Life Stories: Profiles from The New Yorker (Modern Library (Paperback))

The book arrived earlier than the delivery date, which was great.I love the New Yorker profiles, and this book contains some gems, like Truman Capote's profile of Marlon Brando and the tightrope walk piece, which I read with great interest, and intend to reread.Still, what prevents me giving this a fifth star is the questionable editorial choice made by the editor. Joseph Mitchell's piece, which opens the book, is kind of aimless and obscure, and the profile of Ricky Jay I found a slog and struggled to take interest in. I feel like there were better choices David Remnick could have made in deciding upon the best profiles to be included in this collection.But overall the good parts in this book outweighed the bad parts, and I recommend it to people interested in good writing and the New Yorker.

Simply Great Stories

arrived promptly great book good condition

If you are a fan of biographies but are intimidated by 1,000-page tomes, Life Stories is a great choice. Some say the New Yorker invented the "profile," and though it does seem the magazine was the first to call its biographical pieces by that name (amazing, considering how ubiquitous the term is today), editor David Remnick is quick to assert that they hardly invented the style. What they have done for decades is find the most interesting people and have the best writers provide illumination. Nearly every profile here is profound and nearly every one of them is short enough to read in a single (long) sitting. And while it's a treat to learn intimate details of some of the most famous people of the 20th century, it's the profiles of the lesser-known people that shine: from Joseph Mitchell's encounter with an aging churchman with a penchant for baking to the story of the Chudnovsky brothers, Russian emigres who built a supercomputer in their apartment from salvaged parts. Fantastic reading from start to finish.

As with any anthology, there are articles/stories of great interest, some that are OK and some you stop reading after a few paragraphs.The majority of the stories were, of course, very well written.Reaching back to bios such as that of Henry Luce was worth the read while anything that Roger Angel writes I look forward to with anticipation. While I had read the on Steve Blass some time ago, it still was enjoyable on its reread.Now that I think about it there were few stories I failed to dig into!

These profiles are so great. Well written, insightful, on subjects both silly and profound, with lots of insight into human nature. The one about Hemingway makes him seem like a pompous, self-inflated horse's butt and a stone alcoholic. I believe it was accurate. The one about Ricky Jay, the magician's magician, is great, too. A genius. I can't wait to read the rest. This book is good to keep around, so I always have something fun to read. These are not butt-kiss profiles, like the ones you find in Vanity Fair. These are honest, objective, and true. Real journalism. Rare these days. Buy this book. You won't be sorry.

This is a collection of prime examples of the long gone "profile" piece in The New Yorker magazine. They just don't write 'em like this anymore!Choose Truman Capote's profile of Marlon Brando, or Lillian Ross' profile of Ernest Hemingway, or any of the 20-some other profiles in this book. You will read some of the best writing about some of the most exciting people in 20th Century history.Is there a second volume in the works? I hope so!

this collection is worth the price of admission to two profiles--johnny carson and marlon brando. thoughtfully assembled, this "greatest hits" made me not feel so bad when i threw out old, favorite issues of the new yorker, only to discover some of those much beloved profiles in this collection. yet for some space reasons, many of the multipart profiles (i.e.the schizophrenic "slyvia frumpkin" or the psychiatrist "aaron") don't have a home here. my plea, as a reader, is that the new yorker should annually produce these anthologies. oh yeah, the cover is absolutely brilliant.

THE DELIVERY CAME FROM NEW YORK SO IT TOOK A LITTLE WHILE BUT ARRIVED AT MY ADDRESS WELL WITHIN THE ESTIMATED TIME FRAME.AS FOR THE BOOK ITSELF IT WAS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION AND I KNEW AS SOON AS I OPENED THE PACKAGE HOW MUCH I WOULD ENJOY IT.THE 'PROFILES FROM NEW YORK' ARE MANY AND VARIED AND IF YOU ARE A LOVER OF THE UNIQUE STYLE, HUMOUR AND ERUDITION OF THIS GREATEST OF MAGAZINES THEN YOU MUST HAVE A COPY.IT CAME WITH A 'THANK YOU' BOOKMARK FROM THE HOUSING WORKS BOOKSTORE CAFE (NEW YORK) - A CHARITY MISSION TO END THE DUAL CRISIS OF HOMELESSNESS, HIV AND AIDS.