Truman Capote :in which various friends, enemies, acquaintances, and detractors recall his turbulent career

He was the most social of writers, and at the height of his career he was the point where the glamorous worlds of the arts, society, and politics all met--a status perhaps best exemplified by his still-legendary Black and White Ball. Truman Capote truly knew everyone, and now the people who knew him best tell his remarkable story to bestselling author and literary lion George Plimpton.

Using oral biography, a technique that perfectly matches the style of his subject, George Plimpton blends the voices of Capote's lovers, haters, acquaintances, and colleagues into a captivating and highly readable narrative. Here we are present for the entire span of Capote's life: his Southern childhood and his early days in New York; his first literary success with the publication of Other Voices, Other Rooms; his highly active love life; the groundbreaking excitement of In Cold Blood, the first "nonfiction novel"; his years as a jet-setter; and his final days of flagging inspiration, alcoholism, and isolation. All his famous friends and enemies are here: Katherine Graham, Lauren Bacall, Gore Vidal, Joan Didion, William Styron, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer, Lee Radziwill, John Huston, John Knowles, William F. Buckley, Jr., and dozens of others.

Full of wonderful stories, startlingly intimate, and altogether fascinating, this is the most entertaining account of Truman Capote's life yet, as only the incomparable George Plimpton could write it.

Plimpton (founder and editor of The Paris Review) interweaves interviews with over 100 people who knew Capote to create a multifaceted picture of the author of In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's, from his childhood in Monroeville, Alabama to his last days in California. Interviewees include Lauren Bacall, Gore Vidal, Joan Didion, William Styron, Kurt Vonnegut, William F. Buckley, Jr., John Huston, and Norman Mailer.
Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 489-490) and index.

George Plimpton, the originator of "participatory journalism," is the editor of The Paris Review. His books include Paper Lion, Out of My League, The Bogey Man, Open Net, The Curious Case of Sidd Finch, and, most recently, The X Factor. He lives in New York City.