The Good Neighbor

“As the extreme importance of our most gifted teachers, and the credit they are due, become ever more evident, Maxwell King has provided a superb, thoughtful biography of the brilliant Fred Rogers, who with his long-running television show, reached more children than any teacher ever. The enormous amount of thought, creative talent, and hard work that Rogers put into every aspect of the show becomes abundantly clear in this book, as do the lessons in empathy and kindness that he took so to heart.  Much there is for all of us to learn in Maxwell King’s The Good Neighbor.”— David McCullough

“Fred launched the ship that carried us all.”— LeVar Burton,

“Mere pages into this beautiful account, tears began to roll down my cheeks as my heart remembered the kind and gentle manner of Mr. Rogers. Deeply researched, Maxwell King’s biography brings Rogers to life in small moments recalled by those who knew him best. Through a meticulous unspooling of his childhood, we learn why Fred Rogers—a child born into extreme wealth who could have done anything or nothing with his life—wound up of all things a child whisperer, a seer of the human heart, a builder of bridges constructed of unconditional love and acceptance. Reading King’s narrative, one cannot help but long for a time when children spent their afternoons watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood; one cannot help but sense that what we all need right now is an infusion of Fred Rogers’ enduring teachings back onto our airwaves and into our America.”— Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of How to Raise an Adult

“Fred Rogers was 'the good neighbor' for generations of young people and Maxwell King’s book opens wide a window onto the life of the man who touched the hearts and souls of so many children, and who helped all of us to see the good in every neighbor.”— His Eminence Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington

“Anyone who has seen Fred Rogers on TV eventually gets around to the same core question: Was he really like that in real life? In this well-researched, insightful and affectionately written biography, Maxwell King answers ‘Yes.’ I suspect Mister Rogers himself would have approved of The Good Neighbor, and Rogers always maintained the highest of standards.”— David Bianculli,