Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz (Paperback)

~ (Author) "It is October 2, 1950..." (more)
Key Phrases: other cartoonists, animated specials, ice arena, Charlie Brown, Charles Schulz, Peppermint Patty (more...)

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

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: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #993,658 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	"matrixzine" (Lawrence, KS.) - See all my reviews

"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

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Were a Good Man, Charles Schulz, April 24, 2002

By	tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Though Charles Schulz created one of the world's most popular comic strips and became a celebrity in the process, he remained a very private person. He was a rather simple man, and though he took the name of Charlie Brown from an old friend, Charles Schulz was the true soul of that lovable loser. GOOD GRIEF examines the life of Schulz, his work, and it's effect upon society. The book remains the most informative work on Schulz and gives insight into the inspiration for most of the Peanuts gang and even the story about the real "little red-haired girl". The only real flaw is that the book skips around from past to present from description to analysis from looking at Schulz to talking about one of his characters. It's not a bad style, but unfortunately in this case ruffles the flow of the biography. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful book for any Peanuts fan to read and also would be a good reference for anyone wanting to gain an apprectiation of one of the best comic strip artists of all time.