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Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: A Biography Review
Horton, Thidwick, Yertle, the Lorax, the Grinch, Sneetches, and the Cat in the Hat are just a handful of the bizarre and beloved characters Theodor S. Geisel (1904–1991), alias Dr. Seuss, created in his forty-seven children's books, from 1937's And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street to 1990's Oh, the Places You'll Go! During his lifetime Dr. Seuss was honored with numerous degrees, three Academy Awards, and a Pulitzer, but the man himself remained a reclusive enigma. In this first and only biography of the good doctor, the authors, his close friends for almost thirty years, have drawn on their firsthand insights as well as his voluminous papers; the result is an illuminating, intimate portrait of a dreamer who saw the world "through the wrong end of a telescope," and invited us to enjoy the view. User Submitted Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: A Biography ReviewsMay 13, 2008 Tasteful and Intersting A cleverly written biography of one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Although he died not so long ago, it seems as if Dr. Seuss the legend has been replaced by Dr. Seuss the label in the minds of America's youth. This biography was a touching, insightful look into the life of the man behind the cat. Although obviously written with a pro-Seuss bias (they were his friends, after all), the book was pleasure to read, and is sure to be passed on to friends and family. July 10, 2007 Light, happy-go-lucky biography of an American icon Dr. Seuss is an American icon by anyone's standards. He taught millions of children how to read and enchanted young and old alike with his clever, unsentimental stories and rhymes, as well as his fanciful, detailed drawings. While this biography doesn't get to the core of the man, it is nevertheless entertaining and good at portraying Dr. Seuss' perpetual, impish, childlike vision of the world. We see that he was a prankster and ever-young at heart, even into his 80s. At the same time, we also see a man who was passionate about his work and perfectionistic in his sense of color, meter and story development. And he didn't shy away from heady topics such as the environment, nuclear war and aging. Indeed, because of his skill and keen, honest, funny insights into the world, both children and adults reveled in his surreal, magical worlds. With books like The Lorax and The Butter Battle Book, we see a subversive, brilliant man who was thirty years ahead of his time, simultaneously writing about important issues, while entertaining everyone and also teaching children how to respect their world and the people around them. Dr. Seuss seemingly had infinite energy for writing, drawing, painting, collaborating, imagining and building a canon of classic literature. It started early, from his days at Dartmouth, to his early attempts to break into the publishing market during the 1920s. His biographers, the Morgans, do well to emphasize his boundless spirit and curiosity---he managed to travel to exotic corners of the world, write over fifty books, and still never missed a parade or retrospective in his honor. This biography is not a "tell-all" and doesn't probe into the depths of the man or his wonderful, mysterious, inexplicable creative process. It's a light, charming biography of a man that all of us seem to know and love, despite having never met him. Of course, after reading this book, you'll wish that you HAD known him. June 23, 2006 Awful A silly, shallow and uniformed bio that falls far short of lending any insight nor new information on this brilliant author/illustrator. Written by a local reporter for the San Diego Union, this is one of those "gee, and I knew him!" efforts that does not deserve to be seriously considered. Pass on it. April 10, 2006 The man behind the cat Dr. Seuss has become such a fixture in our world that its hard to fully appreciate the impact he had on children's literature and our culture. This book explores both the origins of his whimsical books and the impact he had on the publishing industry. As portrayed here, Dr. Seuss is possessed of a slightly skewed view of life, but is devoted to promoting the causes he believed in, including children's literacy. As a man who truly believed that reading should be fun, he wrote books that he felt were fun to read, and knew that others would enjoy them too. Its a shame that his fear of public speaking kept the world from knowing him better during his lifetime, but he lives on in his impressive body of wacky and delightful books and art. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to get a glimpse of the man behind the cat. March 25, 2004 Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: A Biography I found this book to be helpful in learning about Dr. Seuss's life. I order this book for our school library during the week of Dr. Seuss' 100th birthday celebration. I found it to be an excellent way to let the teachers and students know about Dr. Seuss's life. Thanks for offering this book on Amazon.com. April 23, 2002 Dr.Seuss & Mr. Geisel: a Biograpy This is really a great book, if i could rate it from one to five, i'd rate it 5,000,000,000,000,00.. well you get the main idea January 12, 2002 Everything you never knew... Dr. Seuss & Mr Geisel was interesting, to say the least. Don't see the name Seuss and automatically think it's a children's book. Overall, I though it was a mediocre biography about an amazing, stupendous genius. No bio could do Mr. Geisel honor, but this one does suprisingly well. October 23, 1999 tedious hero-worship It's often better to know certain people only through their works, and to avoid altogether what passes for a biography written by "long-time friends." This is the overview he was afraid of reading, what had to wait to be written until his passing? There is no semblance of objective distance in this book. Even the most awful, and possibly revealing, aspects of this man's life--chief among them the suicide of his sixty-nine year old wife of more than four decades--are glossed over and swept aside, the authors preferring to concentrate on his happiness in taking up with the wife of one of his friends soon after. And there are countless mentions of his "brilliant color sense"--a subjective talent, at best--to the extent that by the end of the book you might believe that this was on par with the cure for polio. Dr. Seuss was a wonderfully talented author of children's books, and a worthy subject for an honest and well-rounded biography. Unfortunately, this is not it. Go back and read "Green Eggs and Ham" again. Go read "The Cat in the Hat." Leave this alone. May 14, 1999 The book did not tell me what Dr. Suess was really like. When I read a biography I expect the writer to give me some insightful glimpses into the person's character, motivations, etc. In other words, what makes the man tick. This book did not do it for me. It seemed to be written from an outsider's point of view. By someone who wrote the book using mostly secondary sources. The man was a genuis, yet, in reading the book, I still don't know him. December 10, 1998 This is the most interesting biography that I have ever read The book Dr. Suess & Mr. Geisel written by Judith and Neil Morgan is the best biography that I have ever read. Suess' life is one that is very intriguing. Part of the reason is because of Suess' humor! It seems like nothing could keep him down for long and when it did, he would just laugh about it and get back on his feet again. This book could be called a page-turner. There is always a interesting fact on the next page. In this book Dr. Suess can really be seen as another regular class clown in normal class. I would recommend this biography as the best biography that I have ever read in my whole life. For more Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: A Biography reviews click here.
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