{"product_id":"slouching-towards-bethlehem-essays-paperback","title":"Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJoan Didion\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e Celebrated, iconic, and indispensable, Joan Didion's first work of nonfiction, \u003ci\u003eSlouching Towards Bethlehem\u003c\/i\u003e, is considered a watershed moment in American writing. First published in 1968, the collection was critically praised as one of the \"best prose written in this country.\"\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMore than perhaps any other book, this collection by one of the most distinctive prose stylists of our era captures the unique time and place of Joan Didion's focus, exploring subjects such as John Wayne and Howard Hughes, growing up in California and the nature of good and evil in a Death Valley motel room, and, especially, the essence of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, the heart of the counterculture. As Joyce Carol Oates remarked: \"[Didion] has been an articulate witness to the most stubborn and intractable truths of our time, a memorable voice, partly eulogistic, partly despairing; always in control.\"\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eUpon its publication in 1968, Slouching Towards Bethlehem confirmed Joan Didion as one of the most prominent writers on the literary scene. Her unblinking vision and deadpan tone have influenced subsequent generations of reporters and essayists, changing our expectations of style, voice, and the artistic possibilities of nonfiction. \u003cbr\u003e\"In her portraits of people,\" \"The New York Times Book Review wrote, \"Didion is not out to expose but to understand, and she shows us actors and millionaires, doomed brides and naive acid-trippers, left-wing ideologues and snobs of the Hawaiian aristocracy in a way that makes them neither villainous nor glamorous, but alive and botched and often mournfully beautiful. . . . A rare display of some of the best prose written today in this country.\" \u003cbr\u003eIn essay after essay, Didion captures the dislocation of the 1960s, the disorientation of a country shredding itself apart with social change. Her essays not only describe the subject at hand--the murderous housewife, the little girl trailing the rock group, the millionaire bunkered in his mansion--but also offer a broader vision of America, one that is both terrifying and tender, ominous and uniquely her own. \u003cbr\u003eJoyce Carol Oates has written, \"Joan Didion is one of the very few writers of our time who approaches her terrible subject with absolute seriousness, with fear and humility and awe. Her powerful irony is often sorrowful rather than clever. . . . She has been an articulate witness to the most stubborn and intractable truths of our time, a memorable voice, partly eulogistic, partly despairing; always in control.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoan Didion\u003c\/b\u003e (1934-2021) was the National Book Award-winning author of many works of fiction and nonfiction. After earning a Bachelor's degree in English at the University of California, Berkeley, she started her literary career writing articles and essays for \u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMademoiselle\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLife\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Saturday Evening Post\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNational Review\u003c\/i\u003e, establishing herself as a prominent member of the New Journalism movement. Her books include \u003ci\u003eThe White Album\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePlay It As It Lays\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSlouching Towards Bethlehem\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eShortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize, Didion's revelatory memoir \u003ci\u003eThe Year of Magical Thinking\u003c\/i\u003e was adapted as a one-woman stage show starring Vanessa Redgrave on Broadway. She also wrote several screenplays with her husband John Gregory Dunne, including \u003ci\u003ePanic in Needle Park\u003c\/i\u003e with Al Pacino, the second remake of \u003ci\u003eA Star is Born\u003c\/i\u003e with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, and an adaptation of her own \u003ci\u003ePlay It As It Lays\u003c\/i\u003e with Tuesday Weld and Anthony Perkins.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.77 x 8.22 x 5.54 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 28, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51984048849197,"sku":"9780374531386","price":19.39,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/NnF4U2szV1JxS29GUlJMU1hsRCtsUT09.webp?v=1776081605","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/slouching-towards-bethlehem-essays-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}