Biography & Autobiography

"I don't think anyone should write their autobiography until after they're dead." — Samuel Goldwyn

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  The Season of Hardwick

  Zachary Fine on the resurgence of Elizabeth Hardwick.

  Zachary FineOct 18, 2021

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  Exile on Man Street: On Tracey Thorn’s “My Rock ’n’ Roll Friend”

  A provocative biography of Lindy Morrison, drummer for the Australian indie-rock band The Go-Betweens.

  Gina ArnoldSep 7, 2021

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  A House of One’s Own: On Deborah Levy’s “Real Estate”

  At the crux of Deborah Levy’s concerns is how to live a creative life as a woman.

  Mia LevitinAug 24, 2021

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  Boas and His Students

  Michael S. Roth explores “Gods of the Upper Air” by Charles King.

  Michael S. RothAug 13, 2021

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  The Philosopher’s Trail: On Samantha Rose Hill’s “Hannah Arendt”

  Shaan Sachdev reviews “Hannah Arendt” by Samantha Rose Hill, a new book in Reaktion Books’s Critical Lives series.

  Shaan SachdevAug 7, 2021

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  “He Soars So Incredibly High”: A Conversation about Robert Walser with Susan Bernofsky

  Veronica Esposito speaks to Susan Bernofsky, author of the long-awaited biography of Robert Walser, “Clairvoyant of the Small.”

  Veronica EspositoJul 26, 2021

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  A Love Story Finally Brought to Light: On Liz Brown’s “Twilight Man”

  A biography chronicling two gay men during the US Gilded Age.

  Vesper NorthJun 29, 2021

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  A Would-Be Emperor Too Good to Be True

  Nilanjan Bhowmick reviews Supriya Gandhi's biography of Dara Shukoh, "The Emperor Who Never Was."

  Nilanjan BhowmickJun 20, 2021

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  History Is Happening: On Edmund de Waal’s “Letters to Camondo”

  An epistolary biography of a midcentury French businessman and patron of the arts.

  Jake FuchsJun 14, 2021

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  The Untold Story of the CIA’s MK Ultra: A Conversation with Stephen Kinzer

  Stephen Kinzer discusses his new biography, “Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control.”

  Ed Prideaux, James PennerMay 19, 2021

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  The Darwin of the Classics

  A new biography of Milman Parry, who transformed our understanding of Homer, and oral culture in general.

  Tim RileyMay 3, 2021

  • Biography & Autobiography

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  On Lives and Counterlives

  Two solid biographies of the late Philip Roth, one authorized, one not.

  Steven G. KellmanApr 8, 2021

  • Biography & Autobiography