The Real Meaning of Christmas!

This is the true story of how the television special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, came about. From the very beginning, the deck seemed stacked against it. Fifty years ago, it was not common to hear passages from the Bible quoted in a television program, yet that was one of the requirements Charles Schultz insisted be a part of the show.

That should have been enough to keep it off the air, but there were many other obstacles the program faced--any one of which could have been used to stop it. Yet, miraculously, the show went on. The general public's reactions were not what was predicted by the expert forecasters.

This is a comprehensive history of everyone involved in the ground breaking Christmas show. Because of that, this is an interesting but rigorous read, so be prepared for a time commitment.

I think there are very few people who have not seen, or at least not heard of, the Charlie Brown Christmas special. It has become ingrained in the American culture, and is a part of the annual Christmas celebrations in this country. Even without the television show, the Peanuts themselves are loved by many, including me.

This book shows that God's fingerprints were all over the events needed to get this show off the ground, and into everyone's tv sets. Everything had to be orchestrated to the last detail for it to happen.

There are many interesting nuggets in this tale. The story of the little red-haired girl was both intriguing and bittersweet. I think the in-depth descriptions of everyone could have been cut-down a lot without changing the point of the book. Fans of Peanuts, and lovers of history, will enjoy this five-star book.

Thank you, Hachette Books, for providing Tickmenot with a book to review. Opinions are my own. ( )

I have always been intrigued by Patton. He was such a confluence of different philosophies mixed with strong passions. He seemed to never be lacking for an answer, but on occasion could clearly be very wrong in his judgments and conclusions. He was respected but not liked by his peers, and respected and feared by his enemies on the battlefield. His faults were ignored or forgiven so that the value might be gained from his strengths. Despite my interest in the subject at hand, I was disappointed in this biography. It was not organized chronologically or around periods in Patton’s life or around the different aspects of his life, all of which would have made more sense to me. Instead it was organized around aspects of his character, Blood, Guts and Prayer, which I thought was a stretch to begin with and resulted in a very confusing presentation of the major events in Patton’s life. While I realize the author was attempting a unique presentation of the material, I thought it an unsuccessful experiment. ( )

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