A Boy Named Shel: The Life and Times of Shel Silverstein

A Boy Named Shel: The Life and Times of Shel Silverstein
by Lisa Rogak

A Boy Named Shel: The Life and Times of Shel Silverstein
List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $6.50
You Save: $18.45 (74%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.22 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Lisa Rogak
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-11-13
ISBN: 0312353596
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Book Reviews of A Boy Named Shel: The Life and Times of Shel Silverstein

Book Review: Artist At Work
Summary: 5 Stars

What's it like to be born with more artistic interests than ten ordinary artists combined? Lisa Rogak's book about Shel Silverstein provides one answer to that question, and the answer is this: It's different.

Shel Silverstein was an accomplished cartoonist, a poet, a talented jazz musician, a writer of movie scores and rock-and-roll and country western hit songs, an author of best-selling children's books, and a noteworthy playwright.

If an editor asked Silverstein to change a word in one of his poems, Silverstein couldn't directly comply, even if he wanted to. The closest he could come to it was to tear up the poem and re-write it from scratch without the offending word. Yet Silverstein's loyalty to his own creative vision never got in the way of collaborating with other artists. Indeed, he sought opportunities to collaborate with others, he produced great work on a collaborative basis, and he was generous in sharing credit with his collaborators.

Although Silverstein seldom explained his work except to say that it explained itself, Rogak has done an effective job of characterizing both the work and the worker behind it and placing them in perspective with the help of stories and anecdotes collected from dozens of Silverstein's friends, associates, and artistic collaborators.

Summary of A Boy Named Shel: The Life and Times of Shel Silverstein

Few authors are as beloved as Shel Silverstein. His inimitable drawings and comic poems have become the bedtime staples of millions of children and their parents, but few readers know much about the man behind that wild-eyed, bearded face peering out from the backs of dust jackets.

In A Boy Named Shel, Lisa Rogak tells the full story of a life as antic and adventurous as any of his creations. A man with an incurable case of wanderlust, Shel kept homes on both coasts and many places in between---and enjoyed regular stays in the Playboy Mansion. Everywhere he went he charmed neighbors, made countless friends, and romanced almost as many women with his unstoppable energy and never-ending wit.

His boundless creativity brought him fame and fortune---neither of which changed his down-to-earth way of life---and his children?s books sold millions of copies. But he was much more than ?just? a children?s writer. He collaborated with anyone who crossed his path, and found success in a wider range of genres than most artists could ever hope to master. He penned hit songs like ?A Boy Named Sue? and ?The Unicorn.? He drew cartoons for Stars & Stripes and got his big break with Playboy. He wrote experimental plays and collaborated on scripts with David Mamet. With a seemingly unending stream of fresh ideas, he worked compulsively and enthusiastically on a wide array of projects up until his death, in 1999.

            Drawing on wide-ranging interviews and in-depth research, Rogak gives fans a warm, enlightening portrait of an artist whose imaginative spirit created the poems, songs, and drawings that have touched the lives of so many children---and adults.

Artists, Architects & Photographers Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Artists, Architects & Photographers Books
Wainewright the Poisoner: The Confessions of Thomas Griffiths Wainewright ImageWainewright the Poisoner: The Confessions of Thomas Griffiths Wainewright
by Andrew Motion
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 2001-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.95
Price in other shops: $20.00
Get the Picture: A Personal History of Photojournalism (Crime & Justice: a Review of Research; Crime & Justice: a Review of Research) ImageGet the Picture: A Personal History of Photojournalism (Crime & Justice: a Review of Research; Crime & Justice: a Review of Research)
by John G. Morris
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 2002-06-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.26
Price in other shops: $20.00
J. M. W. Turner (Very Interesting People) ImageJ. M. W. Turner (Very Interesting People)
by Luke Herrmann
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2007-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops: $11.95
An Eye for History: The Paintings of William Henry Jackson, From the Collection at the Oregon Trail Museum ImageAn Eye for History: The Paintings of William Henry Jackson, From the Collection at the Oregon Trail Museum
by Dean Knudsen
National Park Service; Published: 1998; Paperback; Book
Best price: $38.00
The Philosophy of Andy Warhol : (From A to B and Back Again) ImageThe Philosophy of Andy Warhol : (From A to B and Back Again)
by Andy Warhol
Mariner Books; Published: 1977-04-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops: $14.95
Matisse: A Portrait ImageMatisse: A Portrait
by Hayden Herrera
Harcourt; Published: 1993-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.25
Price in other shops: $29.95
The Summer of a Dormouse ImageThe Summer of a Dormouse
by John Mortimer
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2002-05-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.47
Price in other shops: $13.00
Leonardo: The Artist and the Man ImageLeonardo: The Artist and the Man
by Serge Bramly, Leonardo Da Vinci
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1995-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.25
Price in other shops: $25.00
Through the Flower: My Struggle as a Woman Artist ImageThrough the Flower: My Struggle as a Woman Artist
by Judy Chicago
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1993-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.98
Price in other shops: $14.95
Francis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma ImageFrancis Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma
by Michael Peppiatt
Farrar Straus & Giroux (T); Published: 1997-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.00
Price in other shops: $30.00
Similar Books and other products
Don't Bump the Glump!: And Other Fantasies ImageDon't Bump the Glump!: And Other Fantasies
by Shel Silverstein
HarperCollins; Published: 2008-03-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.18
Price in other shops: $17.99
A Giraffe and a Half ImageA Giraffe and a Half
by Shel Silverstein
HarperCollins; Published: 1964-11-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.59
Price in other shops: $16.99
Falling Up ImageFalling Up
by Shel Silverstein
HarperCollins; Published: 1996-04-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.59
Price in other shops: $18.99
Different Dances 25th Anniversary Edition ImageDifferent Dances 25th Anniversary Edition
by Shel Silverstein
HarperCollins; Published: 2004-10-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.49
Price in other shops: $35.00
Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros? ImageWho Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros?
by Shel Silverstein
Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers; Published: 2002-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.65
Price in other shops: $18.99
Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook ImageRunny Babbit: A Billy Sook
by Shel Silverstein
HarperCollins; Published: 2005-03-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: $18.99
Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back ImageLafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back
by Shel Silverstein
HarperCollins; Published: 1963-01-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.65
Price in other shops: $16.99
Shel Silverstein's WiseAss Sayings ImageShel Silverstein's WiseAss Sayings
by Edited by Marv Gold
Marv Gold; Published: 2010-04-01; Perfect Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.95
Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book: A Primer for Adults Only ImageUncle Shelby's ABZ Book: A Primer for Adults Only
by Shel Silverstein
Touchstone; Published: 1985-09-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.47
Price in other shops: $13.00
Playboy's Silverstein Around the World ImagePlayboy's Silverstein Around the World
by Shel Silverstein
Touchstone; Published: 2007-05-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $97.18
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories