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Extraordinary Lives: The Art and Craft of American Biography (The Writer's Craft)
Extraordinary Lives The Art and Craft of American Biography - The Writer's Craft Author:William Knowlton Zinsser "In a book rich in surprising anecdotes and quirky behavior, which originated as a series of talks at the New York Public Library, six illustrious biographers discuss the perilous craft of reconstructing another person's life. David McCullough describes his search for Harry Truman in the Missouri county where he is still vividly remembered. Rich... more »ard B. Sewell explains how his 20-year quest for Emily Dickinson required him to pull away gradually all the cliches in which 'the moth of Amherst' came wrapped. Paul C. Nagel reveals how his biography of four generations of Adams men put him on the trail of the family's even more remarkable women. Ronald Steel explains how he came to fear the way in which Walter Lippmann 'would insidiously take over my life.' Jean Strouse admits that she got so mad at her subject, Alice James, that she couldn't continue writing, and Robert A. Caro retraces the steps leading to his discovery in the Hill Country of Texas that Lyndon Johnson's version of his early years was largely untrue." -- back cover copy« less