Charles M. Schulz believed that the key to cartooning was to take out the extraneous details and leave in only what's necessary. For 50 years, he wrote and illustrated Peanuts, the single most popular and influential comic strip in the world. Renowned designer Chip Kidd was granted unprecedented access to the extraordinary archives of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California. Only What's Necessary reproduces the best of the Peanuts newspaper strip, all shot from the original art by award-winning photographer Geoff Spear, and features exclusive, rare, and unpublished original art and developmental work--much of which has never been seen before.