Product Description

Over the years, the PEANUTS Gang have changed with the times and yet remain timeless. Snoopy has become a hero, Charlie Brown - the archetypal loser, Linus - the blanket-toting philosopher and Lucy the crabby loudmouth. This handsome large format book contains a mixture of colour and black & white picture strips, featuring Charles Schulz's humour over the years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #339670 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Customer Reviews

Vintage Peanuts; Poor Printing; Weird Editing; and Low Price
This is a series of black and white reproductions of daily and Sunday newspaper strips of Peanuts from the late 1950s through 1968 when this collection was first published. The strips are not put into any sort of chronological sequence, except within some story segments. I did denote an attempt to assemble them in chronological order across a year, as the collection begins with New Year's resolutions and ends with perspectives on the old year.

This collection missed the chance to have a detailed introduction about Charles Schulz and the Peanuts characters. Such an introduction would have added value far beyond its cost.

The printing is so poorly done in places that it is hard to identify Charlie Brown as himself. It felt like reading a comic strip on a light colored paper bag in places.

But, the price is amazingly low. While a quality version of this book would have undoubtedly retailed for ... or more, this one is priced as though it has only 40 pages in it.

So if you want lots of Peanuts for very little money, this is your edition.

You'll find Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, Sally, Peppermint Patty, and Violet in these strips. Some of the strips are classics that you have not seen in many years. There are some good ones of Lucy and her lemonade stand/psychiatric clinic, Charlie Brown trying to kick the football while Lucy holds, Snoopy dreaming of being the Red Baron, Halloween and the Great Pumpkin, and Charlie Brown playing on and managing the kids' baseball team.

One of the benefits of this book is that you can read through extended sequences of strips to see their connections in ways that you could not do when you only saw them daily. It helps you appreciate Charles Schulz's narrative ability more. For example, the book starts with Lucy burying Linus' blanket. Separate story lines develop as Linus searches for it, tries to get along without it, Snoopy finds it for him, and Linus deals with the after effects. I remembered the sequence, but not all the ins and outs of the story. That probably means that I had missed some of the strips at the time. Perhaps you did, too.

You will definitely relive your younger days with these strips. If you only know the later Peanuts strips, I think you will like these better. They are fresher and more direct in their stories.

After you have finished reading all about Peanuts, I encourage you to think about all of the ways that we can make life easier or more difficult for each other. If we are like Lucy, we will add more complications than benefits. If we are too trusting and hard on ourselves like Charlie Brown, less will happen than the best also. I suggest that you reframe Lucy and Charlie Brown into one character who is both more aware and more caring than the average of the two. Then imagine how these stories would change.

Next, compare what you did today to what that new character would have done. What opportunities for improvement does that comparison present to you, for your life? Act on them!

Laugh at Peanuts, then at yourself, and then improve!

WARNING!
this is not the same book as described in the previous review! the review refers to another hardback book of the same name. this paperback book is in fact a reprint of another peanuts book from 1989 called "Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang At School". which (as the less ambiguous title suggests), is a collection of comics featuring snoopy and the peanuts gang at school.
i hassen to add they are none the less as funny and entertaining as you'd expect any bunch of peanuts strips to be! just thought i'd clear up any confusion over which ones are included.