to see some of his early stuff that they talked about so much and more pictures of The Cat in the Hat, the Lorax, Yertle the Turtle, and Horton. I guess I'll have to go check some of his books out from the library! 3.5 stars show less

Dr. Seuss is one of the most iconic children's authors of the past three generations. He is credited for revolutionizing children's literature as well as paving the way for the genre and market for it that we know today. Not only did he write, but he also illustrated dozens of books that children are still raised with. None of this is surprising, none of this is new. What many people may not know, however, is that Dr. Seuss's actuall name was Theodore Geisel. He was in the military. He had an almost crippling fear of speaking in public. He had a profoundly sound failure in his book The Seven Lady Godivas and spent many years making his money from ads and comics in magazines. To the end, he strived to create and surrounded himself with show more the vibrancy of youth.

This book allows the reader to step into a booth and watch as Theodore Geisel grows up and is shaped into the man behind the man everyone knew. Chaptered by years, it chronicles his childhood, school years, military time, and journey into the publishing world, allowing the reader to stand in a private viewing booth and absorb what is going on. Not only is the subject matter fascinating, but the book itself is accessible without being over-simple and straight forward in presentation. Though it took me a while to read [partially because I am easily distracted and partially because there was a lot of information in it], I will happily say Morgan's book is an excellent tribute to one of the most beloved authors of our time, world-over.

I would say more, but it would be less about the book and more about the man, the amazing, talented, legendary man, that gave us more than just the Cat in the Hat and the Lorax. He gave us another way to look at and experience life, with crazy words and stunning colors. show less

A thorough biography of Dr. Seuss by a couple that were neighbors of his in La Jolla. Although the subject is treated kindly and with obvious affection, the authors avoid hagiography. It was, however, very disconcerting when they kept certain important facts secret until springing a "surprise" in a later discussion. This is a technique that is often used in fiction, but really isn't appropriate, at least in the way it was one here, in biography. One of the best things about this book was the way it got us into the creative world of Dr. Seuss and the publishers he worked with, letting us glimpse how these books that are so familiar actually came together.

As with many people who lived across the span of the 20th century, what is nearly as interesting as the biographical aspects of Ted's life are the glimpses into the society in which he grew up and lived. As a descendent of German immigrants, we see how racism and bullying permeated American society during the World Wars and impacted Ted's personality. The rise and fall of prohibition is also well-documented here, through the impact it held for Ted's father and grandfather, who worked as brewers. Even the advent of various technologies, from typewriter to electric typewriter to computer, occurred during Ted's lifetime as held sway over his works. The two Morgans do an excellent job of demonstrating not only the development of Ted as show more artist and writer but also just how much changed in America and around the world over the course of Ted's lifetime.

Please read the rest of my review here: http://thevegbrarian.blogspot.ca/2013/08/dr-seuss-mr-geisel-book-review.html show less

I had to read this in college for a Psych class, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had a great depth and was well-researched.