Get Best Sellers Audiobooks in Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

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Title: Stories About Storytellers

Subtitle: Publishing Alice Munro, Robertson Davies, Alistair MacLeod, Pierre Trudeau, and Others

Author: Douglas Gibson

Narrator: Douglas Gibson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-28-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

Spotlighting an extraordinary career, this autobiography reviews the authors accomplishments working and playing alongside some of Canadas greatest writers. These humorous chronicles relate the projects he brainstormed for writer Barry Broadfoot, how he convinced eventual Nobel Prize contender Alice Munro to keep writing short stories, his early morning phone call from a former Prime Minister, and his recollection of yanking a manuscript right out of Alistair MacLeods own reluctant hands - which ultimately garnered MacLeod one of the worlds most prestigious prizes for fiction. Insightful and entertaining, this collection of tales provides an inside view of Canadian politics and publishing that is rarely revealed, going behind the scenes and between the covers to divulge a treasure trove of literary adventures.

Members Reviews:

A Gem of a book

This is a literary memoir of Douglas Gibson the dean of Canadian publishing. He was born is Scotland, educated at St Andrews, received a scholarship to Yale. After graduating from Yale he immigrated to Canada. His first publishing job was with Doubleday of Canada. He went on to MacMillan then to M&S a Canadian company. This book is stories about the authors he edited and published. He did not include authors he published but was not the editor. It reads as the who's who of Canadian literature. Gibson is a great storyteller and when you finish this book you will feel as if you know each of these authors as well as their major books. He tells stories about such notables such as Nobel contender Alice Munro, as well as famous Canadian authors such as Stephen Leacock, W. O. Mitchell, Hugh MacLennan, Robertson Davies, Mavis Gallant, Morley Callaghan, Val Ross, James Houston Alistair MacLeod. He also covers political authors such as Brian Mulroney and Pierre Trudeau. This list only a few, so I am sure, your favorite Canadian author may also be covered in the book. After reading this delightful book I feel comfortable with my knowledge of Canadian authors and have an insight into the ups and downs of Canadian publishing. I also feel as if I had a tour of Canada. I also acquired a list of books I want to read and places I want to visit. If you are a reader I am sure you will also enjoy this book.

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Title: Sidney Poitier

Subtitle: Man, Actor, Icon

Author: Aram Goudsouzian

Narrator: J. D. Jackson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-11-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

In the first full biography of actor Sidney Poitier, Aram Goudsouzian analyzes the life and career of a Hollywood legend, from his childhood in the Bahamas to his 2002 Oscar for lifetime achievement. Poitier is a gifted actor, a great American success story, an intriguing personality, and a political symbol; his life and career illuminate America's racial history.

In such films as Lilies of the Field, In the Heat of the Night, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Poitier's middle-class, mannered, virtuous screen persona contradicted prevailing film stereotypes of blacks as half-wits, comic servants, or oversexed threats. His screen image and public support of nonviolent integration assuaged the fears of a broad political center, and by 1968, Poitier was voted America's favorite movie star.

Through careful readings of every Poitier film, Goudsouzian shows that Poitier's characters often made sacrifices for the good of whites and rarely displayed sexuality. As the only black leading man during the civil rights era, Poitier chose roles and public positions that negotiated the struggle for dignity. By 1970, times had changed and Poitier was the target of a backlash from film critics and black radicals, as the new heroes of "blaxploitation" movies reversed the Poitier model.In the 1970s, Poitier shifted his considerable talents toward directing, starring in, and producing popular movies that employed many African Americans, both on and off screen. After a long hiatus, he returned to starring roles in the late 1980s. More recently, the film industry has reappraised his career, and Poitier has received numerous honors recognizing his multi-faceted work for black equality in Hollywood. As this biography affirms, Poitier remains one of American popular culture's foremost symbols of the possibilities for and limits of racial equality.

Members Reviews:

The Man, the Star, the Lightning Rod

The best biographies place their subjects in the culture of their times. They give a picture of the world around the subject in addition to the facts of their inner life. This is the first full bio of Sidney Poitier, and it excels at doing just that.

Poitiers career spanned one of our most revolutionary, tumultuous, and polarizing times in history. From the birth of the Civil Rights Movement to Black Power, to his well-deserved late career veneration, Poitier has been both an icon and a lightning rod. He went from being criticized by whites for acting in movies with racial conscience to being chastised by some in the Black community for selling out, for portraying his movie characters as noble and sexless.

With Goudouzians fluid, gripping writing, this is one of the best "page-turning" Hollywood biographies ever.

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Title: Public Confessions of a Middle Aged Woman

Author: Sue Townsend

Narrator: Carolyn Oldershaw

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-01-13

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

Collected now for the first time, these columns from one of Britains most popular and acclaimed writers are funny, perceptive, and touching.

Members Reviews:

A bit of a let down

I didnt realise this book is a collection of short (real life) stories. I was hoping it was a novel much like The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year. I was expecting another good laugh but was sorely disappointed.

The narrator, Carolyn Oldershaw, has a dreary, depressing voice and I was often left feeling down after listening. Cant say I would recommend this book if youre looking for something light hearted and fun.

bring back adrian mole

really dull, nothing at all like the adrian mole books. Just endless short scenarios that weren't even remotely funny.

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Title: Light & Shade

Subtitle: Conversations with Jimmy Page

Author: Brad Tolinski

Narrator: Robert Fass, John Lee

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-26-12

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 105 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

More than 30 years after disbanding in 1980, Led Zeppelin continues to be celebrated for its artistic achievements, broad musical influence, and commercial success. The band's notorious exploits have been chronicled in bestselling books; yet none of the individual members of the band has penned a memoir nor cooperated to any degree with the press or a biographer. In Light and Shade, Jimmy Page, the band's most reticent and inscrutable member, opens up to journalist Brad Tolinski, for the first time exploring his remarkable life and musical journey in great depth and intimate detail.

Based on extensive interviews conducted with the guitarist/producer over the past 20 years, Light and Shade encompasses Page's entire career, beginning with his early years as England's top session guitarist when he worked with artists ranging from Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, and Burt Bacharach to the Kinks, The Who, and Eric Clapton. Page speaks frankly about his decadent yet immensely creative years in Led Zeppelin, his synergistic relationships with band members Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones, and his notable post-Zeppelin pursuits. While examining every major track recorded by Zeppelin, including "Stairway to Heaven", "Whole Lotta Love", and "Kashmir", Page reflects on the band's sensational tours, the filming of the concert movie The Song Remains the Same, his fascination with the occult, meeting Elvis Presley, and the making of the rock masterpiece Led Zeppelin IV, about which he offers a complete behind-the-scenes account. Additionally, the book is peppered with conversations between Page and other guitar greats, including his childhood friend Jeff Beck and hipster icon Jack White.

Through Page's own words, Light and Shade presents an unprecedented first-person view of one of the most important musicians of our era.

Critic Reviews:

"By shining a light on the shadowy Page, Tolinski has created a must-have for any Led Zeppelin fan or guitar player." (

Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

A great listen!

Makes me want to go back and listen to every album and syncng them up with the audiobook!

Production History, FY!

As a 10yr old diehard Led Zeppelin fan in 1973, as a 12yr old Page FanGirl in 1975, thanks to much older sisters who I was able to steal albums from. And a father who thought a 10 yr girl should get rid of hand me down record player for a new STERO for her birthday....the marriage was sealed. Any info I could get was gold...in the days of NO google, we just had Creem, Circus, Rolling Stone and The encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. This audible book with all of its history and production info was a wet dream

Ramble On

Indepth and well deserved review of Page and his m

If you could sum up Light & Shade in three words, what would they be?

Informative and expansive

What other book might you compare Light & Shade to and why?

Probably the 33 1/3 series' album books, very comprehensive and music centered

Have you listened to any of Robert Fass and John Lee s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but they did a great job here

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not necessarily.

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Title: Elsewhere

Subtitle: A Memoir

Author: Richard Russo

Narrator: Richard Russo

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-30-12

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 92 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

After eight commanding works of fiction, the Pulitzer Prize winner now turns to memoir in a hilarious, moving, and always surprising account of his life, his parents, and the upstate New York town they all struggled variously to escape.

Anyone familiar with Richard Russo's acclaimed novels will recognize Gloversville, once famous for producing that eponymous product and anything else made of leather. This is where the author grew up, the only son of an aspirant mother and a charming, feckless father who were born into this close-knit community. But by the time of his childhood in the 1950s, prosperity was inexorably being replaced by poverty and illness (often tannery-related), with everyone barely scraping by under a very low horizon.

A world elsewhere was the dream his mother instilled in Rick, and strived for herself, and their subsequent adventures and tribulations in achieving that goal - beautifully recounted here - were to prove lifelong, as would Gloversville's fearsome grasp on them both. Fraught with the timeless dynamic of going home again, encompassing hopes and fears and the relentless tides of familial and individual complications, this story is arresting, comic, heartbreaking, and truly beautiful: an immediate classic.

Members Reviews:

Elsewhere---but not far enough

I like Russo's fiction. Period. So, I thought I'd give his nonfiction a try. I chose the wrong one. Something about his mother, fine. What's a memoir without mom? But half-way into the book I realized this wasn't as much a memoir as it was a biography of Russo's mother and it wasn't going to change. Russo's mom is--well, tiresome and she stays in character till the bitter end. I felt sorry for Russo but writing this painful non-memoir was probably therapeutic. Also, I generally avoid books read out loud by the author. A good writer doesn't (often) make for a good reader. It seems counterintuitive but my worst listeniing experiences have been with authors as readers. Oh well...back to Russo's fiction, which I highly recommend!

Interesting in many ways

This book helped me realize that my favorite type of audio book is memoirs read by the author. Russo's book is a forthright, well written/told journey of his life as influenced by his mother, his roots in upstate NY, and in the background, the support and stability of life with his wife and daughters. As happens with individuals who are troubled, his mother's life seems to circle round and round the same issues, but that is reality. I recommend to anyone who has enjoyed Russo's books, heard him speak, is interested in his life.

Affecting memoir

Would you listen to Elsewhere again? Why?

I probably would not listen again because I tend not to re-listen. But I would definitely reread some of the passages. The preface is a lyrical tribute to a town and the craftsman that were dependent on a dying industry. The author also has beautifully captured what it is like to have a difficult parent.

What other book might you compare Elsewhere to and why?

Philip Roth's Patrimony or Mary Karr's memoirs. These are all memoirs of living with a difficult parent--yet in the way that all sad families are different, the stories are very different. All of these authors write very well.

Any additional comments?

I have not liked Russo's fiction but will now try again.

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Title: Jack

Subtitle: C. S. Lewis and His Times

Author: George Sayer

Narrator: Frederick Davidson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 26 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-12-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 45 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

Numerous biographies have been written about this great theologian, literary critic, and novelist, but we have found this to be the best.

Sayer describes Lewis early years, hinting at childhood evidence of the brilliance and eccentricity that would later become Lewis hallmarks. He discusses Lewis academic career, his life-transforming conversion to Christianity, and the role of religion in his life. With honesty and compassion, he covers Lewis controversial relationship with Mrs. Moore and his passionate marriage to Joy Davidman.

Critic Reviews:

A cheerful look back on the life of [Sayers] cherished friend and mentorFrederick Davidsonmaintains the flow of the work. His presentation of English and Irish dialects is excellent. (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

The story of a life told by his friend

Other biographies of C.S. Lewis (and I think that I have all of them from Audible) are told from the perspective of the scholar, but George Sayer tells the story of his friend. Because he can share personal details of Lewis' life, this biography is much more intimate. For example, Sayer deals with the matter of Lewis' relationship with Mrs. Moore. Was it based on his sense of duty to her deceased son, Patty, and to her appeal to him as a surrogate mother, or was there some 'purient' motivation that he was ashamed to admit? There is no doubt that Jack was extremely protective of the details of their relationship, but Sayer's insight helps to dispel the confusion around the subject with good, sound reason and facts. The only quibble that I have with this audiobook is that it shows EACH half as being 13 hours whereas the total of BOTH halves is approximently 13 hours. I read an earlier review that pointed out this error and so I called Audible to find out and was assured that it really is 26 hours long -- it's not. But the 13 hours that it is, is worth listening even if you are a Lewis fan like me and think you've heard it all.

nice bio of lewis

First note,this audiobook is listed as 26 hours long,IT IS ACTUALY 13 hrs.long..also the narator is one i never liked..however,his usual horror of tone and attitude is quite tame in this book..in short I found it listenable..now the book itself is very good..I always prefer what I call "old school' styles of writers..[less modernistic...non sceptical,relativistic,super psycological ect.] and this fits that nice style..it is also simply very interesting and personal with its object,the great C.S. Lewis...if you can stand the narrator on the sample clip,i think you will love this biography of Lewis..

JUST WRONG

The pompous style of the reader is so contrary to the warm and passionate nature of the subject, I found it too distracting.

Appropriate biography of Lewis, poorly read

The content and story have long been considered one of the greatest biographies of CS Lewis. Unfortunately, the reading of it was subpar and not entirely enjoyable to listen to. It is well worth the time, but one hopes a new reading may be put together the may be a little easier on the ears in coming years.

A Must-Listen for All CS Lewis Devotees!

Excellent book for learning about CS Lewis, the man.

As for the narration, initially I did not like the voice, but I grew to appreciate it as particularly fitting for the subject matter.

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Title: Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story

Subtitle: A Life of David Foster Wallace

Author: D. T. Max

Narrator: Malcolm Hillgartner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-30-12

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 237 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

David Foster Wallace was the leading literary light of his generation, a man who not only captivated readers with his prose but also mesmerized them with his brilliant mind. In this, the first biography of the writer, D. T. Max sets out to chart Wallaces tormented, anguished, and often triumphant battle to succeed as a novelist as he fights off depression and addiction to emerge with his masterpiece, Infinite Jest.

Since his untimely death by suicide at the age of forty-six in 2008, Wallace has become more than the representative writer of his time he has become a symbol of sincerity and honesty in an inauthentic age. His reputation and reach grow by the day.

Max takes us from Wallaces early years as a child of the 1970s in the Midwest to his hothouse success in his twenties and subsequent collapse into depression and drugs, and from there through his painful reemergence as an apostle of recovery, ending with his triumphant novel of addiction and redemption, the book of the decade, published when he was just thirty-three. But Infinite Jest itself left as an open question what should come next, as Wallace sought hopefully and then, increasingly, helplessly for a way forward, stymied even in the midst of the happiest personal time he had ever known.

Max guides us on this remarkable literary and spiritual journey, this prolonged exploration of what it means to be human. Wallace was coy with the press and very private, yet the concerns of his writing and the struggles of his life were always closely intertwined. In illuminating the life, Max enriches our understanding of the work. And in his skillful, active investigations into Wallaces prose, he reveals the author in unexpected ways.

In the end, as Max argues, what is most important about Wallace is not just the words he left behind but what he taught us about life, showing that whatever the price, the fight to live meaningfully is always worth the struggle. Written with the cooperation of Wallace family members and friends and with access to hundreds of his unpublished letters, manuscripts, journals, and audio tapes, this deeply researched portrait of an extraordinarily gifted author is as fresh as news, as intimate as a letter from a friend, as painful as a goodbye.

Members Reviews:

For those who really love DFW

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Probably not. First of all, I don't have too many friends who are as rabid a David Foster Wallace fan as I am. I don't have too many friends who are DFW fans period, at any level of rabidity. However, (secondly) if I did, I would probably recommend they read the actual book instead of listening to the audiobook. The loss of the (copious) endnotes from the audio kept me going back to the physical book daily to read what I'd missed. I think the producers of this audiobook should have found a way to include them. There were some real gems buried in those notes.

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Title: Picasso: Creator and Destroyer

Author: Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington

Narrator: Wanda McCaddon

Format: Unabridged

Length: 19 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-22-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 55 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

This landmark biography penetrates the barriers of legend to bring to full and intimate life a man whose burning passions - for painting, women, and ideas - were matched by a compulsion to invent reality in his life no less than in his art. Here is the tragic story of a man who, from his teenage passion for a gypsy boy to the chilling bitterness and betrayals of his old age, was unable to love and was driven to dominate and humiliate the women - and men - who fell under his hypnotic spell.

Drawing on a wealth of startling revelations, including the vivid memories of Picassos daughter Maya and the heretofore untold recollections of Françoise Gilot, who shared his life for ten years and bore two of his children, the author has stripped bare the romantic myths to reveal, in all its volatile complexity, Picassos lifelong struggle between his power to create and his compulsion to destroy.

Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington is a writer, lecturer, broadcaster, and cofounder of the news Web site the Huffington Post. She is the author of the best-selling biography Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend and The Gods of Greece. She lives in Houston, Texas, and Santa Barbara, California.

Critic Reviews:

"The Picasso of Huffingtons book is a wretchedly flawed genius, sadistic and treacherous, a liar who betrayed friends and colleagues. It is, in short, the kind of story for which gossips - and scriptwriters - would kill." (People)

"Picassos prolific creativity, Huffington argues, was fueled by his brutal candor and studied indifference to people and to social convention." (Atlantic)

"Huffingtonhas written an astonishing biography, a shocking portrait of a man driven by a compulsive need to destroy even as his creativity burst forth." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Biased, Subjective and Unsubstantiated.

The thesis of this books is that Picasso was a serial misogynist and user of people. Yes, the book contains some tenuous evidence to support the thesis, but mostly consists of conjecture and unsubstantiated conclusions about Picasso's psychology.

Picasso was one of the most noteworthy artists of the 20th century who completed over 50,000 works of art during his lifetime, but this book isn't about that. At worst, it was written to undermine that monumental achievement; at best, it is the subjective musings of a pretentious woman concerned only with perpetrating her naive opinion of this man's psychology and behavior on the masses. This book is so blatantly written to support the author's agenda that it should not be categorized "biography." I was hoping to hear a well-researched account of Picasso's life and times...but instead I listened to a non-artist, non-psychologist sit in judgment of a long-dead man who made some of humanity's great artwork. I don't doubt he was flawed, but I prefer to draw such conclusions myself, rather than blindly accept Arianna Huffington's analysis.

It's a shame that this is the only "biography" of Picasso on Audible.

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Title: Winter Journal

Author: Paul Auster

Narrator: Paul Auster

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-21-12

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 70 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

From the best-selling novelist and author of The Invention of Solitude comes a moving and highly personal meditation on the body, time, and language itself.

"That is where the story begins, in your body, and everything will end in the body as well."

Facing his 63rd winter, internationally acclaimed novelist Paul Auster sits down to write a history of his body and its sensations - both pleasurable and painful. Thirty years after the publication of The Invention of Solitude, in which he wrote so movingly about fatherhood, Auster gives us a second unconventional memoir in which he writes about his mother's life and death. Winter Journal is a highly personal meditation on the body, time, and memory, by one of our most intellectually elegant writers.

Members Reviews:

Memorable

Where does Winter Journal rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Right up there with the best.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Winter Journal?

Not a moment but a sequence. Thought the way he told his stories via the houses he'd lived in was clever.

Which scene was your favorite?

When he falls in love with his wife, of course!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A journey through life into old age.

Any additional comments?

I had never heard of Paul Auster until his interview on NPR's Fresh Air. I listened to this book for a solid 6+hours because it was so good; something I've never done before admittedly I came of age through the same time period, and am entering my own "Winter" so that held my interest. His narration is stellar; love when an author can narrate. Will definitely get another of his books; hope it's as good as this one!

the book was as geeat as i was expecting

I have read many of his books and it was such an incredible experience to listen to his life story with such soothing voice.

Paul Auster at his best.

What made the experience of listening to Winter Journal the most enjoyable?

A sensuous and entertaining memoir. I love Paul Auster's fiction, and here he brings his great storytelling talent and wit to his own life. He describes moments that we can all identify with, and makes them so immediate and real that you feel as though you have experienced them yourself. Human. Real. He makes the mundane fascinating.

What other book might you compare Winter Journal to and why?

Though this is a work of nonfiction, it has a similar feel to Auster's books, Oracle Night, and Book of Illusions.

Which character as performed by Paul Auster was your favorite?

Paul has read most of his recent books. I love his voice and the cadence of his speech. Lovely to listen to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When he was so thrilled that his mother had hit a home run when playing with his boy scout troop.

Any additional comments?

A very pleasurable listen.

A Moving Memoir

What made the experience of listening to Winter Journal the most enjoyable?

The simple honesty of the writing, even when the subject is difficult, made Winter Journal most enjoyable.

What other book might you compare Winter Journal to and why?

Perhaps some of the memoir writings of Joyce Carol Oates might compare. But Paul Auster's point of view is very decidely masculine.

What about Paul Austers performance did you like?

I like an author to read his own writing if the author has any talent for reading at all.

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Title: And So It Goes

Subtitle: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life

Author: Charles J. Shields

Narrator: Fred Berman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-30-12

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 45 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians

Publisher's Summary:

New York Times best-selling author and biographer Charles J. Shields crafts this fascinating portrait of literary icon Kurt Vonnegut. The first authorized biography of the influential American writer, And So It Goes examines Vonneguts life, from his childhood to his death in 2007, and explores how the author changed the conversation of American literature.

Members Reviews:

Probably only for die hard Vonnegut fans

What aspect of Fred Bermans performance would you have changed?

I've listened to a fair number of audio books, and this was the first one where I could hear the narrator take very loud audible breaths in between sentences, almost as it to alert you that a new sentence was starting. I found this very distracting. Even odder was the fact that that this was inconsistent throughout the narration. It came and went, almost as if this sort of thing is cleaned up digitally before releasing the recording and whoever was cleaning it up missed huge sections. Or the producer used different microphone equipment for different sessions. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes, but this was highly annoying to listen to.

Any additional comments?

Vonnegut is very different from the public persona he created over the decades. He was, in fact, a miserable man who seemed to enjoy making people around him miserable as well. Not a particularly fun book to read, but being a huge Vonnegut fan, I'm still glad I read it.

Good reading, but a questionable portrait

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

For listeners interested in Vonnegut's life and work this is a good reading of the biography. However, the author seems to believe that he could have run Vonnegut's life far better than Vonnegut himself. That Vonnegut does not always live up to his ideals is not surprising, but the book seems to focus on Vonnegut disappointing his friends, family and himself year after year. Vonnegut's son Mark said that his father was not the bitter young man who evolves into the bitter lonely man portrayed in the book and that Shield's book does not reflect Vonnegut's true life and nature. I agree.

The most complete and authorized Vonnegut bio

This book is a well written, exceptionally researched, in-depth, and informative look at the life and writings of Kurt Vonnegut. The book moves through Vonnegut's life in chronological order, moving from childhood to death and recounts the changes in Vonnegut's life and fortune that shaped his life, his writing, and his legacy. Citing primary documents, letters, interviews, and Vonnegut's own writings, the author paints a very real and highly tangible representation of what life was like for Kurt Vonnegut. We are taken through a youth in Indiana, a soldier in World War II, a writer having a hard time getting published, a teacher at Iowa, and finally long awaited recognition and financial stability.

This is a great book for fans of Vonnegut's writing.