Author Biographies

NONFICTION

Released: Nov. 2, 2010

LOUISA MAY ALCOTT: THE LIFE OF A BELOVED AUTHOR AND STORYTELLER

by Susan Cheever

"Lively and astute."

Contextual study of Louisa May Alcott's life (1832–1888) and work, from her childhood among such writers as Emerson, Fuller and Hawthorne, to the astounding literary career that afforded her a feminist independence of spirit even as she remained a caregiver to her family. Read full book review >

NONFICTION

Released: Oct. 19, 2010

HOW TO LIVE: A LIFE OF MONTAIGNE IN ONE QUESTION AND TWENTY ATTEMPTS AT AN ANSWER

by Sarah Bakewell

"A bright, genial and generous introduction to the master's methods."

Former Wellcome Library curator Bakewell (Creative Writing/City Univ. London; The English Dane: A Life of Jorgen Jorgenson, 2005, etc.) sketches the life of essayist Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533–1592) and traces his evolving reputation. Read full book review >

NONFICTION

Released: June 1, 2010

WILLIAM GOLDING: THE MAN WHO WROTE <I>LORD OF THE FLIES</I>

by John Carey

"A tendentious but relentlessly thorough, historically important treatment."

With the cooperation of his subject's daughter, Sunday Times chief book reviewer Carey (What Good Are the Arts?, 2006, etc.) produces the first major biography of Nobel Prize–winning novelist William Golding (1911–1993). Read full book review >

Cover art for THE TALENTED MISS HIGHSMITH

NONFICTION

Released: Dec. 8, 2009

THE TALENTED MISS HIGHSMITH: THE SECRET LIFE AND SERIOUS ART OF PATRICIA HIGHSMITH

by Joan Schenkar

"A comprehensive, nuanced evaluation of Highsmith Country."

Exhaustive study of the much-loathed suspense writer best known for the Ripley novels and Strangers on a Train. Read full book review >

NONFICTION

Released: Nov. 24, 2009

RAYMOND CARVER: A WRITER’S LIFE

by Carol Sklenicka

"The epic biography that Carver deserves."

A rich portrait of a master of the American short story. Read full book review >

NONFICTION

Released: April 1, 1994

I. ASIMOV: A MEMOIR

by Isaac Asimov

"Mixed in with the bons mots and the gossip are true stories about Asimov's novels and short fiction that fans will cherish. Perhaps most gratifying of these is the confession of astonishment Asimov expressed upon reaching bestseller status, late in his life."

Asimov, knighted a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, was an eloquent raconteur; in fact, the book reads like a one-sided conversation, as he shares his opinions on surviving Star Trek conventions, other science fiction authors' egos, and, of course, his own career. Read full book review >

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Author Biographies