Judith Thurman is the author of Isak Dinesen: The Life of a Storyteller and Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette. A staff writer at The New Yorker, she lives in New York City.
"Blessed with intellectual curiosity, a sharp wit and unwillingness to receive opinions, Thurman seems unlikely to produce anything less than a feat of style. . . . An excellent book." --The New York Times Book Review "Elegant yet casual, knowledgeable without being intimidating, self-revealing but never self-indulgent . . . Open the cover and drop in anywhere. You'll find Thurman's crisp intelligence always at home." --The Boston Globe "Thurman's essays are so deeply felt and arc so elegantly from the uniqueness of each individual to the greater conundrums of humankind, they are, indeed, exquisite works of art deserving a book's more lasting embrace." --Booklist "When paired with her ability as a biographer to peel layers and put a life into context, Thurman's grasp of global politics, history, and language can be astounding. . . . But what fun we have when the self-professed shoe addict writes about clothes and the people who worship them." --Austin American Statesman
Thurman's latest comprises two decades' worth of New Yorker pieces written between 1987 and 2006 in a sort of career biography. These profiles and essays explore the worlds of high fashion, art, letters, and public life. Odder selections look at the history of tofu, the importance of hair in the black community, and recent census data on American professions. Whether analyzing different biographical approaches to the life of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay or scrutinizing the popularity of pearls, Thurman sees her solidly researched subjects through highly subjective eyes. The figures she profiles are varied, ranging from an array of fashion design legends to philanthropist Teresa Heinz Kerry to writers Nadine Gordimer and Andre Malraux. As a title with a built-in audience, this may be a worthy purchase for libraries subscribing to The New Yorker, particularly academic institutions and larger public libraries. It may be overlooked in smaller, general collections.-Audrey Snowden, Cleveland P.L. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
"Blessed with intellectual curiosity, a sharp wit and unwillingness to receive opinions, Thurman seems unlikely to produce anything less than a feat of style. . . . An excellent book." --The New York Times Book Review "Elegant yet casual, knowledgeable without being intimidating, self-revealing but never self-indulgent . . . Open the cover and drop in anywhere. You'll find Thurman's crisp intelligence always at home." --The Boston Globe "Thurman's essays are so deeply felt and arc so elegantly from the uniqueness of each individual to the greater conundrums of humankind, they are, indeed, exquisite works of art deserving a book's more lasting embrace." --Booklist "When paired with her ability as a biographer to peel layers and put a life into context, Thurman's grasp of global politics, history, and language can be astounding. . . . But what fun we have when the self-professed shoe addict writes about clothes and the people who worship them." --Austin American Statesman
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