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Lives and Legacies
Theodor Geisel: A Portrait of the Man Who Became Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss's infectious rhymes, fanciful creatures, and roundabout plots not only changed the way children read but imagined the world. And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, Green Eggs and Ham,The Cat and the Hat, these and other classics have sold hundreds of millions of copies and entertained children and adults for decades. After graduating from Dartmouth, Theodor Geisel used his talents as an ad-man, political provocateur, and social satirist, gradually but irrevocably turning to children's books. Theodor SEUSS Geisel tells the unlikely story of this remarkable transformation. In this compact and engrossing biography, Donald Pease reveals the evolution of Dr. Seuss's creative persona while offering an honest appraisal of his life. The book also features many of Dr. Seuss's lesser-known illustrations, including college drawings, insecticide ads, and wartime political cartoons-all of which offer a glimpse of his early artistic style and the visual origins of the more famous creatures that later populated his children's books. As Pease traces the full arc of Dr. Seuss's prolific career, he combines close textual readings of many of Dr. Suess's works with a unique look at their genesis to shed new light on the enduring legacy of America's favorite children's book author.
190 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
21 people are currently reading
183 people want to read
About the author
Donald E. Pease
41 books3 followersDonald E. Pease is the Ted and Helen Geisel Third Century Professor in the Humanities, Chair of the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Program, and Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Dartmouth College. He is an Americanist, literary and cultural critic, and academic. Pease directs the annual Futures of American Studies Institute at Dartmouth.
Pease is an authority on 19th- and 20th-century American literature and literary theory and the founder and director of the Futures of American Studies Institute. Besides writing numerous books, Pease has written over 100 articles on figures in American and British literature and is the editor of The New Americanist series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
August 21, 2020
The Lives and Legacies series, as I point out elsewhere (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World) includes brief books of important characters. We tend to consider the things of childhood as strangely irrelevant when we become adults. It’s as if all that learning just gets tossed out for more adult themes. Donald E. Pease’s Theodor Seuss Geisel in the series fills in a brief background of the man we all know as Dr. Seuss.
Biographies don’t always prove exciting reading. Although Theodor Geisel experienced some trauma growing up as a German American during the First World War, he was moderately to wildly successful during his careers in advertising and then in children’s book writing. The thing that makes him different is that Geisel clearly had a conscience. And he clearly remembered the kinds of things kids like. If you grew up reading the Dick and Jane readers this was a “whole ‘nother thing.” The overall arc is like this: suffering anti-German bullying as a child, Geisel attended Dartmouth and succeeded thereafter. His life had some difficulties—some of which are quite sobering—but this is mostly a success story.
Biographies, as a genre, often benefit from length. In a series like this where short books are the order of the day there is certainly material left out. What remains is remarkable in many respects, because here was a man who kept his integrity (for the most part) while becoming the father of children’s literature in America. In many respects the story is more about legacy than life here. Still, for a quick introduction to the real man behind Dr. Seuss, this is a good place to start.
Biographies don’t always prove exciting reading. Although Theodor Geisel experienced some trauma growing up as a German American during the First World War, he was moderately to wildly successful during his careers in advertising and then in children’s book writing. The thing that makes him different is that Geisel clearly had a conscience. And he clearly remembered the kinds of things kids like. If you grew up reading the Dick and Jane readers this was a “whole ‘nother thing.” The overall arc is like this: suffering anti-German bullying as a child, Geisel attended Dartmouth and succeeded thereafter. His life had some difficulties—some of which are quite sobering—but this is mostly a success story.
Biographies, as a genre, often benefit from length. In a series like this where short books are the order of the day there is certainly material left out. What remains is remarkable in many respects, because here was a man who kept his integrity (for the most part) while becoming the father of children’s literature in America. In many respects the story is more about legacy than life here. Still, for a quick introduction to the real man behind Dr. Seuss, this is a good place to start.
March 13, 2021
A short book that talks about how the times and events in Ted Geisel's life affected and influenced his work. It was interesting and made me want to read several of the cited works to find out more about his life.
May 29, 2017
The book served its purpose. It informed me about Theodor Seuss Geisel. I can't say that my opinion of him as a person has improved much.
The man left his sick wife for a younger woman (another man's wife) and it resulted in her suicide.
Among many other thoughtless "thinks" that he thought, I left this book feeling sad for this man and all who were close to him.
I appreciate some of the work he did though. Especially the work that his first wife helped him with.
As for the book itself, I think it was written a little strangely, much like a term paper, but it did inform me on the man, so for that it gets 3 stars. It was "good". If I could give it 2 1/2 stars, I would.
The man left his sick wife for a younger woman (another man's wife) and it resulted in her suicide.
Among many other thoughtless "thinks" that he thought, I left this book feeling sad for this man and all who were close to him.
I appreciate some of the work he did though. Especially the work that his first wife helped him with.
As for the book itself, I think it was written a little strangely, much like a term paper, but it did inform me on the man, so for that it gets 3 stars. It was "good". If I could give it 2 1/2 stars, I would.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2021
I purchased this book in the Dartmouth University bookstore when I was there with the University of Findlay Mazza group a few years ago. I chose to read it now because of the recent controversy concerning several of Dr. Seuss’ books (racial & insensitive content). I enjoyed learning about the man who became Dr. Seuss.
June 23, 2022
If you are looking for a standard biographical fare about Dr. Seuss, then Theodor Geisel may not live up to your expectations. However, if you enjoy a mixture of biography with some literary criticism and social history, then this book may be right up your alley.
The author, Donald E. Pease, is Professor of English and the Ted and Helen Geisel Third Century Professor in the Humanities at Dartmouth College, as well as the Chair of the Dartmouth Liberal Studies Program. As you might expect from a scholar with those qualifications, Pease brings a wide range of analytical tools to the table, and he wields them to the service of his character study.
Of course, the focus of the book is Dr. Seuss. But who was the man behind the pseudonym? How did he become this iconic figure in children's literature? The answers that Pease gives to these questions are fascinating. Similar to what Freud did with the Cartesian cogito, Pease splits the portrait of his subject into three distinct yet interrelated identities: there's "Ted", the child; "Geisel", the adult; and "Dr. Seuss", the artist and story-teller. The trajectory of the book roughly follows these three personas, which collectively form a comprehensive image of Geisel as a human being, an artist, and a fractured modern subject.
Much of the book is geared toward the exploration of the liberal-democratic values at the core of Geisel's surrealist brand of children's literature. Pease convincingly shows us how Geisel, as Dr. Seuss, used cartooning as a way to instil the post-war virtues of tolerance and anti-racism in young children. Yet Geisel was a complicated subject, and Pease recognizes this complexity, never shying away from the darker and more controversial elements of the Dr. Seuss legacy. Interestingly, Pease suggests that Geisel's post-war emphasis on anti-racism - particularly the evils of anti-Semitism - was both an attempt to teach children love and compassion for others, but also to confront his own past, which contained a number of harmful representations of racial minorities. Indeed, in his earlier work, Geisel had a penchant for Blackface and anti-Semitic humour. His earlier representations of Japanese-Americans are especially shocking from today's perspective.
And yet, as Pease shows, when the rubber hit the road, Geisel was not afraid to admit wrongdoing and challenge himself. He noticed that there was a need for dramatic change in American culture and its representations of others, and he was the first to admit that he needed to change as well. Geisel's career, though blemished in the earlier years, is therefore an example of humility and personal reckoning.
The work of Dr. Seuss stands as a testament to the ability of children's literature to be political without being propagandist. His philosophical approach to language as a child's "play-thing" reminds me of the idea of language-games that we find in the late Wittgenstein. By opening children's imagination and encouraging them to take part in these language-games, Dr. Seuss showed us the social utility of nonsense.
The author, Donald E. Pease, is Professor of English and the Ted and Helen Geisel Third Century Professor in the Humanities at Dartmouth College, as well as the Chair of the Dartmouth Liberal Studies Program. As you might expect from a scholar with those qualifications, Pease brings a wide range of analytical tools to the table, and he wields them to the service of his character study.
Of course, the focus of the book is Dr. Seuss. But who was the man behind the pseudonym? How did he become this iconic figure in children's literature? The answers that Pease gives to these questions are fascinating. Similar to what Freud did with the Cartesian cogito, Pease splits the portrait of his subject into three distinct yet interrelated identities: there's "Ted", the child; "Geisel", the adult; and "Dr. Seuss", the artist and story-teller. The trajectory of the book roughly follows these three personas, which collectively form a comprehensive image of Geisel as a human being, an artist, and a fractured modern subject.
Much of the book is geared toward the exploration of the liberal-democratic values at the core of Geisel's surrealist brand of children's literature. Pease convincingly shows us how Geisel, as Dr. Seuss, used cartooning as a way to instil the post-war virtues of tolerance and anti-racism in young children. Yet Geisel was a complicated subject, and Pease recognizes this complexity, never shying away from the darker and more controversial elements of the Dr. Seuss legacy. Interestingly, Pease suggests that Geisel's post-war emphasis on anti-racism - particularly the evils of anti-Semitism - was both an attempt to teach children love and compassion for others, but also to confront his own past, which contained a number of harmful representations of racial minorities. Indeed, in his earlier work, Geisel had a penchant for Blackface and anti-Semitic humour. His earlier representations of Japanese-Americans are especially shocking from today's perspective.
And yet, as Pease shows, when the rubber hit the road, Geisel was not afraid to admit wrongdoing and challenge himself. He noticed that there was a need for dramatic change in American culture and its representations of others, and he was the first to admit that he needed to change as well. Geisel's career, though blemished in the earlier years, is therefore an example of humility and personal reckoning.
The work of Dr. Seuss stands as a testament to the ability of children's literature to be political without being propagandist. His philosophical approach to language as a child's "play-thing" reminds me of the idea of language-games that we find in the late Wittgenstein. By opening children's imagination and encouraging them to take part in these language-games, Dr. Seuss showed us the social utility of nonsense.
February 29, 2012
Geisel's life is pretty interesting, but this book reads like a high school term paper. It is all over the place and leaves out information. Plus, it is quite short despite padding with analysis of Dr. Seuss's books.
But still there are interesting things to be learned:
Where did the name Seuss come from?
What ethnicity was he? (I assumed he was Jewish!)
Why was he voted "least likely to succeed?"
How did he first wife die? (Although this book does not go into enough detail here. I was left wondering EXACTLY how did she die. I need the gory details.)
But still there are interesting things to be learned:
Where did the name Seuss come from?
What ethnicity was he? (I assumed he was Jewish!)
Why was he voted "least likely to succeed?"
How did he first wife die? (Although this book does not go into enough detail here. I was left wondering EXACTLY how did she die. I need the gory details.)
April 16, 2017
If it were possible, I'd give this book a 3.4/5. I liked the biographical side of it and a felt like some of the insights the author had were relevant and thought-provoking. But overall I felt like he used this more as a forum to advance his own academic standing than as a vehicle to provide a biography about his subject. Read this if you're interested in literary criticism about Dr. Seuss's works, not if you're interested in a biography about him. The story of his life took a back seat to the author's musings on the meaning behind his books.
December 2, 2011
Kind of a boring biography. I found out that he basically abandoned his dying wife because he felt like distancing himself from her because she was dying, then basically stole another man's wife. I hate knowing that Dr. Seuss was a selfish jerk who emotionally devastated his dying wife. I wish I had never read this book.
January 8, 2022
I'm not a huge fan of biographies in general, but I needed to read a biography of an author I admire for a book challenge. I wasn't willing to spend 800 pages on it, which was the length of most of the books that somewhat interested me. Finding this book, that runs 152 pages before the acknowledgments, seemed more appropriate to my level of interest.
I would say that parts of this book were really interesting, and parts were incredibly dull. I appreciated the quick recap of Geisel's life, art, and legacy. Those were the good parts. But the analysis of his art in relation to his internal struggles almost always missed the mark for me.
For example, in discussing why Green Eggs and Ham was so popular, Pease writes:
"The book successfully closes the gap separating the limited interests of six-year-olds from the reading matter that addresses those interests. Green Eggs and Ham meets those interests by transporting one of the themes Dr. Seuss explored explored in his Big Books - the deep social bond concealed beneath socially entrenched antagonisms - into what would quickly became(sic) the most popular of his Beginner Books."
Um... no. The book was so popular because kids love that the guy doesn't want to eat green stuff (just like them) and adults love that the guy finally tries the green stuff in the end and loves it (what they've been begging their kids to do for years), and all of this is wrapped in some awesome rhyming.
So I'm giving this book 3 stars. It was good at times, and not great at other times, but I think people who really enjoy the biography genre will enjoy this book much more than I did.
I would say that parts of this book were really interesting, and parts were incredibly dull. I appreciated the quick recap of Geisel's life, art, and legacy. Those were the good parts. But the analysis of his art in relation to his internal struggles almost always missed the mark for me.
For example, in discussing why Green Eggs and Ham was so popular, Pease writes:
"The book successfully closes the gap separating the limited interests of six-year-olds from the reading matter that addresses those interests. Green Eggs and Ham meets those interests by transporting one of the themes Dr. Seuss explored explored in his Big Books - the deep social bond concealed beneath socially entrenched antagonisms - into what would quickly became(sic) the most popular of his Beginner Books."
Um... no. The book was so popular because kids love that the guy doesn't want to eat green stuff (just like them) and adults love that the guy finally tries the green stuff in the end and loves it (what they've been begging their kids to do for years), and all of this is wrapped in some awesome rhyming.
So I'm giving this book 3 stars. It was good at times, and not great at other times, but I think people who really enjoy the biography genre will enjoy this book much more than I did.
January 30, 2018
If you are looking for a book about Dr. Seuss's art and what shaped him into the author that he is, this is the book for you. The author looks at Seuss's life at the key moments that drove him to produce what art and stories that he made. I was pleasantly pleased with this book since I wanted to learn more about his work after vising the Legends Gallery in La Jolla, Ca. where his art is prominently displayed (and I do typically list Dr. Seuss as one of my literary inspirations).
I see a lot of reviews bashing him for how he "left" his sick wife. While I do not condone some of the decisions he made during his wife's final days, I would not say he left her. Based on his childhood went, he handled the situation in the way he knew how even though it was the wrong way.
Dr. Seuss was a literary genius and this book is perfect for anyone who is curious in how he became who he was and what lead to what he wrote and drew. If you are looking for a biography that looks more at his personal life, this book may not be for you. But if you want to know how his work came to be, please, pick this book up and read it.
I see a lot of reviews bashing him for how he "left" his sick wife. While I do not condone some of the decisions he made during his wife's final days, I would not say he left her. Based on his childhood went, he handled the situation in the way he knew how even though it was the wrong way.
Dr. Seuss was a literary genius and this book is perfect for anyone who is curious in how he became who he was and what lead to what he wrote and drew. If you are looking for a biography that looks more at his personal life, this book may not be for you. But if you want to know how his work came to be, please, pick this book up and read it.
July 23, 2018
Frankly I was shocked to see a reviewer who didn't like this book. The reviewer said it appeared to be mean-spirited. Nothing could be farther from my impression of this excellent "quick read" of a man who changed children's literature for generations. The author did a very good job of portraying Geisel as a real man who had issues like all of us. Yes he occasionally used deception such as the time he got bounced off his college publication but that in turn gave rise to the famous Dr. Seuss name. Mr. Pease should be praised for giving us a glimpse of the real man behind the legend.
January 1, 2019
A nice, short history of Dr. Seuss' work that pulls from more comprehensive biographies. Impressive analysis of how his most popular stories have impacted modern culture.
August 22, 2020
Succinct and absorbing introduction to Seuss's writing; am now ready to read "Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel" by Judith and Neil Morgan.
September 23, 2025
Part bio, part lit crit: short and sweet
August 11, 2011
Wow, what an interesting life Ted "Dr. Seuss" Geisel lived! I've read so many of his works and yet the truth of his life is stranger than the fiction I'd imagined. He grew up in Springfield, MA, not far from where I am currently living (Providence, RI) and I am very motivated now to go visit the park and memorial there.
This biography is not a voluminous tome that would put even the most dedicated Suessian enthusiast to sleep. It is a well-written, concise, fast-paced telling of the evolution of Dr. Suess from his earliest days as a doodler, to his college experiences in journalism and then in advertising.
The time markers in the book are based on his works in chronological order. I discovered quite a few of his pieces that I'd never heard of before and am now motivated to search out. What I really appreciated along with the timeline development schema was that the author also provided critical analysis of the works and background information about how they were developed from the academic purview to intentional instill a love of reading and learning in children.
It was a fascinating and captivating story of his life that I'm glad I haphazardly stumbled onto at my local library while browsing waiting to check out other books. Oh - and, this book is part of a series called "Lives and Legacies". This one installment has sparked my interest in others in the series as well. Because they are more concise works, I think they are more appealing to a broader audience than wordier, more scholarly and in-depth biographies.
This biography is not a voluminous tome that would put even the most dedicated Suessian enthusiast to sleep. It is a well-written, concise, fast-paced telling of the evolution of Dr. Suess from his earliest days as a doodler, to his college experiences in journalism and then in advertising.
The time markers in the book are based on his works in chronological order. I discovered quite a few of his pieces that I'd never heard of before and am now motivated to search out. What I really appreciated along with the timeline development schema was that the author also provided critical analysis of the works and background information about how they were developed from the academic purview to intentional instill a love of reading and learning in children.
It was a fascinating and captivating story of his life that I'm glad I haphazardly stumbled onto at my local library while browsing waiting to check out other books. Oh - and, this book is part of a series called "Lives and Legacies". This one installment has sparked my interest in others in the series as well. Because they are more concise works, I think they are more appealing to a broader audience than wordier, more scholarly and in-depth biographies.
March 25, 2012
A short, but interesting biography of one of my favorite children's book authors. I really knew nothing about Dr Seuss and his impact on the children's book genre. There were areas I think could have been expanded on. Geisel was of German decent, his family owned a brewery prior to Prohibition, Seuss was his mother's maiden name, and the author mentions a poem by a friend of Geisel's that states that Seuss was pronounced the German way (soyce). I would have like for the author to comment on whether this was true and if he changed the way he pronounced his name as he became more famous. It would have been interesting to hear more about his German background, and also about his later life, which was pretty much quickly summarized.
I found some of the analysis of Dr Seuss' books to be a bit farfetched, but overall an enjoyable read.
I found some of the analysis of Dr Seuss' books to be a bit farfetched, but overall an enjoyable read.
October 6, 2011
I admit that I'm a Dr. Seuss junkie and I have been for about 50 years. Perhaps that influences my rating but I found this to be a fascinating read! Donald Pease is a professor at Dartmouth (where Seuss graduated in 1925) and his work is scholarly and yet highly readable. It is a mere 154 pages and packed with details of Seuss' motivation for his various works. There is a good balance of Seuss' life Vs. his art and theory about the influence of his experiences on his work. Pease also shows the growth in Seuss as he struggles with some of his earlier racist works that were conceived mostly as propaganda for the US government.
I wish Pease had written another 200 pages!
I wish Pease had written another 200 pages!
December 13, 2011
This slim volume takes an interesting tack -- rather than trying to be a comprehensive or even a bare-bones biography of Geisel, it instead highlights various turning points throughout his life and also shows how events in his life intertwined with, influenced, and were influenced by his creative work. The author's analysis of various Seuss books sometimes came off as a tangent (besides feeling a little too academic for my taste and somewhat out of step with the rest of the text), but overall my main complaint about this very readable and interesting book is that I would have liked it to be longer.
October 4, 2010
This was a concise story of Geisel's life - almost the Reader's Digest version. I enjoyed the brevity of it because I was passingly interested in his life and works, but not up for a tome of reading. Overall it was a good read, combining interesting tidbits with the overall arc of his life. It focused primarily on his formative years of boyhood, college and early career before the Dr. Seuss books as we know them were written. I was particularly interested to learn how his books changed the landscape of children's books and early education.
June 4, 2011
When a gust of wind blew a transparent sketch of an elephant on top of another sketch of a tree, the inspiration for “Horton Hatches the Egg” was born.
'Theodor Seuss Geisel' traces Dr. Seuss’s beginnings as a cartoonist, from his school pranks to his advertising days and his bumps along the way to becoming the most famous children’s author. The book is appealing as it plays on everyone’s sense of nostalgia, but the most interesting aspect of the book is how Pease provides insight for how events in Seuss’s life shaped the stories that became the universal children’s classics.
May 30, 2012
How strange that this critical biography should skim over or not even mention so many of Geisel's most famous books! Clearly, he decided to skim in places where he felt that other writers had documented Geisel's life well. Still, some of the readings are strong, especially his reading of _Horton Hears a Who_ as a parable about the need for individualistic thinking. I had always wondered about the dedication to the person with the Japanese name, and now I know that was a Kyoto schoolteacher whom Geisel met in Japan in 1953.
May 2, 2014
This was a short book of which the first part revealed Geisel's early life and some of the family struggles that ended up influencing his work. The second part of the book was a fairly academic review of some of the better known books. The author analyzes the children's stories against the backdrop of American history, which proves insightful to understanding the larger themes. I particularly enjoyed the few pages that touch on the history of children's literature, and Geisel's deliberate attempt to invent a new method for learning/reading.
March 23, 2014
Growing up in Suessiana, I always thought of Geisel as a children's author and nothing else. Very interesting to learn of his early life as a political cartoonist and ad man. Intriguing to be able to go behind the scenes and learn his creative process for writing such gems as The Sneetches, The Butter Battle Book, Mulberry St, etc. The artwork in the book - especially his iconic creatures - were wonderful!
June 9, 2010
This was a very interesting book. I saw the author, Donald Pease, on Book TV and the book reads as he talked. An English professor, Mr. Pease gives a lecture about what drove Theodor Seuss Geisel to become Dr. Seuss. It's not a biography of his life, but it tells how his life influenced his books.
Read this book with a stack of Dr. Seuss books next to you.
Read this book with a stack of Dr. Seuss books next to you.
September 20, 2010
Having grown up on the likes of Dick & Jane, I was delighted to discover the world of Dr. Seuss for my own children - the Lorax and Horton Hears a Who are two personal favorites. Donald Pease shows the reader the creative genius behind the stories. Pease doesn't enter into the imaginary world himself in the telling - just gives us a good solid background of a beloved figure.
December 7, 2010
Learned a lot about my daughters favorite author. Made me look at his life and stories in a different light. I can't say much without giving some spoilers out, but he went through a number of struggles and had acquaintances with some very influential people of his time. It was a little slow in areas, but it's my first biography in a while so I can't say much.
August 22, 2011
I really like this book because it gives the reader an inside look at the author of those wonderful children's books.
It really humanizes him and brings reality to the man we have only been imaginizing. The reality is much different from my picture of him.
However despite his human faults, his books and writings are pricless.
It really humanizes him and brings reality to the man we have only been imaginizing. The reality is much different from my picture of him.
However despite his human faults, his books and writings are pricless.
April 8, 2012
Picked this up for holiday reading on a whim, and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
Pease portrays Geisel as a kind of accidental leftie - a man so driven to create, he follows various mechanisms and works to do so. It was a complex, sometimes unflattering, always interesting glimpse into a man whose thinking was so appealing and unique. Plus - short!
Pease portrays Geisel as a kind of accidental leftie - a man so driven to create, he follows various mechanisms and works to do so. It was a complex, sometimes unflattering, always interesting glimpse into a man whose thinking was so appealing and unique. Plus - short!
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July 26, 2012Who didnt love these books growing up? I remember being obsessed with Horton hears a who when i was young and i always wondered who Dr Seuss was, what he looked like, etc,.. When i passed this book in the bio section at barnes and noble i had to grab it. I was very impressed. Such an interesting, and strange man. Read this one!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews