A biography that revealed much

I love to read biographies. Sometimes, I come away from them admiring or at least appreciating the subjects even more.

Sometimes, though, I learn too much, and the persona is torn away.

I just read I biography of Shel Silverstein that falls into the latter category.

A Boy Named Shel by Lisa Rogak reveals the kind of person Silverstein was. Words like selfish, self-centered, difficult, womanizer, troubled, irresponsible, and immature come to mind. Artists reputedly tend to be like that to some degree - even ones who are grounded in faith - but he was excessive about it.

Yeah, he wrote some great children's books. And some of his songs - "A Boy Named Sue," for one - are classics.

But he is no role model or inspiration. I certainly like him less after reading the book.