It is a sad commentary on our society that the sensationalist, opportunist, and prurient "accounting" of Schulz's life a few years ago could elicit so much sales, attention and publicity, while this one languishes in relative obscurity. But if you're a true fan of good ol' Charlie Brown (and know why to avoid calling it "Peanuts"), I cannot recommend any book more strongly than this one to learn about who Charles Schulz was.
This book is essentially a collection of speeches, essays, interviews, and other first person accounts which Schulz gave in his lifetime. Those who claim that Schulz was some kind of brooding, withdrawn tragic figure who kept to himself are looking through the prism of today's tabloid society where an inquisitive public must know the deepest darkest secrets of anyone with any kind of celebrity status. Especially for the era that Schulz lived, he was exceptionally giving and remarkably open about sharing wisdom and "trade secrets" to help others, especially aspiring artists and cartoonists.
Throughout this book we learn the things real fans of Schulz care about. His influences as a child and young adult, from playing sports as a child to his struggles in school to his military service. The role faith played in his life. How the strip got started and evolved over time. His daily routine in drawing the strip. His relationship and occasional frustrations with his syndicate. The real inspiration behind many of the characters and how they developed over time. How he got new ideas and over the years introduced new concepts and story lines into the strip. His surprise at the public reaction to strips such as when Linus and Lucy moved out of the neighborhood, and when Sally told her brother that she prayed in school.
Ironically for an autobiography, the accounts through these 50 years of collected writings reads much more objectively than any of the biographies published about Schulz, both the recent one and the one that preceded it. I think this is because Schulz speaks with such transparency and honesty that anyone who attempts to tell the "true story" of Schulz ends up looking foolish. If you've ever seen Schulz talk, you can almost hear his voice
There was one passage I read a few years ago in an essay that's reprinted in this book that literally changed my life. In it, Schulz is speaking to a group of high school students and gives them the advice "Go home tonight and ask your parents where they met. Ask you dad what he did in World War II. Ask your mom if she went to the high-school prom. Talk to your grandmother, and don't just let the thing die, pursue the questioning. Do it now before it's too late." I read this while I still in high school myself. I decided to talk to my dad and my mom and ask them about their lives, and they both told me amazing stories that left me speechless about growing up and coming to this country. I wrote down all the details. A year or two later, my mom passed away. Shortly after that, my dad had a massive stroke that left him unable to speak. In a very real way, I owe Charles Schulz a great debt of thanks for speaking these words.
I've always said that the best way to understand who Schulz was is just to read the strip, which is being reprinted in its entirety in the excellent set of "The Complete Peanuts" books by Fantagraphics. Schulz himself says in one of these essays that the strip and each and every one if its characters are all reflections of his own personality, his experiences, his philosophy. This book is a close second.
