Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography: A Review

I actually read this one back in early summer...a family friend who works for Harper-Collins sent me a advance copy. I was planning to get a jump on everyone and review it early, but procrastination prevailed and thus here I am reviewing it 6 days after it's release date. Oh well.

Anyways, the book covers Schulz's entire life from birth to death. It starts on an absolutely heartbreaking note as Schulz's dying mother says her final words to Schulz and he is then immediately shipped off to war. The book grabs you with those first few pages and keeps a steady hold on your attention most of the way until the end (no small feat considering it's a 600-page biography about a guy who spent most of his life in front of a drawing board making funny pictures).

The Schulz we see in this biography is a fascinating figure. On the one hand, as an aspiring cartoonist, I couldn't help but be inspired. This is a guy who became the most successful cartoonist in history through sheer force of will and the dedication to doing something different. He was also a guy who, due to his own insecurities and mental problems, was never able to truly enjoy his success. You actually get to feel as if you know Schulz personally by the end of the book, and all too often the man can be downright frustrating.

Another thing I liked about the book is that it's not just a biography of Schulz, but of his comic strip as well. With every chapter in his personal life that's detailed, a chapter in the development of his strip is detailed as well and it's quite amazing how much the two intersect. Schulz drew from his own life more than he'd ever admit when he was alive and the book helpfully uses real Peanuts strips to illustrate this. It seems rare that there was a major event in Schulz's life that didn't get translated into his comic world.

The book isn't perfect though...it's perhaps a bit too long. Schulz is an interesting guy, but he didn't lead nations or do anything particularly adventurous or world changing. Certain points and stories get repeated, maybe 600 pages wasn't strictly necessary. Also the author sometimes gets a bit too deep into psychoanalyzing Schulz...providing theories for Schulz's behavior that he couldn't have actually had proof of. That said, on the whole this was a very enjoyable read and one I'd highly recommend to anyone trying to get into the wild and wacky world of commicking.

As an aside, it seems unfortunately the angle most mainstream media outlets have taken in regards to his biography is "SCHULZ REVEALED AS DEPRESSED BITTER WOMANIZER! CHILDREN OUTRAGED!". This is sensationalistic and unfair. Yes, Schulz was often depressed...is this really a revelation? This is the guy who created Charlie Brown for cripes sakes. He wasn't always depressed though...particularly in his later years, during his 2nd (and far more successful) marriage. Bitter? Not particularly, no more than any average person I would think. Womanizer? Unless he had a secret stash of women the author of the biography didn't uncover, Schulz had 3 sexual relationships in his entire life. What a playboy. And as for his children being outraged, I don't see how that could be. Much of the information in the book was gathered through first-hand interviews with his children...the book was written over 7 years in close association with the family. If they wanted the book to be nothing but glowing praise they should have bit their tongues.

Anyways...ignore the trumped up "controversy" and buy the book!

http://www.amazon.com/Schulz-Peanuts-Biography-David-Michaelis/dp/0066213932/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1044751-9812017?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192312775&sr=8-1