Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz [Paperback]

Rheta Grimsley Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1995

An updated edition explores Charles M. Schultz's wartime experiences, creation of the Peanuts characters, his strong yet idiosyncratic moral and ethical code, and the true story behind the elusive Little Red-Haired Girl. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The popular cartoonist who distills shrewd psychological insights in Peanuts emerges in this authorized biography as a shy man who suffers from chronic depression and agoraphobia, weighs his words carefully and talks much like his comic-strip characters. Johnson, a syndicated columnist, sketches Schulz's boyhood in St. Paul, where his father ran a barber shop. She links his unhappy first marriage, his sense of futility and his deep religiosity to Peanuts 's exploration of themes such as rejection, loss, longing and the nobility of pursuing goals despite near-certain defeat. She interviews Donna Wold, Schulz's unresponsive early love, who inspired "the little red-headed girl" of his strips. Johnson also offers superficial analyses of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy and the rest of the gang. Devotees will probably enjoy this innocuous, flattering bio, even though it circles around Schulz without deeply penetrating his inner life. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This biography of cartoonist Schulz coincides with the 40th anniversary of the "Peanuts" comic strip. Apparently Schulz's work is semi-autobiographical, so this book draws parallels between his life and incidents and characters in the strip. The author belabors Schulz's chronic depression and describes him as having an "aura of anonymity." An overabundance of detail and digression clutter this work, and the book's structure and purpose is not always apparent. But perhaps the book's main problem is that "Schulz is a loser, of the vulnerable, lovable Charlie Brown variety," and that is just not the stuff of which interesting biographies are made. Despite the book's weaknesses, however, the popularity of "Peanuts" will probably create some demand.
- Annie Davis, Technology Training Assocs., Cambridge, Mass.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836280970
• ISBN-13: 978-0836280975
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #987,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, July 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was entertaining to read about the life of my favorite cartoonists and one of the many people I would like to meet. I learned that some of the social troubles I am going through now in high school happened to Schulz in high school but he broke through that to be a successful man. This book helped me learn about him and get an "A" on my literature term paper.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A tribute to a great cartoonist, January 3, 2000

By 

"matrixzine" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz (Paperback)

"Good Grief" is the story of Charles M. Schulz, his early life and his struggle to become a cartoonist. "Good Grief" chronicles the evolution of the Peanuts gang and Mr. Schulz himself. And now with the retirement of Mr. Schulz, this is a timely biography

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Look at a Cartooning Icon, July 25, 2001

By 

D "sub" (Metro Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz (Paperback)

First off, I am a Peanuts fanatic. My child's nursery has a My Little Snoopy theme, and, as a child, I wrote to Mr. Schulz and received a print of Snoopy, with his own "pawprint" autograph as my return gift.

This book, which is the most comprehensive biography of Schulz I have found, is a gem for a fan like myself. For those who are just peripherally interested in Schulz, this book will probably be too detailed and discuss issues of no interest.

However, for a fan like myself, hearing the true story of the "Little Red Haired Girl" and reading of Schulz's perceived failings in his life was very insightful.