Synopses & Reviews
As a young reporter for
The New York Times, in 1961 Gay Talese published his first book,
New York—A Serendipiters Journey, a series of vignettes and essays that began, “New York is a city of things unnoticed. It is a city with cats sleeping under parked cars, two stone armadillos crawling up St. Patricks Cathedral, and thousands of ants creeping on top of the Empire State Building.”
Attention to detail and observation of the unnoticed is the hallmark of Gay Taleses writing, and The Gay Talese Reader brings together the best of his essays and classic profiles. This collection opens with “New York Is a City of Things Unnoticed,” and includes “Silent Season of a Hero” (about Joe DiMaggio), “Ali in Havana,” and “Looking for Hemingway” as well as several other favorite pieces. It also features a previously unpublished article on the infamous case of Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt, and concludes with the autobiographical pieces that are among Taleses finest writings. These works give insight into the progression of a writer at the pinnacle of his craft.
Whether he is detailing the unseen and sometimes quirky world of New York City or profiling Ol Blue Eyes in “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” Talese captures his subjects—be they famous, infamous, or merely unusual—in his own inimitable, elegant fashion. The essays and profiles collected in The Gay Talese Reader are works of art, each carefully crafted to create a portrait of an unforgettable individual, place or moment.
Review
"This beautifully written collection of essays by journalist and best-selling author Talese....truly represents the best of this still highly prolific author's work." Library Journal
Review
"[Talese's] quirky, personal nonfiction, in which the author is very much a presence, helped spawn a whole new approach to feature writing. A sterling introduction to the multitalented Talese." Booklist
Review
"In this book you'll find some of the best American prose of the second half of the twentieth century....Talese and Tom Wolfe are the great pioneers of New Journalism, but although the style, approach, and structure of Talese's pieces was radical, his superlatively smooth writing had none of Wolfe's attention-grabbing swagger, and it perfectly suited his role as invisible observer." Benjamin Schwarz, The Atlantic Monthly (read the entire Atlantic Monthly review)
Synopsis
As a young reporter for the New York Times, in 1961 Gay Talese published his first book, New York
A Serendipiter's Journey, a series of vignettes and essays that began, "New York is a city of things unnoticed. It is a city with cats sleeping under parked cars, two stone armadillos crawling up St. Patrick's Cathedral, and thousands of ants creeping on top of the Empire State Building."
Attention to detail and observation of the unnoticed is the hallmark of Gay Talese's writing, and The Gay Talese Reader brings together the best of his essays and classic profiles. This collection opens with "New York Is a City of Things Unnoticed, " and includes "Silent Season of a Hero" (about Joe DiMaggio), "Ali in Havana, " and "Looking for Hemingway" as well as several other favorite pieces. It also features a previously unpublished article on the infamous case of Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt, and concludes with the autobiographical pieces that are among Talese's finest writings.
These works give insight into the progression of a writer at the pinnacle of his craft. Whether he is detailing the unseen and sometimes quirky world of New York City or profiling Ol' Blue Eyes in "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold," Talese captures his subjects be they famous, infamous, or merely unusual in his own inimitable, elegant fashion. The essays and profiles collected in The Gay Talese Reader are works of art, each carefully crafted to create a portrait of an unforgettable individual, place or moment.
Synopsis
Attention to detail and observation of the unnoticed is the hallmark of Talese's writing and The Gay Talese Reader brings together the best of his essays and classic profiles.
About the Author
Gay Talese is a journalist and international best-selling author whose works include
The Bridge (Walker & Company 2003),
The Kingdom and the Power,
Honor Thy Father,
Thy Neighbors Wife, and
Unto the Sons. Currently at work on the follow-up to
Unto the Sons, he lives in New York City and Ocean City, New Jersey.
Barbara Lounsberry is a professor of English language and literature at the University of Northern Iowa. She is the co-author with Gay Talese of Writing Creative Nonfiction: The Literature of Reality (1996).
Table of Contents
New York is a city of things unnoticed -- Frank Sinatra has a cold -- The loser -- The silent season of a hero -- Peter O'Toole on the Ould Sod -- Vogueland -- Looking for Hemingway -- Joe Louis: The King as a middle-aged man -- Mr. Bad News -- Ali in Havana -- The brave tailors of Maida -- Origins of a nonfiction writer -- When I was twenty-five -- Walking my cigar.