{"product_id":"2940169264876","title":"Jim Henson: The Biography","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER ¿ \u003cb\u003eNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY \u003ci\u003eBOOKPAGE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor the first time ever¿a comprehensive biography of one of the twentieth century's most innovative creative artists: the incomparable, irreplaceable Jim Henson\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe was a gentle dreamer whose genial bearded visage was recognized around the world, but most people got to know him only through the iconic characters born of his fertile imagination: Kermit the Frog, Bert and Ernie, Miss Piggy, Big Bird. The Muppets made Jim Henson a household name, but they were just part of his remarkable story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis extraordinary biography¿written with the generous cooperation of the Henson family¿covers the full arc of Henson's all-too-brief life: from his childhood in Leland, Mississippi, through the years of burgeoning fame in America, to the decade of international celebrity that preceded his untimely death at age fifty-three. Drawing on hundreds of hours of new interviews with Henson's family, friends, and closest collaborators, as well as unprecedented access to private family and company archives, Brian Jay Jones explores the creation of the Muppets, Henson's contributions to \u003ci\u003eSesame Street \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Saturday Night Live, \u003c\/i\u003eand his nearly ten-year campaign to bring \u003ci\u003eThe Muppet Show\u003c\/i\u003e to television. Jones provides the imaginative context for Henson's non-Muppet projects, including the richly imagined worlds of \u003ci\u003eThe Dark Crystal \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Labyrinth\u003c\/i\u003e¿as well as fascinating misfires like Henson's dream of opening an inflatable psychedelic nightclub.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn uncommonly intimate portrait, \u003ci\u003eJim Henson\u003c\/i\u003e captures all the facets of this American original: the master craftsman who revolutionized the presentation of puppets on television, the savvy businessman whose dealmaking prowess won him a reputation as \"the new Walt Disney,\" and the creative team leader whose collaborative ethos earned him the undying loyalty of everyone who worked for him. Here also is insight into Henson's intensely private personal life: his Christian Science upbringing, his love of fast cars and expensive art, and his weakness for women. Though an optimist by nature, Henson was haunted by the notion that he would not have time to do all the things he wanted to do in life¿a fear that his heartbreaking final hours would prove all too well founded.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn up-close look at the charmed life of a legend, \u003ci\u003eJim Henson\u003c\/i\u003e gives the full measure to a man whose joyful genius transcended age, language, geography, and culture¿and continues to beguile audiences worldwide.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47104401801456,"sku":"2940169264876","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940169264876_p0.jpg?v=1763677670","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940169264876","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}