The Seuss, the Whole Seuss and Nothing But the Seuss: A Visual Biography of Theodor Seuss Geisel

Cohen reaches back to Geisel's school days and illustrates the development of the artist's style and humor. Continually he will point out how pieces done at various points in Geisel's life can be traced as part of the development of what would become some of his trademark images and beloved characters, including the Grinch. Instead of focusing heavily on Seuss's books, he draws attention to the vast collection of other artwork that was drawn, mostly before the books even came into being. Seuss's work as a humorist, advertising artist, sculptor, and cartoonist (political and otherwise) are shown here as he continued to improve and hone his craft. The end results are the books that are so beloved to multitudes of people who were lucky enough to grow up with Seuss in the house.

The book would be worth it for the pictures alone, but the accompanying text helps get below the surface of many of the pieces, and to tie them together into a artist's whole output. Even if you only look at the pictures and read the captions to the pictures, you will get a whole new appreciation of Dr. Seuss's work over the years. If I any complaint, it is that in some ways the books almost get shorted too much in this narrative, and too often the captions for the illustrations are repetitive to the text. But these are minor quibbles that in no way detract from the glorious whole.

For the Seuss lover, and for the casual reader, this book brings the reader a whole new appreciation of a beloved illustrator's work and the genius that was Dr. Seuss.


The many facets of Dr. Seuss   May 16, 2004
Eileen Rieback (Coral Springs, FL USA)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

Since 2004 is the Seussentennial, or the hundredth anniversary of Dr. Seuss' birth, this is a great time to get to know more about one of America's most popular icons of children's literature. Ted Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, was far more than an author and illustrator of children's books and movies. His career includes humorist, journalist, advertising genius, magazine and political cartoonist, creator of wartime training and propaganda films, president of a publishing company, and spokesman for children's education.

Author Charles Cohen, a dentist and avid collector of Seussiana, is well qualified to write this visual biography of Ted Geisel. Through lavish illustrations, many from his own collection, Cohen shows the many facets of Geisel's art and imagination. The reader is treated to Geisel's earliest works from long before his first published children's book. These include examples of his college newspaper cartoons and his many successful advertising campaigns that blended humor and salesmanship. These creations are juxtaposed with his later children's books to provide the reader a deeper understanding of how culture and history shaped the evolution of his ideas and whimsical bestiary, and to point out the same themes cropping up over and over again in his works.

Although this book provides a fascinating view into many unusual perspectives of Dr. Seuss the artist and innovator, there is little here about Ted Geisel the man. In the introduction, Cohen says that he neither met Geisel nor interviewed anyone who knew him. Instead he delved into Geisel's works to discover what made him tick. As a result, there are many facts missing about Geisel's personal life and friendships. The few personal facts that were thrown in, mostly towards the end of the book, came from out of nowhere and made me crave more details. It is for this reason, especially since this book is called a "visual biography," that I rated it four stars instead of five. It is more a visual exploration of Geisel's works than a biography. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend this book. It will open your eyes to a creatively obsessed man that you never realized existed. It will also rekindle your fond memories of the Dr. Seuss books you read as a child. Perhaps it will even shed a bit of light on why you loved those books so much.

Eileen Rieback


A Grown-up Biography of a Children's Hero   March 20, 2004
A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com (Glen Ellyn, IL USA)
30 out of 31 found this review helpful

With the awful, distorted, contrived pile of wasted film, conjured up in the form of Mike Myers' take on the "Cat in the Hat," it would be nice to know why, in the beginning of it all, Dr. Seuss was ever popular at all. He was a great writer and cartoonist before his famous cat's striped hat became chic fashion among post-grunge era teenagers.

In "The Seuss, the Whole Seuss and Nothing But the Seuss: A Visual Biography of Theodor Seuss Geisel" by Charles Cohen, we are shown the greatness of Seuss -- of Theodor Geisel, through drawings, paintings and text. We get to learn about his early days at Dartmouth, as he toyed with hybridic animals, wit and satire.

Not every idea worked. Seuss, an experimenter, evolved from being a talented but rustic styler of odd creatures into a sophisticated artist of odd, if not bizarre beasts that had genuine identity.

Before he write and drew books about green eggs, grinches, and elephants named Horton, he was an editorial cartoonist. His language in many of the cartoons was far from being politically correct, but his social commentary decrying racism was right on. He hard-handed racist thought with no evidence of his sweet children's characters kindness.

Cohen has produced an array of research. Samples of Seuss' art grace most pages. We also get a look at the vast merchandising, parodies, and unlicensed knock-offs.

This is not a children's book. Don't be fooled by the name of the publisher. It is for someone interested in reading a serious look at the history of one of America's beloved cartoonists.

I fully recommend "The Seuss, the Whole Seuss and Nothing But the Seuss: A Visual Biography of Theodor Seuss Geisel." by Charles D. Cohen.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com


Fabulous!   March 5, 2004
Elizabeth G. (Midwestern United States)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

This book is not all about reiterating the Seuss stories we've already read, but instead an objective well researched pictoral and written account of the man so many love. Cohen does a great job researching the possible meanings of Geisel's cartoons and later texts. There are many, many Judge magazine and other political cartoons that are absolutely hilarious, and absolutely adult in nature (similar to alot of his "childrens" stories).

I highly recommend this book to anyone what likes to drop into a chapter then skip to another at an opposite end of the book because they are somewhat independent although chronological, it is easy to skip around to the parts you feel like reading for that day.

Also, at 400 pages full color, who can pass up the bargain?

f.y.i. This biography seems to coincide a lot with *In Search of Dr. Seuss* the movie that just came out in dvd


Gorgeous book   February 26, 2004
David Goldflam (NY, NY)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Kudos to Dr. Cohen. The writing is insightful, the illustrations and pictures are outstanding, the sheer volume of content is overwhelming and of course, the dedication is tear-jerking. A must have for any Seuss fan. Read the inside jacket-I'm guessing someday there will be a Poem Repair Shop.