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A review by mchester24
Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones
4.0
This is the type of book where you learn even more than the exceptional amount you expected to-- both about Jim Henson himself, the Muppets, and certain philosophies of life in general. It is certainly a longer read than I expected when I checked the kindle version out from the library, but it was a book I was always eager to dive back into.
While I knew Jim went to University of Maryland, not far from Washington DC where I live, I had no idea the extent to which his (and the Muppets') early career was tied to the DMV area. That definitely made a lot of the early parts feel close to me-- and those early parts of his career were probably the most interesting for me to read because it revolved around characters I was not familiar with who were 'ancestors' to the ones I did grow up with.
Reading about Jim's many successes, and arguably his many more failures, serves as great inspiration for what it might mean to work hard-- but work hard on a passion project that blends the lines between work and enjoyment. His perseverance comes across as one of his greatest qualities, along with the love he shared with those around him, his ability to create a philosophy of life that mixed equal parts silliness with love and passion, and his desire (and quest to make others see and share in the desire) to make the world simply a better place.
The last chapter detailed Jim's falling sick and hesitance to go to the hospital, his subsequent death in his early 50s, and the bittersweet descriptions of his friends, family, and colleagues dealing with this time, along with his memorial service (which I did make a point to watch some of on YouTube afterwards). It was a bit of a tearjerker for me to read, for sure.
The only things that dropped this down from a five star book for me are the at times excessive length they gave to certain topics (the first chapter starts discussing Henson's great grand parents and their life and upbringing in an odd amount of detail, for example), while glossing over certain other less-than-savory details of Jim's life (his penchant for infidelity is too easily glossed over and forgiven, for one, and given that I'd be curious if there were other negative aspects to his life the author ignored completely).
While I knew Jim went to University of Maryland, not far from Washington DC where I live, I had no idea the extent to which his (and the Muppets') early career was tied to the DMV area. That definitely made a lot of the early parts feel close to me-- and those early parts of his career were probably the most interesting for me to read because it revolved around characters I was not familiar with who were 'ancestors' to the ones I did grow up with.
Reading about Jim's many successes, and arguably his many more failures, serves as great inspiration for what it might mean to work hard-- but work hard on a passion project that blends the lines between work and enjoyment. His perseverance comes across as one of his greatest qualities, along with the love he shared with those around him, his ability to create a philosophy of life that mixed equal parts silliness with love and passion, and his desire (and quest to make others see and share in the desire) to make the world simply a better place.
The last chapter detailed Jim's falling sick and hesitance to go to the hospital, his subsequent death in his early 50s, and the bittersweet descriptions of his friends, family, and colleagues dealing with this time, along with his memorial service (which I did make a point to watch some of on YouTube afterwards). It was a bit of a tearjerker for me to read, for sure.
The only things that dropped this down from a five star book for me are the at times excessive length they gave to certain topics (the first chapter starts discussing Henson's great grand parents and their life and upbringing in an odd amount of detail, for example), while glossing over certain other less-than-savory details of Jim's life (his penchant for infidelity is too easily glossed over and forgiven, for one, and given that I'd be curious if there were other negative aspects to his life the author ignored completely).