Norman Mailer: A Double Life Hardcover - 2013

Norman Mailer was one of the giants of American letters and one of the most celebrated public figures of his time. He was a novelist, journalist, biographer, and filmmaker; a provocateur and passionate observer of his times; and a husband, father, and serial philanderer.

Perhaps nothing characterized Mailer more than his unbounded ambition. He wanted not merely to be the greatest writer of his generation, but a writer great enough to be compared to Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. As Michael Lennon describes, he even had presidential ambitions, although he settled for running for mayor of New York City. He championed personal freedom and civil liberties, calling himself a âÈêleft conservative,âÈë and yet he was Enemy #1 of the WomenâÈçs Movement. He was as pugnacious in real life as in print, engaging in famous feuds and fights. Although he considered himself first and foremost a novelist, his greatest literary contribution may have been in journalism, where he used his novelistic gifts in tandem with self-revelation to explore the American psyche. In that regard, the subtitle of his Pulitzer PrizeâÈ' and National Book AwardâÈ'winning Armies of the Night is telling: âÈêHistory as a Novel, the Novel as History.âÈë He would return to certain subjects obsessively: John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, sex, technology, and the intricate relationship of fame and identity. Michael LennonâÈçs definitive biography captures Mailer in all his sharp complexities and shows us how he self-consciously invented and reinvented himself throughout his lifetime.

Michael Lennon knew Mailer for thirty-five years, and in writing this biography, he has had the cooperation of MailerâÈçs late widow, Norris Church, his ex-wives, and all of his children, as well as his sister, Barbara. He also had access to MailerâÈçs vast, unpublished correspondence and papers, and he interviewed dozens of people who knew Mailer. Norman Mailer: A Double Life gives us the man in full, a remarkable and unique figure in the context of his times.

Details

• Title Norman Mailer: A Double Life
• Author J. Michael Lennon
• Binding Hardcover
• Edition First Edition
• Pages 947
• Volumes 1
• Language ENG
• Publisher Simon & Schuster, New York
• Date 2013-10-15
• Illustrated Yes
• ISBN 9781439150191 / 1439150192
• Weight 2.62 lbs (1.19 kg)
• Dimensions 9.52 x 6.56 x 1.93 in (24.18 x 16.66 x 4.90 cm)
• Library of Congress subjects Authors, American - 20th century, Journalists - United States
• Library of Congress Catalog Number 2013005097
• Dewey Decimal Code B

âÈêIn this meticulous authorized biography, Lennon offers a comprehensive and unflinching look at the life of the controversial American novelist, journalist, and filmmaker. . . . LennonâÈçs almost clinical perspective shows the authorâÈçs restless innovation, which was indispensable for understanding the U.S. in the second half of the 20th century.âÈë