The Peanuts Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life: A Library of America Special Publication

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About The Peanuts Papers: Writers And Cartoonists On

Product Description A one-of-a-kind celebration of America's greatest comic strip--and the life lessons it can teach us--from a stellar array of writers and artists Over the span of fifty years, Charles M. Schulz created a comic strip that is one of the indisputable glories of American popular culture—hilarious, poignant, inimitable. Some twenty years after the last strip appeared, the characters Schulz brought to life in Peanuts continue to resonate with millions of fans, their beguiling four-panel adventures and television escapades offering lessons about happiness, friendship, disappointment, childhood, and life itself.  In The Peanuts Papers, thirty-three writers and artists reflect on the deeper truths of Schulz’s deceptively simple comic, its impact on their lives and art and on the broader culture. These enchanting, affecting, and often quite personal essays show just how much Peanuts means to its many admirers—and the ways it invites us to ponder, in the words of Sarah Boxer, “how to survive and still be a decent human being” in an often bewildering world. Featuring essays, memoirs, poems, and two original comic strips, here is the ultimate reader’s companion for every Peanuts fan. Featuring: Jill Bialosky  Lisa Birnbach  Sarah Boxer Jennifer Finney Boylan  Ivan Brunetti  Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell  Rich Cohen  Gerald Early  Umberto Eco Jonathan Franzen  Ira Glass Adam Gopnik  David Hajdu  Bruce Handy  David Kamp  Maxine Hong Kingston Chuck Klosterman  Peter D. Kramer  Jonathan Lethem  Rick Moody  Ann Patchett  Kevin Powell Joe Queenan Nicole Rudick  George Saunders  Elissa Schappell  Seth  Janice Shapiro  Mona Simpson  Leslie Stein  Clifford Thompson  David L. Ulin  Chris Ware Review NPR Best Book of 2019 “This charming, searching book . . . is one of the more spiritual books I’ve read in years. . . . [It] will help you see [ Peanuts] clear, if you don’t already, as a psychologically complex epic about stoicism, faith and other approaches to existential struggles.” –John Williams, The New York Times “Deeply personal and often moving , THE PEANUTS PAPERS shine a light on the enormous impact the work of Charles M. Schulz has had on a generation of writers and artists . . . and on the world as a whole.” —Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid " The Peanuts Papers is perhaps best read piecemeal, lest absorbing the whir of thoughtful observations becomes like trying to appreciate a spinning diamond. . . . This anthology supports the idea that we return to Peanuts for the depth and the recognition and the truth — and sometimes simply because, as [Kevin] Powell writes in reference to his own depression, Schulz and Peanuts still have the capacity to bring us 'tremendous happiness to this very day.'” — Michael Cavna, The Washington Post "“Peanuts” was one of the most influential American comics. A new collection of meditative, charming essays explores the strip’s cultural impact." — Christian Science Monitor “A heartwarming tribute to Schulz’s inimitable strip and the influence it had on its everyday audience.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) "Anyone who enjoyed the comics or TV specials will recognize their experiences in these pages and have their appreciation of Schulz’s genius renewed." — Library Journal (Starred Review) “Top-flight...Essential reading for Peanuts fans and an appealing collection of personal writing for any reader.” —Kirkus Reviews “A diverse and illustrious line-up of authors, whose thoughtful and heartfelt accolades attest to Schulz’s enduring vision and his strip’s abiding place in American culture.” — Booklist " Peanuts came at you a hundred miles an hour, under the radar of the parents and subversive as Hell. The adults told lies that didn’t hold up. Peanuts told the truth: the popular kids aren’t ever going to let you in; the kid you’re in love with won’t ever love you back; the most worthwhile people in life are the oddballs. I loved this