Books
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 in-between–-including regular stays in the Playboy Mansion.
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 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 wrote 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 the 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.
Some review excerpts:
“Shel Silverstein…a genius in a dozen genres, the last of the real Renaissance men. He loved life and lived it more intensely than most of us dare to dream of. There’s a surprise on every page as Lisa Rogak tells the whole untold story of this truly fabulous character.”
— From Dr. Demento, syndicated radio personality
“I didn’t think any biography could do justice to one of the few honest-to-goodness geniuses of his time, a walking paradox who wore a cloak of complexity and elusiveness, but Lisa Rogak has done an exemplary job of it.”
— From Otto Penzler, The Mysterious Bookshop
