Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination

It’s hard not to turn a review of the biography of Dr. Seuss into solid praise. When a person has given sheer imaginative joy to millions of children, including mine, it is really easy to transfer that to a book about his life. Defects in his life would seem to detract from his incredible work. A fully developed biography about him is a tough assignment. Brian Jones does a good job.Jones keeps the reader involved in all the phases of Theodor Geisel’s life – his early work as a cartoonist, his work with Frank Capra during World War II, his increasing strength as a children’s writer, his life as the iconic author, and his last painful years in which he never wanted to stop writing. Jones also documents Geisel’s weaknesses including his acceptance of the prejudices and stereotypes of the early 20th century. As Jones shows, Geisel went on to change his views with some of his best stories involving the overcoming of prejudice. I found the most disturbing aspect of the biography to be Geisel’s relationship with his first wife, Helen, as they each got older. As Jones shows many times, Helen was in multiple ways his partner in writing, his most creative critic, and always his constant support in tough times. Her suicide in 1967 hits the reader hard. Geisel then goes on to marry within a year a much younger woman that he had had a semi-public relationship with for quite a while before Helen took her own life. Jones gives us the basics but I had a strong sense that a lot was left out and unknown and may never be known. The evidence hints at facets of Theodor Geisel’s personality that might be hard to reconcile with the image we have.But then there are the books. The artistic creativity (as with so many artists in history) can be separated from the successes and failures in other parts of life. Jones is excellent at spelling out the origins of Dr. Seuss’s masterpieces. After a fifty dollar bet that Bennett Cerf, the head of Random House, made with him that he could not write a story using only fifty distinct words, Theodor Geisel writes one of the most famous books in the history of young children's literature, Green Eggs and Ham. A similar story is behind The Cat in the Hat, written three years earlier, in which Geisel stays within 250 words in an attempt to replace the boring “See Spot run” primers used in elementary schools. Jones allows the reader to experience the process in the creation of Horton the elephant, the Grinch, the Sneetches, and little Marco fishing in the magical McElligot’s Pool. Geisel was limited by his times but nothing expresses the effect of his work better than when he visited his hometown in his 80’s and hundreds of children shouted, “Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-Am.”Though there are areas where I thought the book could have been fleshed out more, Brian Jones does a fine job of presenting the life of this unique American creative artist. It is a worthwhile reading experience for anyone who has been touched by the incredible imagination of Dr. Seuss.

I learned quite a bit about his birth place in Springfield, Massachusetts that explained his world at that time. From fine tuning his craft, writing for various papers, being front and center in advertising for Standard Oil., his very first Dr. Seuss book published in 1937, "And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Srtreet Dr. Seuss Version Of Springfield, Massachusetts. " He goes into more details on the books, such as "The Cat In The Hat." My favorite is "How The Grinch Stole Christmas." His best seller was "Green Eggs And Ham". I do wish he would have covered more of his conspiracies resulting from his early work. What I found quite interesting was his highly successful participation in Beginners Books. a division of Random House Publishing, which was designed to spear an interest in childhood to read. I believe the reasons were stated, but perhaps others I missed, are good reasons to read it. The fact that he has influenced scores of children, was the primary reason I chose to read it.

Dr. Seuss published his first children’s book in 1937. After a pause during World War II, he started publishing children books again in 1950 when I was 1 year old. I grew up with his books, then bought them for my daughter, and now for my granddaughter. I never gave any thought to the author behind those books. When I saw this book I decided to learn about that man. It is a good story, from his childhood years to the end of his life. Sometimes it reads like a novel, never boring. His life was very interesting. Now I see him as much more than a children’s author and see children’s authors as holding a much more important role in literature than I did before. Something like the relationship between comedy and drama; comedy never gets enough credit or respect. The book is well worth reading, whether you are a Dr. Seuss fan or not. I highly recommend it.

This book is well written. It's one of those non fictions books that read like fiction because the author tells the reader a story. It just happens to be a true story about genius and circumstances intersecting. Theodore Geisel would have had a successful career even if he had never become Dr. Seuss. I reread some of the Dr. Seuss books after learning how they came about. They are works of genius . And, it's not as if everything came together in a seamless stream of events. T.G. anguished over his writing . He was determined to make reading fun once he took on the challenge of producing books for children. The back story is fascinating .

I received this item in acceptable condition in the time frame indicated. I am satisfied with my purchase. Reading about "Dr Seuss" and his life has made me appreciate his characters and books, which I grew up with and enjoyed. Seeing how his life influenced his work is interesting, especially since his childrens books have some great lessons.

This biography does much to provide an insight into the man who became known to generations of children (both young and obsolete) as Dr. Seuss. A champion of literacy, imagination, and humor, I’d be very much surprised if someone hasn’t had at least one appointment in their lifetime with Theodor Seuss Giesel, and had their fill of Green Eggs and Ham. It’s a comfort to know how much care and attention he put into every book he wrote and every picture drawn - even while suffering bouts of writer’s block.

Brian Jay Jones has risen to become the nation's premier biographer of Twentieth Century cultural icons. No reader will be disappointed with his newest work. Dr. Seuss is so much part of our lives that one is tempted to write a review in the style of "The Cat in the Hat." Um, really tempting."I know some good books we could read," said the reviewer."I know some new books," said the reviewer."A lot of good books. I will show one to youYour mother will not mind at all if I do."The book is BECOMING DR. SEUSS. Buy it!"

Amazing.