His name summons up our earliest images of the beloved books we read as children. His illustrations are etched into the collective memory of generations of readers. He was hailed as the greatest American illustrator of his day. Yet despite worldwide acclaim, he judged himself a failure, believing that illustration was of no importance. Michaelis brings to life the huge-spirited, deeply complicated man.

Alfred A. Knopf Inc. N.Y. 1998, 555 pages, black and white and color illustrations,hard cover