BOOK REVIEW: THE GOOD NEIGHBOR: THE LIFE & WORK OF FRED ROGERS by Maxwell King

Hello Everybody. Yes, I know it's been a mighty long time since I was here last. Life, professionally and personally, along with a lot of other stuff, has kept me away until now.

Of course, that means I've got a large pile of book reviews that I've done for a local newspaper near where I live, so that gives me quite a backlog to share with you. So let's start off with this one...

“It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood,” whenever Fred Rogers (1928-2003) visited via your local Public Broadcasting Station. His pleasant manners and gentle way to address everyone, no matter what the topic under discussion was, endeared him to young and old alike.

In this well researched and detailed biography, Maxwell King recounts the life of everybody’s favorite neighbor from birth through adulthood. What influenced Rogers to be the man he was and aided him in his lifelong mission to educate children and help all he could.

The world needs more people like Mister Rogers. One of his most sage pieces of advice, "When there's trouble, look to the helpers," is often quoted, especially in more recent days with all the social injustice and pandemic perils around the world.

Unfortunately he may no longer be with us, but at least through this book we can remember a simpler time and the man who cared.