Publisher's Synopsis
In the years since Choice first reviewed Bass, calling it ""a provocative collection of essays"" and recommending it for ""all academic collections,"" the annual has more than fulfilled its editor's vision. An impressive array of biographers have explained the challenges of their craft while casting much light - sometimes amusing, always colorful and provocative - on their subjects. The roll call includes: Henry Miller (Karl Orend); Anna Freud (Elisabeth Young-Bruehl); Sylvia Plath (Edward Butscher); Doris Lessing (Carole Klein); Gertrude & Leo Srein (Brenda Wineapple); Edward Hopper (Gail Levin); Andre Breton (Mark Polizzotti); Ross Lockridge, Jr. (Larry Lockridge); Ernest Hemingway (Arthur Waldhorn); Susan Sontag (Carl Rollyson & Lisa Paddock); Betty Friedan (Judith Hennessee); James Herrior (Doug Munro); Buster Keaton, Woody Allen (Marion Meade); Dwight Macdonald (Michael Wreszin); Ira Nadel on ""Authorized Secrets"" and ""Theatrical Lives."" Bass casts its net beyond the usual glimmering suspects; it trawls the depths of ideological, ethical, legal, feminist, and other cultural channels that affect the course of biography. Karl, himself a biographer of Kafka, Conrad, Faulkner, and George Eliot, adds significantly to the pursuit and understanding of his craft, while offering omnibus reviews of such undertakings as the Penguin Lives series. The promise continues.
