Write off the title as a concession and a come-on; the text is a generally sensible, unsensational treatment of a somber life, detailing Van Gogh's early rejection by parents and peers, his repeated failures and thwarted romances, his instability and megalomania, his long dependence on his brother. Stronger on psychology than on art interpretation, this provides little understanding of Van Gogh's achievement, considerable understanding of Van Gogh as his own worst enemy, some insight into the nature of obsessive creation. Its chief distinctions are perhaps negative--few objections, little competition; its chief use is as a curiosity-quencher for the reader not ready for the Hansons' popular adult Passionate Pilgrim.