The Good Neighbor
“A superb, thoughtful biography of the brilliant Fred Rogers, who with his long-running television show, reached more children than any teacher ever…Much there is for all of us to learn in Maxwell King’s The Good Neighbor.”
David McCullough, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
A #1 Amazon.com bestseller in TV History & Criticism
A BookPage Top Pick for September
New York Times bestseller
A Publishers Weekly Pick of the Best Audiobooks of Fall
A Goodreads Choice Awards Winner for 2018
A Library Journal Best Audiobook of 2018
A 2019 Audie Award Finalist for Audiobook of the Year
A 2019 Audie Award Finalist for Best Narration in History/Biography
Fred Rogers (1928–2003) was an enormously influential figure in the history of television and in the lives of tens of millions of children. As the creator and star of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he was a champion of compassion, equality, and kindness. Rogers was fiercely devoted to children and to taking their fears, concerns, and questions about the world seriously.
The Good Neighbor, the first full-length biography of Fred Rogers, tells the story of this utterly unique and enduring American icon. Drawing on original interviews, oral histories, and archival documents, Maxwell King traces Rogers’s personal, professional, and artistic life through decades of work, including a surprising decision to walk away from the show to make television for adults, only to return to the neighborhood with increasingly sophisticated episodes, written in collaboration with experts on childhood development. An engaging story, rich in detail, The Good Neighbor is the definitive portrait of a beloved figure, cherished by multiple generations.
Praise