Shel Silverstein's inimitable drawings and comic poems have become the bedtime staples of millions of children and their parents, yet few readers know much about the man behind that bearded face peering out from the dust jacket. Lisa Rogak tells the full story of a life as antic and adventurous as any of Silverstein's creations. He collaborated with anyone who crossed his path, and found success in a wide range of genres. 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 an apparently incurable case of wanderlust, Silverstein kept homes on both coasts and many places in between; everywhere he went he charmed neighbors, made countless friends, and romanced almost as many women with his bouyant energy and never-ending wit. Rogak gives fans a warm portrait of a restless, enthusiastic artist.
"I didn't think any biography could do justice to one of the few honest-to-goodness geniuses of our time, a walking paradox who wore a cloak of complexity and elusiveness, but Lisa Rogak has done an exemplary job of it."—Otto Penzler
"Shel Silverstein was 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. There's a surprise on every page as Lisa Rogak tells the whole untold story of this truly fabulous character."—Dr. Demento
