Synopses & Reviews
A
New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
“At the epicenter of literary New York, Menaker is an irreverent guide to the publishing world’s inner workings . . . His own journey, compelled by his self-knowledge and sense of humor, elevates this memoir into more than witty chatter.” — Chicago Tribune
“Impossible to resist.” — Jennifer Egan, author of A Visit from the Goon Squad
In these pages Daniel Menaker brings us a “ruefully funny insider’s tour of the publishing world” (Vogue.com). Haunted by a self-doubt sharpened by his role in his brother’s unexpected death, he offers wry, hilarious observations on publishing, child-rearing, parent-losing, and the writing life. But as time passes, we witness a moving, thoughtful meditation on years well lived, well read, and well spent. Full of mistakes, perhaps. But full of effort, full of accomplishment, full of life.
“Tender, smart and witty, this book is truly unputdownable.” — Real Simple
“Energetic and exhilarating . . . [Menaker’s] clever, fast-paced prose makes you stop and think and wonder.” — New York Times Book Review
“At once jaunty and erudite . . . The writing simply shines.” — San Francisco Chronicle
Review
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice“Energetic and exhilarating . . . [Menakers] clever, fast-paced prose makes you stop and think and wonder.”
—New York Times Book Review
"[A] beguiling sketch of a literary life... [and] a wryly personal history of magazine and book publishing over the past four decades. A-"
—Entertainment Weekly
“In this insightful memoir, Menaker leads his readers down the hallowed halls of The New Yorker... But the book isnt all business. Menaker also delves into the ups and downs of his personal life, from summers at his uncles camp, to the death of his mother. Tender, smart and witty, this book is truly unputdownable.”
—Real Simple
"At the epicenter of literary New York, Menaker is an irreverent guide to the publishing world's inner workings. . . [and] tells great stories about editors William Shawn (quirky), Tina Brown (in hot pursuit of what's hot), William Maxwell, Roger Angell and others. . . His own journey, compelled by his self-knowledge and sense of humor, elevates this memoir into more than witty chatter."
—Chicago Tribune, Editor's Choice
"A ruefully funny insiders tour of the publishing world.”
—Vogue.com
"[A] sparkling gem of a memoir... The writing simply shines; it's at once jaunty and erudite. I kept wondering, "How does he do that?"
—Katie Hafner, San Francisco Chronicle
"Universally entertaining."
—Boston Globe
"Menaker gives readers a glimpse into the less-than-rarefied world of fiction — publishing, marketing, buying and selling. And it's fascinating. . . But Menaker also can be funny and lighthearted."
—Washington Post
"[Menaker] is an expert at turning those proverbial life-lemons into lemonades; his description of his protracted recent struggle with lung cancer, for example, winds up being one of the memoir's most inspiring and invigorating sections."
—Paris Review
"Menaker's memoir captures a pair of lost worlds: the old lefty Greenwich Village, where he grew up in the 1940s and 1950s, and the byzantine kingdom of The New Yorker, where he worked for 26 years, mostly during the peculiar editorship of William Shawn."
—Johns Hopkins Magazine
"[Menaker] contemplates the origins, happenstance, and consequences of his devotion to literature in a warm, humorous, on-point memoir. Amiably self-deprecating, Menaker is a deft sketch artist, vividly portraying loved ones (especially his older brother, who goaded him to excel and whose early death is the source of depthless sorrow) and colleagues (his portraits of New Yorker staff are hilarious, barbed, and tender). His insider view of publishing is eye-opening and entertaining."
—Booklist
"[Menaker] writes here of his hectic childhood with well-preserved romanticism. The result is charming. [He] is at his best when irreverent: chuckling at aptronyms (people aptly named), or deflating New Yorker legends (William Shawn and Tina Brown, most notably). Still, in this book of years, gossip is secondary to the writers own musings and memories. Menaker leaves the reader with a sense of the vast triumph that is a life well lived."
—Publishers Weekly
"A well-known editors funny and thoughtful memoir of wrong turns, both in and out of publishing. . . Menaker doesnt just recount experiences; he digs away at them with wit and astute reflection, looking for the pattern of a life that defies easy profit-and-loss lessons."
—Kirkus, starred review
"Menaker examines a life lived well if not perfectly. Hes bold enough to explore his years at The New Yorker, where he stayed for 26 years despite discouragement from William Shawn, and the perpetual self-doubt that has dogged him, particularly owing to his role in his brothers inadvertent death. Certainly of interest to memoir fans and literati."
—Library Journal
"How can something written so accurately be so witty? Don't you have to cheat a bit to wring the humor out of life? Daniel Menaker has constructed a compelling tale that irises down to a powerful and emotional climax and is delivered in exacting prose woven into affecting poetry."
—Steve Martin
"My Mistake is only sometimes rueful. It is also frequently funny and splendidly precise as it takes a look back at a life led in the world of magazine editing and book publishing, a behind-the-scenes rumination of a time gone by. Intriguing now, it will be necessary later; readers will be thankful for this quirky and delightful piece of history."
—Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of Olive Kitteridge and The Burgess Boys
"Daniel Menaker's distinctive journey through his own memories is impossible to resist—and not just for those of us with an appetite for literary anecdote. My Mistake is also the story of literary New York, with keen, vivid impressions from Menaker's Forties childhood, Cold War coming-of-age, and long career at the epicenter of the publishing industry during the onslaught of the Digital Age."
—Jennifer Egan, author of A Visit from the Goon Squad
"I can't remember when I've read a memoir this—let's say 'soulful.' Funny, sad, and wryly self-aware, Menaker shines a bright light on his own background, our literary life, and his own path through it."
—James Gleick, author of The Information
"My Mistake brings to mind the poetic prose of James Agee. Menaker's stories of life as fiction editor at The New Yorker and Random House are a delight, the way he tells them simply perfect. Humorous, thoughtful, heartbreaking and brave. I have not enjoyed a memoir more."
—Julie Klam, New York Times bestselling author of Please Excuse My Daughter
Review
PRAISE FOR ROGER ANGELL AND LET ME FINISH"One of the most entertaining and gracious prose styles of his gracious generation."TIME"A lovely book and an honest one . . . it contains truths: about loyalty and love, about work and play, about getting on with the cards that life deals you. Its also a genuinely grown-up book, a rare gem indeed in our pubescent age."THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
Synopsis
A wry, witty, often tender memoir by a former New Yorker and Random House editor who has great tales of a life in words.
Synopsis
A
New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
"At the epicenter of literary New York, Menaker is an irreverent guide to the publishing world's inner workings . . . His own journey, compelled by his self-knowledge and sense of humor, elevates this memoir into more than witty chatter." -- Chicago Tribune
"Impossible to resist." -- Jennifer Egan, author of A Visit from the Goon Squad
In these pages Daniel Menaker brings us a "ruefully funny insider's tour of the publishing world" (Vogue.com). Haunted by a self-doubt sharpened by his role in his brother's unexpected death, he offers wry, hilarious observations on publishing, child-rearing, parent-losing, and the writing life. But as time passes, we witness a moving, thoughtful meditation on years well lived, well read, and well spent. Full of mistakes, perhaps. But full of effort, full of accomplishment, full of life.
"Tender, smart and witty, this book is truly unputdownable." -- Real Simple
"Energetic and exhilarating . . . Menaker's] clever, fast-paced prose makes you stop and think and wonder." -- New York Times Book Review
"At once jaunty and erudite . . . The writing simply shines." -- San Francisco Chronicle
Synopsis
Daniel Menaker started as a fact checker at
The New Yorker in 1969. With luck, hard work, and the support of William Maxwell, he was eventually promoted to editor. Never beloved by William Shawn, he was advised early on to find a position elsewhere; he stayed for another twenty-four years.
Now Menaker brings us a “ruefully funny insiders tour of the publishing world” (Vogue.com). Haunted by a self-doubt sharpened by his role in his brothers unexpected death, he offers wry, hilarious observations on publishing, child-rearing, parent-losing, and the writing life. In a memoir full of stories “not to be missed” (NPR.org), we witness a moving, thoughtful meditation on years well lived, well read, and well spent. Full of mistakes, perhaps. But full of effort, full of accomplishment, full of life.
Synopsis
Monica Wood's moving memoir of the season in 1963 Mexico, Maine, as she, her mother, and her three sisters healed after the loss of their mill-worker father and then the nation's loss of its handsome young Catholic president.
Synopsis
Winner of the 2012 Sarton Memoir Award
“Every few years, a memoir comes along that revitalizes the form…With generous, precise, and unsentimental prose, Monica Wood brilliantly achieves this . . . When We Were the Kennedys is a deeply moving gem!”—Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog and Townie
Mexico, Maine, 1963: The Wood family is much like its close, Catholic, immigrant neighbors, all dependent on the fathers wages from the Oxford Paper Company. But when Dad suddenly dies on his way to work, Mum and the four deeply connected Wood girls are set adrift. When We Were the Kennedys is the story of how a family, a town, and then a nation mourns and finds the strength to move on.
“On her own terms, wry and empathetic, Wood locates the melodies in the aftershock of sudden loss.”—Boston Globe
“[A] marvel of storytelling, layered and rich. It is, by turns, a chronicle of the renowned paper mill that was both pride and poison to several generations of a town; a tribute to the ethnic stew of immigrant families that grew and prospered there; and an account of one familys grief, love, and resilience.”—Maine Sunday Telegram
Synopsis
Widely known as an original and graceful writer, Roger Angell has developed a devoted following through his essays in the New Yorker. Now, in Let Me Finish, a deeply personal, fresh form of autobiography, he takes an unsentimental look at his early days as a boy growing up in Prohibition-era New York with a remarkable father; a mother, Katharine White, who was a founding editor of the New Yorker; and a famous stepfather, the writer E. B. White.Intimate, funny, and moving portraits form the books centerpiece as Angell remembers his surprising relatives, his early attraction to baseball in the time of Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio, and his vivid colleagues during a long career as a New Yorker writer and editor. Infused with pleasure and sadness, Angells disarming memoir also evokes an attachment to lifes better moments.
Synopsis
From the author of the acclaimed BOBBED HAIR AND BATHTUB GIN comes a joint biography of the author of The Day of the Locust and his wife, the Eileen of My Sister Eileen, set against the world of New York writers and Hollywood screenwriters in the 1930s.and#160;
Synopsis
Nathanael West was a comic artist whose insight into the brutalities and absurdities of modern life proved prophetic. He is famous for two masterpieces,
Miss Lonelyhearts and the most penetrating novel ever written about Hollywood,
The Day of the Locust. Eileen McKenney, accidental muse and literary heroine, fled Cleveland in search of romance and adventure, inspiring her sisterandrsquo;s humorous stories,
My Sister Eileen, which led to stage, film, and television adaptations.
Until their tragic deaths in 1940, husband and wife were intimate with many of the literary, theatrical, and movie notables of the era, and in this dual biography, they provide a one-of-a-kind lens into a world that continues to capture artistsandrsquo; imaginations. With trenchant insight and erudite charm, acclaimed biographer Marion Meade restores the star-crossed lovers to their rightful places in the rich cultural tapestry of interwar America and paints a lively tableau of one of the countryandrsquo;s most engrossing eras.
About the Author
MONICA WOOD is the author of When We Were the Kennedys: A Memoir from Mexico, Maine. Her 2005 novel Any Bitter Thing spent twenty-one weeks on the American Booksellers Association extended bestseller list and was named a Book Sense Top Ten pick. Her other fiction includes Ernie’s Ark and My Only Story, a finalist for the Kate Chopin Award. She lives in Portland, Maine.
Table of Contents
and#160;and#160;The Ensemble xiii
and#160;and#160;Introduction xv
and#160;1and#160;IN THE HOTEL 1
and#160;2and#160;DUSTY ESKY IN HARLEM 6
and#160;3and#160;MISHAWAKA 19
and#160;4and#160;SAN JUAN HILL, NEW YORK 26
and#160;5and#160;THE STENOGRAPHER FROM CANTON 36
and#160;6and#160;CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS 46
and#160;7and#160;BECOMING and#147;NATHANAEL WESTand#8221; 59
and#160;8and#160;BALSO SNELLand#8217;S BOOK OF DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS 73
and#160;9and#160;CLEVELAND HEIGHTS PRINCESS 83
and#160;10and#160;RING OUT, WILD BALLS 91
and#160;11and#160;THE BIG STEAL 110
and#160;12and#160;MAROONED ON SILSBY ROAD 131
and#160;13and#160;SCREWBALLS AND SCREWBOXES 141
and#160;14and#160;SHIRTSLEEVES TO SHIRTSLEEVES 152
and#160;15and#160;14 GAY STREET 171
and#160;16and#160;CHEAPSVILLE 187
and#160;17and#160;SISTER EILEEN AND MRS. WHITE 209
and#160;18and#160;DESTINED TO BE A HEROINE 223
and#160;19and#160;AN ARSONISTand#8217;S GUIDE TO LOS ANGELES 236
and#160;20and#160;STINKOLAS, HUMDINGERS, LOLLAPALOOZAS, TWISTEROOS 256
and#160;21and#160;EILEEN IN DISNEYLAND 267
and#160;22and#160;TOGETHER 288
and#160;23and#160;EL CENTRO 300
and#160;and#160;POSTSCRIPT 315
and#160;and#160;The Works of Nathanael West 325
and#160;and#160;Notes 328
and#160;and#160;Acknowledgments 362
and#160;and#160;Photo Credits 367
and#160;and#160;Index 368