NPR

'Becoming Dr. Seuss,' Reveals Theodor Geisel As A Complicated Icon

Using personal papers, telegrams, biographies, unpublished interviews and letters, author Brian Jay Jones gives readers a comprehensive view of the complex, multifaceted creator who became a giant.
Theodor Geisel — Dr. Seuss --holds a toy of the Cat in the Hat, one of his most famous character creations.

Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, was an American icon.

But he was also a complicated man who saw children's literature as a step down in a writer's career, and whose work was stained with misogyny and racism, as highlighted in Brian Jay Jones' This and other dichotomies are at the core of Jones' book: Geisel was loved by millions of children but couldn't have children of his own; he wanted his work to be published but panicked when he had to talk about it

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