James Thurber

September 15, 1996
This work represents each decade of Thurber's writing career, from the slight New Yorker sketches of the 1920s to the irreverently affectionate portrait of that magazine's founder, The Years with Ross, of the late 1950s. Keillor's selection of Thurber's oeuvre is both the most generous and the most judicious volume available. Known largely for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1939), which dramatizes the battle of the sexes and the male animal's ineptitude in the face of modern technology, Thurber was an Algonquin stylist with a wide range of talents. These talents are effectively displayed here in the self-deprecating reminiscences of his eccentric Columbus, Ohio, family; beast fables with a cutting edge; and almost 500 inimitable line drawings. A valuable work; highly recommended for all libraries.--Charles C. Nash, Cottey Coll., Nevada, Mo.

September 1, 1996
American humorists have always helped define American culture by satirizing its more absurd habits of mind, fads, and institutions. James Thurber (1894^-1961) is one of the giants in this fine tradition, and now the entire scope of his sharp wit and poignant whimsy is gathered together in this invaluable volume. Selected by Garrison Keillor, a Thurber soul-mate if ever there was one, these stories, parodies, reminiscences, cartoons, and drawings present Thurber's unique and masterful take on work, psychotherapy, fantasizing, domesticity, and the battle between the sexes. The volume includes the now classic "Secret Life of Walter Mitty," the unforgettable images of "The Seal in the Bedroom," and his autobiography, "My Life and Hard Times," as well as a number of previously uncollected pieces. A painstaking writer, Thurber found release in the spontaneity of his drawings, and the dynamic contrast between the ironic intensity of his prose and the quicksilver inventiveness of his cartoons is intrinsic to the power of his work. ((Reviewed Sept. 1, 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)