Rating: 
Summary: Great book for comic fans of all ages
Review: For anyone who likes Peanuts (or any other comic strip, for that matter), this book is "the one". It not only shows us the art, humor, and subtle sophistication of Peanuts, but it delves into other aspects of Peanuts, including early advertisements featuring the Peanuts gang, earyl merchandising, and Schulz's workplace.A truly great book with an excellent collection of strips and a tremendous overall appearance. I like the comments that go along with many of the strips in the book.
Rating:
Summary: A very nice collection of older Peanuts strips
Review: I am an ardent collector of books related to the Peanuts comic strips created by Charles Schulz. But one thing you learn when you have this hobby is that not as much exists from the early days of Peanuts (particularly the first five years or so). My understanding is that as time went on, Schulz wasn't as fond of the earlier days of Peanuts and did not want these strips reprinted if he could help it. These were the days when Charlie Brown's shirt didn't have the famous zig-zag and Snoopy walked on all four legs and didn't have his famous "thought balloons". This book "Peanuts: The Art of Charles Schulz" is focused primarily on those early days of Peanuts, with most of the material from the first ten years of the strip (the 1950's). The strips are photographed from Schulz's archives and there are many strips I have never seen before (and I've seen just about every one that was published). You even get to see the long forgotten Charlotte Braun, who was in the strip for a short period around 1954 and had the fussbudget personality later assumed by Lucy. Fascinating. You see Lucy, Linus and Schroeder as babies. You see Charlie Brown with a huge head (much bigger in proportion to his body than you are used to seeing). And you see Snoopy as basically just a dog before he assumed his own thoughts and imagination. There is also a lot of sketches and strips from the pre-Peanuts days (Lil Folks) that can really give you insight into how Peanuts eventually came to be. This has never been done to any great extent is any Peanuts book that I have seen. The strips are terrific and the style of the presentation is very pleasant to look at as well. This book is laid out more as an art book than as a collection of comic strips. And it is very well done at that. It's better than just about all the books that were issued every five years to celebrate landmark years for Peanuts (25th anniversary, 30th, etc.) This book is a must for any hardcore Peanuts fan who wants to see how this tremendous icon of American culture for the last half of the 20th century got its start.
Rating: 
Summary: This is not really for comics fans...
Review: I bought this because there is currently no other collection of Schulz's earliest Peanuts strips being published. I certainly like the book for what it is - an art book. The wealth of material inside is fantastic, and the book focuses on the strip in a holistic way, examining its influence on pop culture as well as presenting a good overview of the actual strip. However, and this is extremely crucial, this is NOT a book to buy if one wants a good collection of older Peanuts material to read and reread. Most of the strips are just photos of old newspaper clippings (I'm not quite sure what they were going for there) and hundreds of them are reprinted so small that they hurt your eyes. Also, there is virtually no continuity among the reprints. They just seem to be a random collection of the book's creator's favorites. If you are a serious fan of comics and a serious fan of Peanuts in particular, save your money for the Fantagraphics-published Peanuts albums that are coming out in April, 2004. I'm keeping this book until they do come out, and then I'm giving it to someone who's an art student with better eyesight than me (who might appreciate it a little more).
Rating:
Summary: This is the BEST one!!!
Review: I bought this book first of all because I am a fan of Peanuts and because I am 15 years old and I don't like to read, but my mom tells me to read all the time. Comics are the only thing I read, Peanuts comics, obviously. My book hasn't arrive yet, but I saw part of it in Borders and I fell in love with it. I think is the best one, and the vintage drawings gives it a special and unique look that other books do not have. I can't wait for it to arrive. I suggest all of you to buy it. You will like it as much as I do, I can assure that. I gave this book 5 stars!! It really deservs them!! ;-)
Rating:
Summary: A wonerful book, belongs with any Charlie Brown collection
Review: I first came across this book one night in a bookstore, and soon, i just had to get my own copy. This book chronicles the art of Schulz in a collection that utilizes Chip Kidd's graphic design mentality and the art of Charles M. Schulz. Contained herein are thoughts that Schulz had about his characters, as well as many other classic items. Most notable are the early comic strips, including art never seen by the public before. There are also incredible comic strips dating back to the very beginning. Here it is interesting to see the Peanuts' world when Linus, Lucy, Peppermin Patty and Marcie didn't exist. In the early days, characters like Patty and Violet were fascinated with dolls and making mud pies. Shroeder was a hairless little baby, who was already exuding his wisdom of Ludwig Von Beethoven. Snoopy was still a "normal" dog, but Charlie Brown. Whoa. There was a revelation. Charlie Brown was not quite the mellow guy he is today. There really was very little dislike towards him, and the weirdest thing was hearing a comic strip where Patty and Violet are fighting over who likes Charlie Brown better! Well, I think I've rambled enough there. There are also the things included, such as: Pictures of Schulz's workplace. His drawing table, the pen tray where he stored his art supplies, and much more.
Rare pictures of Peanuts Memorabilia, such as a Snoopy doll, suited up for a landing on the moon, LEGO figures of the Peanuts characters with "bobble" heads, and Peanuts comic book covers. Rare comic strips and drawings, including: A Sunday Comic Strip, where Lucy and Charlie Crown play golf among a sea of adults (you only see their legs, nothing else), the only known image of Charlie Brown's "Little Red-Haired Girl," and even failed or scrapped drawing ideas. After this book came out, I did get a chance to meet and talk with Chip Kidd at an autograph signing in Chicago, IL. He seemed very pleased with the book, and I could understand why. Just look at the cover for this book at the top of the page. The cover hearkens back to the youth of many. Charlie Brown and his friends were a constant read during my elementary school years, and because of them, I also took up an interest in drawing. This book is both a testament to Schulz's work, and the characters that we all know and love.
Rating:
Summary: A Must for any 'Peanuts' Fan and a True Work of Art
Review: I have loved Peanuts since childhood, and have an almost complete collection of Peanuts books. Charles Schultz has always been an inspiration to me in my work as an occasional professional cartoonist. Not only is Schultz unsurpassed as an artist, he is also one of the great philosophers of twentieth century life in America.
This book is, first and foremost, a celebration of the comic strip. It is a work of art in its own right. All the cartoons in the book are photographed from either their original drawings, or directly from the newspapers. The reader can see the artistic details that Schultz has used in creating each frame in photos of the originals. And the use of the original strips, with their rough paper and newsprint lines, brings back the joy of reading the comics for the first time in the funnies. The Sunday comics are complete with the little color dots that created the color images. There are literally hundreds of comic strips, both daily and Sunday, in this book, and they give a good overview of Schultz's long career.
There are many photos of Schultz's doodles and rough sketches, of his desk and his artist's tools, early cartoons 'Sparky' sold to the Saturday Evening Post, early drawings of certain characters, some of which pre-date 'Peanuts' itself. One can actually see the characters develop, artistically and as human beings. Interspersed with the cartoons are textual explanations and stories about Schultz and his characters, including many insightful comments by Charles Schultz himself about the evolution and personalities of his characters. Also included are photos of early Peanuts toys and dolls, and even these are photographed lovingly and with attention to detail and shadow.
This is a magical book, and any Peanuts fan would love it and treasure it. It is a book one can return to over and over to enjoy. Leave it lying around the living room where everybody can enjoy it and relive the joy Charles Schultz and the Peanuts gang gave us for over fifty years. Better yet, introduce a new generation of kids to the strip. The Peanuts gang is a microcosm of us, and reading it reveals much about ourselves and helps us to look on life with tenderness and humor.
Buy this book, read it, and share it. It would make a wonderful present as well. It is the best Peanuts book to date.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Peanuts Book
Review: I received this book as a gift from a dear friend. It is a wonderful book filled with photos of peanuts collectibles over the decades, old peanuts strips from before Lucy was really "Lucy" and she was just a toddler, and the various versions of the "peanuts" that Schultz went through before he hit gold. In the beginning of the book you can read about Charles Schultz' life and career and even get a look at his high school sketches and doodles. It is a very interesting read and one you can come back to again and again finding something new each time. This book is a wonderful book for a true peanuts lover.
Rating:
Summary: a fans thankyou for agreat book
Review: I woud like to thank amazon.com for puting this book out for the fans of charles m.schulz a great artiest for the people he never gave in to the smut hokers or polatics of the moment he made a stand for fun and games of childhood and for this i will allwase love his work THANK YOU ALL"""""
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful and Moving Compilation
Review: If you are or were a fan of good old Charlie Brown, I highly recommend this beautiful and moving compilation of Schulz's work. More than 500 strips are reproduced, from his last penstrokes to his pre-Peanuts work. There are also modest quotes from Schulz throughout, as well as some interesting photos of his working space. As I re-read some of the earlier strips, I could vividly recall reading them as a kid. Something indelible in the seemingly simple lines of Schulz's drawing. Its interesting and somehow affecting to trace the development of the characters, to see Lucy as an innocent baby, and then follow her into domineering fussbudgetness. And Charlie Brown grew as well, losing some of his original pumkinheadedness over the years, but also losing some of his spunk and mischievious sense of humor. You can get the sense of the strip maturing, as in the earlier strips the characters were innocent, even in their anxieties, where later they became more knowing and resigned to their lot in life. Even though the strip changed over time, it had a timeless quality. There is evidence of a world outside of Schulz's palette, as in his few strips dealing with Viet Nam. But as with his drafting p.o.v., social issues are drawn from a child's perspective, a son's anxiety over his dad's absence, the fear of being sent off to somewhere strange in the future. There is no grand moralizing or strident argument, only a small, worried child. 50 years at the board, a worthy and dignified labor of love:
Rating:
Summary: d'ya love sparky and his work ?
Review: If you do .... this love letter to
Charles Schulz and his art is a must-buy. The book is beautifully designed, photographed,
and printed. It is full of great photos
of Peanutsiana: early strips, precursor
cartoons, strips as brainstormed, strips
as printed, original art,
sketchbooks, toys and games, Schulz's tools
and drawing table. This was clearly a labor of love for all the
folks involved in putting it together. A big
thanks to all of them.
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