num_pages: 400
description: Right up until his death in 2008 John Leonard was a lion in American letters. A passionate erudite and wide-ranging critic he helped shape the landscape of modern literature. He reviewed the most celebrated writers of his agefrom Kurt Vonnegut and Joan Didion to Toni Morrison and Thomas Pynchon. He championed Morrisons work so ardently that she invited him to travel with her to Stockholm when she accepted her Nobel Prize. He also contributed many pieces on television film politics and the media which continue to surprise and impress with their fervor and prescience.Reading for My Life is a monumental collection of Leonards most significant writingsspanning five decadesfrom his earliest columns for the Harvard Crimson to his final essays for The New York Review of Books. Here are Leonards best writingsmany never before published in book formon the cultural touchstones of a generation each piece a testament to his sharp wit fierce intelligence and lasting love of the arts. Definitive reviews of Doris Lessing Vladimir Nabokov Maxine Hong Kingston Tom Wolfe Don DeLillo Milan Kundera and Philip Roth among others display his passion and nearly encyclopedic knowledge of literature in the second half of the twentieth century. His essay on Ed Sullivan and the evolution of television remains a classic. Throughout Leonards reviews and essays is a dedicated political spirit pleading for social justice advocating for the womens movement and forever calling attention to writers whose work challenged and excited him.With an introduction by E. L. Doctorow and remembrances by Leonards friends family and colleagues including Gloria Steinem and Victor Navasky Reading for My Life stands as a landmark collection from one of Americas most beloved and influential critics.
language: English
title: Reading for My Life: Writings, 1958-2008
publisher: Viking