Biography & Autobiography

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

So Then Assemble Me: On Dana Greene’s “Elizabeth Jennings: ‘The Inward War’”
A. M. Juster scans “Elizabeth Jennings: ‘The Inward War’” by Dana Greene.
A. M. JusterApr 29, 2019
- Biography & Autobiography
- Poetry
The Prophet Is Human
A towering new biography of a great American orator and public intellectual.
Mary F. CoreyApr 11, 2019
- Biography & Autobiography
First and Not Last
"First: Sandra Day O’Connor" is the happy product of a rare publishing phenomenon: the marriage of a significant subject with a mature, empathetic writer.
Jonathan ShapiroApr 1, 2019
The Awful Shapelessness of Loss: On Katharine Smyth’s “All the Lives We Ever Lived: Seeking Solace in Virginia Woolf”
Morten Høi Jensen lingers over “All the Lives We Ever Lived: Seeking Solace in Virginia Woolf” by Katharine Smyth.
Morten Høi JensenMar 27, 2019
- Biography & Autobiography
- Memoir & Essay
On the Vice of Storytelling: An Interview with Aaron Shulman
Aaron Shulman tells a real-life family saga of modern Spain.
Lauren HamlinMar 20, 2019
The Black Disk of the Sun: On Brian J. Boeck’s Biography of Mikhail Sholokhov, “Stalin’s Scribe”
Boris Dralyuk appreciates a “riveting political biography” of Mikhail Sholokhov, “Stalin’s Scribe” by Brian J. Boeck.
Boris DralyukMar 11, 2019
Remaining Rogue: On Andrew S. Curran’s “Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely”
Robert Zaretsky ponders “Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely” by Andrew S. Curran.
Robert ZaretskyMar 1, 2019
The Mexican Phoenix Rises: On “Sor Juana: Or, the Persistence of Pop”
Ed Simon considers “Sor Juana: Or, the Persistence of Pop” by Ilan Stavans.
Ed SimonFeb 27, 2019
A Genius for Being Human
Aurelian Craiutu reviews Henry Hardy's "In Search of Isaiah Berlin: A Literary Adventure."
Aurelian CraiutuFeb 19, 2019
Granted: The Best
Bob Blaisdell pores over “The Annotated Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant” and “My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife.”
Bob BlaisdellFeb 7, 2019
A (Not So) Secular Saint
A new biography details the religious life of a liberal icon.
James K. A. SmithFeb 6, 2019
Here Lies One Whose Name Was Writ in Erasure: Cy Twombly, the Indolent Dauphin of Keatsian Negative Capability
One of the major threads throughout “Chalk” is that the erasures and omissions in Twombly’s art mirror the erasures and omissions of Twombly’s life.
Tyler MaloneJan 26, 2019
- Art & Architecture
- Biography & Autobiography