Synopses & Reviews
andlt;bandgt;and#8220;Mad Men for the literary world.and#8221; and#8212;Junot Dand#237;azandlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Farrar, Straus and Giroux is arguably the most influential publishing house of the modern era. Home to an unrivaled twenty-five Nobel Prize winners and generation-defining authors like T. S. Eliot, Flannery Oand#8217;Connor, Susan Sontag, Tom Wolfe, Joan Didion, Philip Roth, and Jonathan Franzen, itand#8217;s a cultural institution whose importance approaches that of andlt;Iandgt;The New Yorkerandlt;/Iandgt; or andlt;Iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;/Iandgt;. But FSG is no ivory towerand#8212;the owner's wife called the office a and#8220;sexual sewerand#8221;and#8212;and its untold story is as tumultuous and engrossing as many of the great novels it has published.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Boris Kachka deftly reveals the era and the city that built FSG through the stories of two men: founder-owner Roger Straus, the pugnacious black sheep of his powerful German-Jewish familyand#8212;with his bottomless supply of ascots, charm, and vulgarity of every stripeand#8212;and his utter opposite, the reticent, closeted editor Robert Giroux, who rose from working-class New Jersey to discover the novelists and poets who helped define American culture. Giroux became one of T. S. Eliotand#8217;s best friends, just missed out on andlt;Iandgt;The Catcher in the Ryeandlt;/Iandgt;, and played the placid caretaker to manic-depressive geniuses like Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Jean Stafford, and Jack Kerouac. Straus, the brilliant showman, made Susan Sontag a star, kept Edmund Wilson out of prison, and turned Isaac Bashevis Singer from a Yiddish scribbler into a Nobelistand#8212;even as he spread the gossip on which literary New York thrived.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;A prolific lover and an epic fighter, Straus ventured fearlessly, and sometimes recklessly, into battle for his books, his authors, and his often-struggling company. When a talented editor left for more money and threatened to take all his writers, Roger roared, and#8220;Over my dead bodyand#8221;and#8212;and meant it. He turned a philosophical disagreement with Simon and Schuster head Dick Snyder into a mano a mano media war that caught writers such as Philip Roth and Joan Didion in the crossfire. He fought off would-be buyers like S. I. Newhouse (and#8220;that dwarfand#8221;) with one hand and rapacious literary agents like Andrew Wylie (and#8220;that shitand#8221;) with the other. Even his own son and presumed successor was no match for a man who had to win at any costand#8212;and who was proven right at almost every turn.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;At the center of the story, always, are the writers themselves. After giving us a fresh perspective on the postwar authors we thought we knew, Kachka pulls back the curtain to expose how elite publishing works today. He gets inside the editorial meetings where writersand#8217; fates are decided; he captures the adrenaline rush of bidding wars for top talent; and he lifts the lid on the high-stakes pursuit of that rarest commodity, public attentionand#8212;including a fly-on-the-wall account of the explosive confrontation between Oprah Winfrey and Jonathan Franzen, whose relationship, Franzen tells us, and#8220;was bogus from the start.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Vast but detailed, full of both fresh gossip and keen insight into how the literary world works, andlt;Iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/Iandgt; is the product of five years of research and nearly two hundred interviews by a veteran andlt;Iandgt;New Yorkandlt;/Iandgt; magazine writer. It tells an essential story for the first time, providing a delicious inside perspective on the rich pageant of postwar cultural life and illuminating the vital intellectual center of the American Century.
Review
and#8220;andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; is a wonderful bookand#8212;a sharp look at the backstory of a famous publishing house and the flamboyant man who got as much attention as the writers he usually got cheap. Bravo!and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Astounding: an intelligent, knowing, beautifully written, spectacularly well-reported (read: gratifyingly gossipy) chronicle of the ultimate old-school book publisher. If you want a sense of how big-time, high-end New York publishing used to work and works today, I can't imagine a finer, more authoritative guide.and#8221;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"As a literary biographer, I'm amazed this book hasn't been written yet in some form, and we can only be grateful that the matter rested until such a stylish, insightful author as Kachka came along to write it. It reminds me of another of my favorite books, Brendan Gill's andlt;iandgt;Here at The New Yorkerandlt;/iandgt;--full of sad/funny anecdotes about living, breathing human beings, namely (in both cases) nothing less than the major figures in twentieth century American literature.
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Boris Kachka would have you believe that andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; is the inside story of book publishing as told through the prism of that industry's original odd couple.
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Juicy . . . The New York book world, poised between scruffy glamour and crass commercialism, emerges in this lively chronicle of an iconic institution . . . Entertaining, accessible, smart, and thought-provoking, this is a book very much in tune with the lost literary milieu it re-creates."andlt;/divandgt;
Review
and#8220;This is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime book. With andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; Kachka has produced his very own andlt;iandgt;Mad Menandlt;/iandgt; for the literary worldand#8212;an exhilarating, beautifully written biography of FSG thatand#8217;s really an exhilarating, beautifully written biography of a literary culture.and#8221;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Lively history . . . A smart, savvy portrait of arguably the country's most important publisher . . . complete with sex, sour editors, and the occasional stumble into financial success. . . . A smart and informative portrait of the mechanisms of modern publishing." andlt;/divandgt;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; has both intelligence and wit in its revelations of publishing, publishers, and the capture of authors.
Review
and#8220;A roaring chronicle . . . For anyone with a sweet tooth for the book world or a thought and a care for American culture after the Second World War, the book is a brightly lit, well-stocked candy store. . . . Itand#8217;s also a superb business story, revealing how an enterprise became an institution. . . . [An] essential book.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Farrar, Straus and Giroux is the Versailles of American publishing. . . . But every palace has its intrigue, as Kachka shows us in this lively, witty account. . . . The extramarital (and often intramural) affairs conducted by publisher Roger Straus in the 1960s and and#8217;70s were legendaryand#8212;his wife called the company a and#8216;sexual sewerand#8217;and#8212;but the entire office apparently would have made Don Draper blush. Kachka dishes up these cold cases piping hot, but his research reveals an equally fascinating business story: How do you balance fine art and filthy lucre?and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A juicy account of the postwar New York book world . . . Not your average beach read, andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt;, out August 6, is one nonethelessand#8212;a andlt;iandgt;Gossip Girlandlt;/iandgt; for those fascinated with the literary elite.and#8221;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Scintillating history . . . Writing with vigor, skill, and expertise and drawing on dozens of in-depth interviews, Kachka shares risquand#233; gossip and striking insider revelations and vividly profiles the house's world-shaping writers. . . . Kachka's engrossing portrait of an exceptional publishing house sheds new light on the volatile mixture of commerce, art, and passion that makes the world of books go round."andlt;/divandgt;
Review
“A roaring chronicle . . . For anyone with a sweet tooth for the book world or a thought and a care for American culture after the Second World War, the book is a brightly lit, well-stocked candy store. . . . It’s also a superb business story, revealing how an enterprise became an institution. . . . [An] essential book.” < b=""> Matt Weiland <>
Review
“Juicy . . . The New York book world, poised between scruffy glamour and crass commercialism, emerges in this lively chronicle of an iconic institution . . . Entertaining, accessible, smart, and thought-provoking, this is a book very much in tune with the lost literary milieu it re-creates.” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - Bookforum - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
Review
“Lively history . . . A smart, savvy portrait of arguably the country’s most important publisher . . . complete with sex, sour editors, and the occasional stumble into financial success. . . . A smart and informative portrait of the mechanisms of modern publishing.” < -="" i="" -=""> - < -="" b="" -=""> - Publishers Weekly - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
Review
andlt;divandgt;"andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; has both intelligence and wit in its revelations of publishing, publishers, and the capture of authors.
Review
“This is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime book. With Hothouse Kachka has produced his very own Mad Men for the literary world—an exhilarating, beautifully written biography of FSG that’s really an exhilarating, beautifully written biography of a literary culture.” < b=""> Toni Morrison <>
Review
“Astounding: an intelligent, knowing, beautifully written, spectacularly well-reported (read: gratifyingly gossipy) chronicle of the ultimate old-school book publisher. If you want a sense of how big-time, high-end New York publishing used to work and works today, I can't imagine a finer, more authoritative guide.” < b=""> Junot D & iacute;az <>
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Boris Kachka would have you believe that andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; is the inside story of book publishing as told through the prism of that industry's original odd couple.
Review
andlt;divandgt;"As a literary biographer, I'm amazed this book hasn't been written yet in some form, and we can only be grateful that the matter rested until such a stylish, insightful author as Kachka came along to write it. It reminds me of another of my favorite books, Brendan Gill's andlt;iandgt;Here at The New Yorkerandlt;/iandgt;--full of sad/funny anecdotes about living, breathing human beings, namely (in both cases) nothing less than the major figures in twentieth century American literature.
Review
“Hothouse is a wonderful book—a sharp look at the backstory of a famous publishing house and the flamboyant man who got as much attention as the writers he usually got cheap. Bravo!” < b=""> Blake Bailey <>
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Essential reading . . . A lively and entertaining story any book lover will devour with relish."andlt;/divandgt;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"The golden age of book publishing in all its gossipy glory."andlt;/divandgt;
Review
and#8220;A rough-and-tumble, heroic tale . . . Kachka takes us back to the black-and-white era when good old-fashioned hardand#173;covers stood unassailably at the very heart of the culture. . . . I loved reading the spiky, spicy evocation of the companyand#8217;s good old days.and#8221;
Review
andlt;bandgt;A andlt;iandgt;Wall Street Journalandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Boston Globeandlt;/iandgt;, and IndieBound Bestsellerandlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; A andlt;Iandgt;Washington Postandlt;/Iandgt; Notable Book of the Yearandlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Awardandlt;/bandgt;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; and#8220;Swashbuckling . . . Exhaustively researched and sometimes gossipy . . . andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; is the hot book that book people are talking about, and understandably so.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Gripping . . . [A] wonderful book . . . andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; is Pepys for our time, an unblinking account of publishing history as it was made by Rogerand#8217;s firm, the last of Americaand#8217;s major independent publishing houses. Roger would have been thrilled to publish this fine book, including its frequent and deserved criticisms of himself.and#8221;
Review
"Riveting . . . Stellar . . . A vivid narrative . . . andlt;Iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/Iandgt; fits nicely on a shelf next to entertaining business books such as Walter Isaacsonand#8217;s andlt;Iandgt;Steve Jobsandlt;/Iandgt; or Michael Lewisand#8217; andlt;Iandgt;Moneyballandlt;/Iandgt;."
Review
and#8220;Valuable . . . [A] vigorous and often diverting trot through the history of an important cultural institution . . . No one has previously anatomized a publishing house in such depth . . . Farrar, Straus andamp; Giroux, moreover, is well worth anatomizing. Itand#8217;s had a larger-than-life central character, an amusing cast of secondary characters, and a history replete with drama. Most important, it has maintained an amazingly consistent level of quality.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; simmers with gossipy tales of publishing . . . and [is] blessed with real-life characters who could star in any sexy novel. . . . Itand#8217;s not a book just for intellectuals.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Vivid . . . Witty . . . Immensely enjoyable . . . Kachka sets forth a strikingly unexpurgated history of FSG, impressively researched, rich in anecdotes and journalistically balanced.and#8221;
Review
"Excellent . . . andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; is as engrossing as a biography of any major cultural icon."
Review
and#8220;andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; is a thrilling look at the heyday of the publishing industry . . . [and] the man who, as Kachka points out, shaped the postwar intellectual tone in this country through the sheer dint of his brazenness and charm.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Irresistible . . . Juicy history . . . A delectable story about the intersection of art, commerce, passion and personalities. . . . andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; feels like a party where youand#8217;re surprised to discover that you knowand#8212;and admireand#8212;most of the other guests.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;What is it about literary types? Oh, the sex! Oh, the emotional drama! And, oh, what tremendous fun it all is to read about when weand#8217;re in the hands of a writer who knows how to spin a savory tale. So it is with Boris Kachkaand#8217;s delectably gossipy andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt;, a deeply researched, jam-packed, surprisingly hard-to-put-down history of the eminent publishing house Farrar, Straus andamp; Giroux that escapes lit-nerd ghettoization by the sheer force of its storytelling. . . . andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; is a ripping read.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Colorful history . . . andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; isnand#8217;t a management book; itand#8217;s a narrative of large personalities at play. Yet out of it comes a clear account of how to thrive in a tough commercial environment. . . . Kachka tells the story of the houseand#8217;s and#8216;class-massand#8217; success in delicious detail.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Dishy . . . Entertaining . . . [A] vivid account.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;The truth about industry books is that they rarely interest those who live and breathe outside of the industry in question. In other words, people on the street rarely clamor for tours of the office buildings above them. The rare ability not only to lead the reader in, but induce him to want to stay and peer into the filing cabinets is what makes Boris Kachkaand#8217;s first book andlt;Iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/Iandgt; something of a masterpiece of business biography. . . . The real success of andlt;Iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/Iandgt; lies in its telling, and Kachka manages a commanding momentum through decades at full wingspan.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Scintillating . . . Crammed with delicious anecdotes . . . [A] compulsively readable tale of the creation, triumphs and tribulations of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; has both intelligence and wit in its revelations of publishing, publishers, and the capture of authors. The story of FSG is a dazzling wide-lens view of decades of literary America. To call Boris Kachkaand#8217;s prose and#8216;brilliantand#8217; is not a clichand#233;; it has meaning.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Boris Kachka would have you believe that andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; is the inside story of book publishing as told through the prism of that industryand#8217;s original odd couple. Do not believe him. Do not be fooled by the wonderful stories of famous authors, editors, and publishers. Here instead is a sneakily informative view of how art gets made in America, a fresh look at the intersection of commerce and culture.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;As a literary biographer, Iand#8217;m amazed this book hasnand#8217;t been written yet in some form, and we can only be grateful that the matter rested until such a stylish, insightful author as Kachka came along to write it. It reminds me of another of my favorite books, Brendan Gilland#8217;s andlt;iandgt;Here at The New Yorkerandlt;/iandgt;and#8212;full of sad/funny anecdotes about living, breathing human beings, namely (in both cases) nothing less than the major figures in twentieth century American literature. At the center of both books, too, are two fascinating, polar-opposite protagonists: andlt;iandgt;New Yorker andlt;/iandgt;editors Harold Ross and William Shawn in Gilland#8217;s book, and the flamboyant, Ascot-wearing Roger Straus and his fastidious editor-in-chief, Robert Giroux, in Kachkaand#8217;s. What all four of these deeply strange men had in common was a love of good writing and a genius for eliciting same from the fortunate authors in their charge. andlt;iandgt;Hothouseandlt;/iandgt; is a must-read for anyone curious about the secret history of American publishing in the postwar era.and#8221;
Review
andlt;Bandgt;A Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and IndieBound Bestseller andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; A Washington Post Notable Book of the Year andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award andlt;BRandgt; andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt; and#8220;Swashbuckling . . . Exhaustively researched and sometimes gossipy . . . Hothouse is the hot book that book people are talking about, and understandably so.and#8221;
Synopsis
A rollicking, incredibly juicy account of the book publisher Farrar, Straus, and Giroux—a cultural institution and arguably the most influential publisher of the postwar era—and the many colorful, iconic authors whose careers it has fostered.FSG is home to more Nobel Prize-winning writers than any other publishing house in the world, its influence rivaling that of storied American literary institutions like the The New Yorker and The New York Times. Among its roster of generation-defining authors are T. S. Eliot, Susan Sontag, Tom Wolfe, Joan Didion, and Jonathan Franzen.
Boris Kachka deftly reveals the era and the city that built FSG through the stories of two men: founder-owner Roger Straus, the black sheep of his powerful German-Jewish family—with his bottomless reserve of ascots, charm, and vulgarity—and his complete opposite, the reticent editor Robert Giroux, who rose from blue-collar New Jersey to discover the novelists and poets who defined and shaped postwar American culture.
Both loved and despised in the literary community, Straus ventured fearlessly, often recklessly, into combat for his books, his authors, and his often-struggling company. He turned a philosophical disagreement with Simon and Schuster head Dick Snyder into a mano a mano media war for the very soul of publishing. Like a modern Daniel in a den of lions, he fought off would-be buyers, covetous literary agents, and even his own son and would-be successor, who was no match for a man who had to win at any cost.
Full of gossip and keen insight, Hothouse is the product of more than five years of research and nearly two hundred interviews, unearthing an essential story for the first time. Bringing to life the tumultuous pageant of postwar cultural life, it illustrates not only the lesson of a great publishing house—that in business as in literature, culture matters above all—but also the vital intellectual hub of the American Century.
Synopsis
“Mad Men for the literary world.” —Junot DíazFarrar, Straus and Giroux is arguably the most influential publishing house of the modern era. Home to an unrivaled twenty-five Nobel Prize winners and generation-defining authors like T. S. Eliot, Flannery O’Connor, Susan Sontag, Tom Wolfe, Joan Didion, Philip Roth, and Jonathan Franzen, it’s a cultural institution whose importance approaches that of The New Yorker or The New York Times. But FSG is no ivory tower—the owner's wife called the office a “sexual sewer”—and its untold story is as tumultuous and engrossing as many of the great novels it has published.
Boris Kachka deftly reveals the era and the city that built FSG through the stories of two men: founder-owner Roger Straus, the pugnacious black sheep of his powerful German-Jewish family—with his bottomless supply of ascots, charm, and vulgarity of every stripe—and his utter opposite, the reticent, closeted editor Robert Giroux, who rose from working-class New Jersey to discover the novelists and poets who helped define American culture. Giroux became one of T. S. Eliot’s best friends, just missed out on The Catcher in the Rye, and played the placid caretaker to manic-depressive geniuses like Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Jean Stafford, and Jack Kerouac. Straus, the brilliant showman, made Susan Sontag a star, kept Edmund Wilson out of prison, and turned Isaac Bashevis Singer from a Yiddish scribbler into a Nobelist—even as he spread the gossip on which literary New York thrived.
A prolific lover and an epic fighter, Straus ventured fearlessly, and sometimes recklessly, into battle for his books, his authors, and his often-struggling company. When a talented editor left for more money and threatened to take all his writers, Roger roared, “Over my dead body”—and meant it. He turned a philosophical disagreement with Simon and Schuster head Dick Snyder into a mano a mano media war that caught writers such as Philip Roth and Joan Didion in the crossfire. He fought off would-be buyers like S. I. Newhouse (“that dwarf”) with one hand and rapacious literary agents like Andrew Wylie (“that shit”) with the other. Even his own son and presumed successor was no match for a man who had to win at any cost—and who was proven right at almost every turn.
At the center of the story, always, are the writers themselves. After giving us a fresh perspective on the postwar authors we thought we knew, Kachka pulls back the curtain to expose how elite publishing works today. He gets inside the editorial meetings where writers’ fates are decided; he captures the adrenaline rush of bidding wars for top talent; and he lifts the lid on the high-stakes pursuit of that rarest commodity, public attention—including a fly-on-the-wall account of the explosive confrontation between Oprah Winfrey and Jonathan Franzen, whose relationship, Franzen tells us, “was bogus from the start.”
Vast but detailed, full of both fresh gossip and keen insight into how the literary world works, Hothouse is the product of five years of research and nearly two hundred interviews by a veteran New York magazine writer. It tells an essential story for the first time, providing a delicious inside perspective on the rich pageant of postwar cultural life and illuminating the vital intellectual center of the American Century.
About the Author
Boris Kachkaandlt;Bandgt; andlt;/Bandgt;is a contributing editor for andlt;iandgt;New Yorkandlt;/iandgt; magazine, where he has written and edited pieces on literature, publishing, and theater for more than a decade. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.