Playboy's Silverstein Around the World [Hardcover]

Shel Silverstein (Author), Mitch Myers (Introduction), Hugh M. Hefner (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2007

Displaying the wit and marvelous drawings that made Shel Silverstein one of the most beloved artists of the century, Playboy's Silverstein Around the World collects and reproduces the twenty-three travel pieces Silverstein created for Playboy between 1957 and 1968.

While children and adults alike know Shel Silverstein for his classic books The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, and Where the Sidewalk Ends, they may be less aware that Silverstein also created a dazzling series of illustrated comic travelogues published by Hugh M. Hefner in Playboy. Playboy's Silverstein Around the World not only reproduces these fascinating articles in facsimile form, it also provides an introduction with never-before-seen photos and drawings and rare, illuminating biographical detail.

Beginning in May 1957 with "Return to Tokyo," the pieces reproduced in this book took Silverstein from Scandinavia to Africa and the Middle East, from Paris and London to Moscow, ending in the summer of 1968 with the two-part epic "Silverstein Among the Hippies." This unique collection is a legacy of the close relationship between Silverstein and Hefner, who saw the great potential of this particular combination of artist and assignment, and the social revolution led by Playboy in the 1950s and 1960s.

With its wry, ribald humor and beautifully produced color illustrations, this tableau of the mid-twentieth-century world is sure to please and fascinate Silverstein's millions of fans.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Best known as a children's author but also a successful songwriter ("A Boy Named Sue") and playwright, Silverstein started out as a cartoonist. In the 1950s and 1960s, Playboy sent him around the world to draw a travel journal. His 23 dispatches hailed from such far-flung locales as Japan, Moscow, London, Paris, and Africa, as well as such closer-to-home precincts as Greenwich Village, Haight-Ashbury, White Sox training camp, and a nudist colony. Most of the cartoons' gags play against cultural stereotypes, with a befuddled Silverstein as the butt of the joke: in a gorgeously limned Swiss village, he complains, "I'll give them 15 more minutes and if nobody yodels, I'm going back to the hotel." Befitting their provenance, many depict Silverstein's efforts to score with the local damsels. They feature the same deceptively casual line work that makes his children's books so visually compelling, and since far too little of Silverstein's work for adults is currently available, this engaging document of the countries he visited and of its era is a welcome delight. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"I think everything begins here. It's impossible to separate Shel's later work from these drawings and these experiences. They are the beginning of it all, without question." -- Hugh M. Hefner

"Shel Silverstein was a warm compassionate soul who put his art above all else. His illustrated work maintained a sharp social commentary and his devilish humor was always insightful. Shel's gifts were many -- and he joyfully passed those gifts on to the rest of us throughout his amazing life." -- Bill Cosby

"Shel Silverstein was maybe the brightest, most intelligent, trustworthy, generous, human, humble, and lovable creative artist I've ever known. Awake and aware of everything, all the time, I think Shel go more out of life than most of us. Thank God he shared what he saw." -- Kris Kristofferson

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (May 22, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743290240
• ISBN-13: 978-0743290241
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #605,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"And now, children, your Uncle Shelby is going to tell you a story about a very strange lion- in fact, the strangest lion I have ever met." So begins Shel Silverstein's very first children's book, Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back. It's funny and sad and has made readers laugh and think since it was published in 1963. It was followed the next year by three more books. The first of them, The Giving Tree, is a moving story about the love of a tree for a boy. Shel returned to humor the same year with A Giraffe and a Half, delighting readers with a most riotous ending. The third book in 1964 was Uncle Shelby's Zoo Don't Bump the Glump! and Other Fantasies, Shel's first poetry collection, and his first and only book illustrated in full color. It combined his unique imagination and bold brand of humor in this collection of silly and scary creatures. Shel's second collection of poems and drawings, Where the Sidewalk Ends, was published in 1974. His recording of the poems won him a Grammy for best Children's Album. In this collection, Shel invited children to dream and dare to imagine the impossible, from a hippopotamus sandwich to the longest nose in the world. With his next collection of poems and drawings, A Light in the Attic, published in 1981, Shel asked his readers to turn the light on in their attics, to put something silly in the world, and not to be discouraged by the Whatifs. Instead he urged readers to catch the moon or invite a dinosaur to dinner- to have fun! A Light in the Attic was the first children's book to break onto the New York Times Bestseller List, where it stayed for a record-breaking 182 weeks. The last book that was published before his death in 1999 was Falling Up (1996). Like his other books, it is filled with unforgettable characters. Shel Silverstein's legacy continued with the release of a new work,Runny Babbit, the first posthumous publication conceived and completed before his death and released in March 2005. Witty and wondrous, Runny Babbit is a poetry collection of simple spoonerismsH, which twist the tongue and tease the mind. Don't Bump the Glump! And Other Fantasies was recently reissued in 2008 after being unavailable for over 30 years. Shel was always a believer in letting his work do the talking for him--few authors have ever done it better.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Celebrate the origins of one of the twentieth century's greatest humorists, January 20, 2008

By 

Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Playboy's Silverstein Around the World (Hardcover)

Hugh M. Hefner writes in the introduction to Playboy's Silverstein Around the World, "Everything begins here. It is impossible to separate Shel's later work from these drawings and these experiences. They are the beginning of it all, without question."

This 180-page art book is printed in glossy color on high quality stock. Silverstein's ten years of colorblock illustrated travel essays for Playboy magazine cover topics ranging from bull fighting to a nudist camp to life among Muslims. During the Cold War, Shel traveled to the heart of Moscow, the Red Square, posing undercover as a youth rally member in order to report on the event. Shel had no set intinerary as an explorer, rather, he followed his personal impulses and the whims of the world.

In total, Silverstein wrote 23 travelogues for Hugh Hefner's magazine during the 1950's and 1960's. Although he was later most renowned as a children's author, his work for Playboy continued well into the 1990's. This delightful collection commemorates the birth of one of the twentieth century's greatest humorists.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different side to a childhood icon, July 5, 2008

By 

Hailey C. Shannon (Lexington, Kentucky United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Playboy's Silverstein Around the World (Hardcover)

Shel Silverstein to most people will always be remebered for his work for children, but tell them he was a songwriter and more surpisingly did cartoons for Playboy, they won't believe you. Through these works we see a side rarely seen or remembered by many. In these works we see a blossoming young artist, traveling exotic locales such as Mexico, London, Paris, Spain, Africa, even a nudist colony and Fire Island. In each of these places he takes his own spin on them though his drawings and writing and creates something very intriging.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hardcore Silverstein fans need only apply, March 27, 2008

By 

Michael J. Alessandro - See all my reviews

This review is from: Playboy's Silverstein Around the World (Hardcover)

My father used to read me Shel Silverstein's books as a child. I now read them to my son, bits and peices at a time. So when I saw this book, I thought what more perfect gift could I give to my father. A reminder of our time long past, as well as a cheeky look at one of the most prolific man0child authors of the modern age. This book covers Silverstein's time wioth Playboy magazine, and it is a terrific insight to the slightly off kilter brilliance that was Shel Silverstein. If your a Playboy afficianado, this is a must. If your a Shel Silverstein enthusiast, don't hesitate. A dabbler with "Where the Sidewalk Ends" might not be an anthused, but this is great work from a great mind.