Peanuts 2000: The 50th Year Of The World's Favorite Comic Strip [Paperback]

Charles M. Schulz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Peanuts | Publication Date: September 5, 2000

"Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy . . .
how can I ever forget them. . . ."
--CHARLES SCHULZ

How could any of us ever forget them? For fifty years, Charles Schulz and the whole Peanuts gang have delighted millions of readers around the world. Now, in celebration of the artist who quickly became a national treasure, this special anniversary volume brings together for the first time in book form, the last year of the Peanuts comic strip. With Peanuts 2000, there's no need to say goodbye to old friends.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

To all you Snoopy fans out there. Peanuts 2000 is a presentation of the last year of strips by Mr. Schulz in chronological order. As many of you have noticed, the Sunday "farewell" strip is missing from the first printing of this book. The problems have been corrected and all current and future printings of this book will contain the strip. The final strip is also available for viewing at the official Peanuts website.

From the Inside Flap

"Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy . . .
how can I ever forget them. . . ."
--CHARLES SCHULZ

How could any of us ever forget them? For fifty years, Charles Schulz and the whole Peanuts gang have delighted millions of readers around the world. Now, in celebration of the artist who quickly became a national treasure, this special anniversary volume brings together for the first time in book form, the last year of the Peanuts comic strip. With Peanuts 2000, there's no need to say goodbye to old friends.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (September 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345442393
• ISBN-13: 978-0345442390
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles M. Schulz was born November 25, 1922 in Minneapolis. His destiny was foreshadowed when an uncle gave him, at the age of two days, the nickname Sparky (after the racehorse Spark Plug in the newspaper strip Barney Google).

In his senior year in high school, his mother noticed an ad in a local newspaper for a correspondence school, Federal Schools (later called Art Instruction Schools). Schulz passed the talent test, completed the course and began trying, unsuccessfully, to sell gag cartoons to magazines. (His first published drawing was of his dog, Spike, and appeared in a 1937 Ripley's Believe It Or Not! installment.) Between 1948 and 1950, he succeeded in selling 17 cartoons to the Saturday Evening Post--as well as, to the local St. Paul Pioneer Press, a weekly comic feature called Li'l Folks. It was run in the women's section and paid $10 a week. After writing and drawing the feature for two years, Schulz asked for a better location in the paper or for daily exposure, as well as a raise. When he was turned down on all three counts, he quit.

He started submitting strips to the newspaper syndicates. In the spring of 1950, he received a letter from the United Feature Syndicate, announcing their interest in his submission, Li'l Folks. Schulz boarded a train in June for New York City; more interested in doing a strip than a panel, he also brought along the first installments of what would become Peanuts--and that was what sold. (The title, which Schulz loathed to his dying day, was imposed by the syndicate). The first Peanuts daily appeared October 2, 1950; the first Sunday, January 6, 1952.

Diagnosed with cancer, Schulz retired from Peanuts at the end of 1999. He died on February 13, 2000, the day before Valentine's Day--and the day before his last strip was published--having completed 17,897 daily and Sunday strips, each and every one fully written, drawn, and lettered entirely by his own hand--an unmatched achievement in comics.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peanuts will live forever, December 28, 2000

By 

Don Barrie (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peanuts 2000: The 50th Year Of The World's Favorite Comic Strip (Paperback)

I got this book for Christmas, and it does not disappoint. It contains all the strips from the final year (Jan. 1, 1999 to Feb. 13, 2000), and it's great to have it all in one book. And my copy contains the actual final strip published the weekend Charles Schulz died. He may have left us, but books like this one prove that we can revisit Charlie Brown, Snoopy and their pals any time we want. Thank you, Mr. Schulz.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great tribute to one of my favorite comic strips, January 4, 2001

By 

Michael W. Howe "uruseiranma" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peanuts 2000: The 50th Year Of The World's Favorite Comic Strip (Paperback)

Since I can remember, I was always fascinated by the Peanuts comic strip. I would watch and tape all the TV sepcials I could find, and check out all the books from the elementary school library (the shelving code was 741.5 Sch), even decorate my bedroon door with drawings of Good Ol' Charlie Brown. Sadly, Charles Schulz passed away a week after I turned 20, and it was sad that morning to read the final Sunday strip and find that their creator had died just hours before. In this chronicle, from 1-1-99 up to 2-13-00, we see the escapades of all the characters. Most notable was the direction that Schulz was taking with Linus and Lucy's little brother Rerun. If you read these strips, you can see the potential for development of Rerun that would have come. And like many, there was the question if Charlie Brown would ever kick the football, and much more. However, the fact that Schulz never revealed this, gives our imagination a chance to speculate. Some notable articles include Charlie Brown attending a dance class with a little girl named Emily, that Schulz introduced about 2-4 years ago. There is even a funny little weekday strip where Sally tries to write to Harry Potter. There are plenty of other intersting topics the gang covers, but I won't go into detail here. Believe me, this is a great way to relax: kick back and read Peanuts 2000.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Happiness is another Peanuts book. Even if it's the Last One, December 3, 2000

By 

Barry Pearl (E Northport, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Peanuts 2000: The 50th Year Of The World's Favorite Comic Strip (Paperback)

It was with great sadness that I read the final Peanuts strips. The strips were fantastic and funny as always. But I did know that this was the end.

Charlie Brown would never get another chance to kick the football or win a baseball game. His love would go unrequited, as it had for 50 years. Charlie Brown reminds us, "The inside of a mailbox should always be kept clean in case you get a love letter." But he received no valentines this year either. Marcia and Peppermint Patty never got a chance to tell them how they felt. I don't know if Snoopy ever got to Bill Maudlin's house on Veteran's Day either. But if Charles Schultz were still here, would they eventually be successful? As Charlie Brown once said, "Never stay awake at night asking yourself questions you can't answer."

Peanuts seemed at first glance to be a simple strip. But it is complex and full of meaning. I read my first Peanuts strip in 1958 and they have only gotten better. The different characters seemed to be different parts of Charles Schultz. They are funny and they are thoughtful. This book is a perfect example of that.

(Missing from the first edition was the good-bye from Mr. Schultz. I wrote a letter to Random House about this. They sent be, at no charge, a copy of the next edition.)

So within the sadness there is laughter. The book is perfect Peanuts. And while his books will last forever, it is time to say goodbye. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus.......Charles Schultz, how could we ever forget you?