Biography

This Small Extravagance: The Life of Shakespeare’s Mind This Small Extravagance: The Life of Shakespeare’s Mind

Writing a biography of the mind of Shakespeare is a challenge that requires the ingenuity of an artist.

Apr 15, 2009 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach

An Alienation Artist: Kafka and His Critics An Alienation Artist: Kafka and His Critics

Unraveling the Kafkaesque mystique of Franz Kafka.

Feb 11, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Alexander Provan

In His League: Being George Plimpton In His League: Being George Plimpton

An affectionate and absorbing oral history raises questions of whether George Plimpton's amiable exterior concealed a man without qualities.

Jan 15, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Scott Sherman

That Girl: The Captivity and Restoration of Patty Hearst That Girl: The Captivity and Restoration of Patty Hearst

Was Patty Hearst really a rebel in search of a cause?

Dec 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Rick Perlstein

Her Nature Was Future: Emily Dickinson’s White Heat Her Nature Was Future: Emily Dickinson’s White Heat

The intimate friendship of Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson takes wing in two new books.

Nov 19, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Ange Mlinko

Naipaul’s Darkness: Patrick French’s ‘The World Is What It Is’ Naipaul’s Darkness: Patrick French’s ‘The World Is What It Is’

Biographer Patrick French offers a vivid, sometimes enthralling portrait of a deeply enigmatic writer.

Nov 19, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Scott Sherman

Walter Benjamin Forever: A Critic’s Coveted Afterlife Walter Benjamin Forever: A Critic’s Coveted Afterlife

Following the quirky, revolutionary life path of one of the most celebrated twentieth-century intellectuals.

Oct 15, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Noah Isenberg

A Hungry Mind: Giordano Bruno, Philosopher and Heretic A Hungry Mind: Giordano Bruno, Philosopher and Heretic

Ingrid Rowland's Giordano Bruno rediscovers the Renaissance philosopher and heretic.

Sep 10, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Paula Findlen

An Unlikely King: Hussein in War and Peace An Unlikely King: Hussein in War and Peace

An authoritative new biography of Jordan's King Hussein offers an absorbing diplomatic history of the Middle East.

Sep 3, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Bernard Avishai

The James Gang The James Gang

In Henry James and his family, biographers find a fascinating story of dynastic melodrama.

Jul 1, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Brenda Wineapple

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