Jim Henson: The Biography

I think this is honestly a 3-star book that I'm giving a bonus star due to my general goodwill toward Jim Henson. It's a solid, well-researched read, but pretty straightforward prose.

I mean, I LOVE Jim Henson. Who doesn't, right? In a way, that's kind of the problem with this biography. I'm not saying I wanted his name drug through the mud or anything, but this is pretty much just 500 pages of how everyone loves Jim Henson. Even the negative parts are glossed over like a job interview applicant trying to make lemonade out of their weaknesses. Like, did he cheat on Jane Henson? Yes, but... they had an understanding, and she was fine with it, and he was always really nice to his girlfriends. OK, fine. Did he work insane hours? Yes, but... his children admired his work ethic, and he always made sure to call home.

Also I was kind of annoyed by how just about every chapter talked about both 1) how Jim didn't care about the money and wasn't doing this for the money, and 2) how Jim had a taste for fancy things and impulse-bought another fancy car or yacht or whatever. I mean, yes, I get that people can contradict each other, but Jones never seemed super aware of the contradiction here? And it was seriously like every chapter.

Still, I mean, there's a reason everybody loves Jim Henson, and reading about his ~vision~ and history etc was great. A lot of the stuff in here I already knew (due to my status as a devoted Muppet fan), but there was also a lot I didn't know and was overall charmed by. And yeah, I cried at the chapter about Jim Henson's funeral.