The Gay Talese Reader

Starred review from October 20, 2003
If there is one fault in this wonderful and long overdue collection of nonfiction master Talese's magazine writings, it's that there is simply not enough. While this reader does not include selections from such bestselling books as The Kingdom and the Power
(a look at the New York Times
, where he was a reporter for 10 years), Honor Thy Father
(his behind-the-scenes look at the Bonanno crime organization) or Thy Neighbor's Wife
(his examination in the shift of sexual mores in the decades before AIDS), it does highlight writing from his 1993 bestselling book, Unto the Sons
, which deals with his Italian-born father's journey to America. However, all of the essays collected here are priceless gems, including his classic profiles of 20th-century icons such as Joe DiMaggio ("The Silent Season of the Hero"); the recently departed George Plimpton and his Paris Review
cohorts ("Looking for Hemingway"); and Frank Sinatra ("Frank Sinatra Has a Cold"), which was recently selected by Esquire
as the greatest article in the magazine's 70-year history. While his previous anthology of essays, Fame & Obscurity
, included his classic mid-1960s profile of legendary mobster Frank Costello, this one offers two beautiful essays on the writer's life: "When I Was Twenty-Five" and "Origins of a Nonfiction Writer." The stories here are shining examples of a time in publishing history when magazine writing was an art form and Talese its Michelangelo. This reader is a book to come back to again and again.

November 15, 2003
This beautifully written collection of essays by journalist and best-selling author Talese (The Bridge; The Kingdom and the Power), who is now in his early seventies, brings together short pieces originally published from the 1960s through the 1990s. Talese's nonfiction magazine writing was first published in the 1960s and immediately became a gold standard; his approach, which combines elegance of style with exhaustive research and features ordinary Americans, was dubbed the "New Journalism." This all-embracing collection features a variety of writing styles and reflects the author's varied interests: some pieces are purely autobiographical, others biographical (on such figures like Peter O'Toole, Joe Louis, Frank Sinatra, and Joe DiMaggio), and yet others tackle such diverse topics as tailoring, writing, and Vogue. The result is a nice addition to all public and academic libraries, especially those already owning Talese's work. Those that don't may want to start with this reader, as it truly represents the best of this still highly prolific author's work. With an introduction by Barbara Lounsberry (English language & literature, Univ. of Northern Iowa), coauthor with Talese of Writing Creative Non-Fiction: The Literature of Reality.-Terren Ilana Wein, Univ. of Chicago

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2003
Talese is known, of course, as the author of such best-selling nonfiction as " Honor Thy Father " (1978) and " Thy Neighbor's Wife" (1980). But Talese, who was born in 1932 and published his first book in 1961, began his career as a journalist when he was but a lad, writing columns and feature-length articles for a weekly newspaper while in high school. After college, he joined the " New York Times" and continued crafting his own unique brand of nonfiction. This collection, drawn from works published between 1961 and 1997, includes profiles of such notables as Frank Sinatra, Peter O'Toole, and Joe Louis; a unique and charmingly eccentric portrait of New York City; several pieces of social satire; and a couple of autobiographical essays. It demonstrates all over again why Talese was at the forefront of what was once called New Journalism. His quirky, personal nonfiction, in which the author is very much a presence, helped spawn a whole new approach to feature writing. A sterling introduction to the multitalented Talese. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)