Book Review: The Good Neighbor; The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King (four stars)
“You don’t set out to be rich and famous; you set out to be helpful.” Fred Rogers
Fred Rogers may have been one of the most significant Americans of the Twentieth century. A good biography is necessary to separate the fact from the fiction. This isn’t that biography.
“The real issue in life is not how many blessings we have, but what we do with our blessings. Some people have many blessings and hoard them. Some have few and give everything away.” FR
Non sequiturs and irrelevancies abound. Much redundancy. Compresses 200 pages into 300.
“There are many people in the world who want to make children into performing seals. And as long as children can perform well, those adults will applaud. But I would much rather help a child to be able to say who he or she is.” FR
Despite all that, this book is worth reading as it contains many details of Roger’s family, upbringing, and life which have gotten overshadowed by myth and rumor. Still, it should be better.
“The child is in me still and sometimes not so still.” FR
As a Matter of Fancy 