But the strip was anchored in the collective experience and hardships of Schulzs generation-the generation that survived the Great Depression and liberated Europe and the Pacific and came home to build the post-war world. Schulzs Peanuts profoundly influenced the country in the second half of the 20th century. It was the central truth of his own life, that as the adults weve become and as the children we always will be, we can free ourselves, if only we can see the humour in the predicaments of funny-looking kids.

With Peanuts, Schulz embedded adult ideas in a world of small children to remind the reader that character flaws and childhood wounds are with us always. And these early experiences would shape his entire life. The sense of shock and separation never left him. In 1943, just three days after his mothers tragic death from cancer, Schulz, a private in the army, shipped out for boot camp and the war in Europe. The son of a barber, Schulz was born in Minnesota to modest, working class roots. Now, acclaimed biographer David Michaelis gives us the first full-length biography of Schulz: at once a creation story, a portrait of a hidden American genius, and a chronicle contrasting the private man with the central role he played in shaping the national imagination. UPDATE: A new in-depth comment from Charles Schulz’s son, Monte Schulz, as well as his sisters Amy and Jill, can be found in the comments below.Charles Schulz, the most widely syndicated and beloved cartoonist of all time, is also one of the most misunderstood figures in American culture. The fact is, after reading the book, I decided IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d learned more about David Michaelis than I did about my dad. Incidentally, the material David edited out of the book is even more outrageous. Schulz and Peanuts, by David Michaelis, biography, Charles Schulz, hardcover, Harper Collins, cartoonist, comic strip, American icon. Which is why weÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve been so militant in our response. But I was shocked to see the book that emerged, because it veered so drastically away from what he told us he intended to write.

Honestly, the quote IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve really wanted to give the press, after reading both the early of the manuscript and the final book, is this: Ã¢â‚¬Å“The book is stupid, and David Michaelis is an idiot.Ã¢â‚¬? That said, I had a six year on-going conversation with him about this book, and like David quite a lot. I can tell you absolutely that he was not a depressed, melancholy person, nor was he unaffectionate and absent as a parent. There are many factual errors throughout the book there are people who are give authority to speak about our family who have no insight to do so and there are so many elements of my fatherÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s life that David deliberately left out of the book, that it really is impossible for anyone outside of our family, or DadÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s circle of friends, to come to any genuine conclusions. “The point of objection to this biography of my father is how much is simply untruthful, and deliberately so.

Schulz and Peanuts by David Michaelis