Biography: A User's Guide
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Book Overview
Carl Rollyson's Biography: A User's Guide is an informative and entertaining text for those interested in biography. No aspect of the genre, from A to Z, goes uncovered: issues around authorized and unauthorized biography, censorship, libel, fair use, public domain (referred to as "PD" by publishers and editors), and a great deal more-including examples drawn from published biographies, as well as general and specific assessments of the biographer's art. Mr. Rollyson demonstrates that biography has more dimensions than are generally gleaned from book reviews and academic discourse. In a lively and provocative style, he argues with other biographers and critics, avoiding the polite and vague tones of many reference books on the subject.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:1566637805
ISBN13:9781566637800
Release Date:May 2008
Publisher:Ivan R. Dee Publisher
Length:336 Pages
Weight:1.60 lbs.
Dimensions:1.1" x 6.3" x 9.1"
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
Incredibly useful--and fun to read.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
Biographer Rollyson shares his experience and insights in yet another fine contribution to the study of biography (check out all of his books, especially Biography: An Annotated Bibliography and A Higher Form of Cannibalism? Adventures in the Art and Politics of Biography). Writers, readers, students, and teachers (that's me) of biography will benefit from the clear, intuitive organization: entries include important biographers (e.g., Lytton Strachey, Samuel Johnson), types and periods (e.g., Psychobiography, Latin/Medieval Biography), and issues pertaining to the craft itself (e.g., Fair Use, Gossip). The entries are informative on their own, but Rollyson also points out further reading. He is a very generous scholar. In addition to being too useful to pass up, Biography: A User's Guide is, like all of Rollyson's work, fun to read for its own sake. You will be hooked after opening it up and reading just one entry.
Indispendable
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
Just as no fisherman would go through life without Izaak Walton's "The Complete Angler," anyone who writes or simply enjoys biographies will want this book on his or her shelf. It is a terrific companion for biography writers and lovers. James McGrath Morris, editor of the monthly "The Biographer's Craft"
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