Sublime.

This is a biography that has been painstakingly researched. It is written cogently and even gracefully, yet it is about an author who was anything but cogent or organized.

As a Wolfe fan, I am truly glad that this biography exists. It provides a detailed and in-depth look into the life and works of an author who has had a significant impact on the literary world.

Thank you, David Donald, for your excellent work. Your research and writing have brought this fascinating author to life and have given readers a better understanding of his genius and his flaws.

This biography is a must-read for anyone who is interested in Wolfe or in American literature in general. It is a testament to the power of biography to illuminate the lives and works of great writers and to inspire new generations of readers and writers.

Here is an awesome biography of a truly fascinating American writer. This remarkable individual had a profound impact on the literary world, especially inspiring many of the beat writers of the 1950's. Their works were like a breath of fresh air, challenging the norms and conventions of the time. Through vivid and engaging storytelling, this writer brought to life the experiences and emotions of a generation. Their words had the power to transport readers to different worlds and make them see things from a new perspective. The influence of this writer can still be felt today, as their books continue to be read and studied by people all over the world. Truly, this is a writer whose legacy will live on for generations to come.

I've read this three times.

Each time I go through it, I discover something new or gain a deeper understanding.

The words seem to hold a certain charm that keeps pulling me back.

Maybe it's the way the author has crafted the sentences, or the ideas that are presented.

Whatever the reason, I find myself unable to put it down.

I keep thinking about it even when I'm not reading.

It has become a part of my daily thoughts.

I wonder if others have had the same experience with this piece.

Do they also feel the same way as I do?

I guess only time will tell.

But for now, I'll continue to read it and explore its depths.

Maybe there are still more secrets hidden within its pages waiting for me to uncover.

Not your typical biography,

this book vividly depicts Wolfe's eccentric life. It not only focuses on Wolfe himself but also delves into the people around him and other writers. This aspect is something that has not been explored before, adding a unique perspective to the story.

However, it must be noted that this is still not the book for everyone. If you are expecting a clean and straightforward biography, this one may not meet your expectations. It has its own charm and style, but it might not be what you are looking for.

Nevertheless, it was still nice to see what Wolfe went through in his life, both as a writer and in his personal life. The book provides insights into his struggles, his triumphs, and the events that shaped him into the person he was. It gives readers a chance to get a closer look at the man behind the works and understand the context in which he created.

There's a sense in which any biography of Wolfe is somewhat redundant, considering all of Wolfe's novels are semi-autobiographical.

Nonetheless, Donald has the distinct advantage of coming later than all the other biographers such as Turnbull and Nowell. This means he has a wealth of more material at his disposal to work with.

With this additional information, he is able to fill in the minute details and correct the facts that might have been overlooked or inaccurately presented by his predecessors.

As a result, this book does an excellent job of recounting Wolfe's life. It not only provides a comprehensive narrative but also fills in the critical context that is essential for a complete understanding of Wolfe's works and his place in American literature.

Moreover, the author is unafraid to interject with evaluations. He delves into Wolfe's relation to other contemporary American authors, his connection to the Southern Agrarians, and even his more problematic aspects, such as racism and anti-Semitism.

This honest and in-depth analysis makes this biography a valuable addition to the body of work on Wolfe and a must-read for anyone interested in his life and works.

Donald's work offers a wealth of profound insights into various aspects of Wolfe's life and work.

It delves into Wolfe's writing process, personal life, political views, his encounters with literary friends, and even his childhood. As an outstanding historian, Donald is highly skilled in presenting an objective perspective on this highly subjective visionary writer.

In my opinion, the most outstanding part of the book is the final chapter. Here, Donald analyzes Wolfe's last two posthumous novels, "The Web and the Rock" and "You Can't Go Home Again". The conclusions he reaches regarding the proportion of the books that belong to Wolfe and that which belongs to his editor Aswell are both surprising and captivating. To put it simply, Donald has changed my perception of what Wolfe's greatest novel is.

This is an essential biography of a significant novelist whose works are unfortunately not read as widely as they should be today. Faulkner himself regarded Wolfe as the greatest novelist of his generation. Wolfe's lyrical style and autobiographical prose had a profound influence on Kerouac and the other Beats. Moreover, Norman Mailer had only positive things to say about "Look Homeward, Angel".

Read Wolfe. He is a literary giant, a voice of passionate sincerity in an era of ironic detachment.

And read Donald. He has a unique ability to get to the core of Wolfe like no other.

"Bigger than Life"

Thomas Wolfe was a remarkable figure, not just in terms of his physical size but also in his insatiable appetites. He had an extraordinary capacity to consume vast amounts of food, drink to the point of exhaustion, engage in wild sexual escapades, write continuously, and employ an extensive vocabulary. His ideas were a complex web of contradictions: he adored his native South yet chose to live in the North; he could be miserly at times and yet also generous; he detested criticism but simultaneously craved it; he was hopelessly disorganized yet welcomed others to impose order on him; he harbored anti-Semitic views, and yet the love of his life was a Jewish woman.

Despite the chaos and confusion that characterized his life, Wolfe managed to pen several perceptive and successful novels, short stories, and articles. David Herbert Donald has dedicated himself to writing a comprehensive tome, no doubt scouring through every single scrap of paper that Wolfe ever produced.

Donald, a Southern historian, does an excellent job of critiquing Wolfe's works. Additionally, he presents us with a highly detailed biography of the author, spanning from his childhood to his tragically untimely death at the age of 38. If only Wolfe had been more self-disciplined, he might have lived a long and fruitful life. Nevertheless, in the brief span of his existence, he left behind a wealth of material that has served as the inspiration for countless novels and biographies.

Very Great Bio

This is a truly remarkable bio. It presents a concise yet engaging account of someone's life and achievements.

Every detail seems to be carefully chosen to paint a vivid picture of the individual.

The language used is simple yet effective, making it accessible to a wide range of readers.

It manages to capture the essence of the person, highlighting their unique qualities and experiences.

Whether it's their professional accomplishments, personal growth, or contributions to society, this bio leaves a lasting impression.

It makes you want to know more about the person and their journey.

Overall, it is a very well-written and captivating bio that stands out from the rest.

It serves as a great example of how to effectively communicate someone's story in a limited amount of space.

Very good, comprehensive biography of one of my favorite authors. Donald did an extensive amount of research, reading all of Wolfe's writings, including the numerous drafts of his stories and novels. These drafts required significant editing and paring down before they could be published. Wolfe was renowned as an autobiographical novelist. However, I felt that Donald paid too little attention to the differences, albeit slight in some cases, between fictional characters and their real-life counterparts. After all, as was elucidated in "You Can't Go Home Again," the real-life people were merely the starting point. Wolfe then utilized his imagination to create the characters in his books.

The book reviews Wolfe's tragically short life in meticulous detail, almost day by day in some sections. Wolfe was a captivating and talented writer, regarded as a genius by many. Nevertheless, he had his flaws, such as a mercurial temperament, a severe drinking problem, sexual issues, and racist and anti-semitic attitudes that he endeavored, not always successfully, to exclude from his writings. Despite all of this, he was able to produce thousands of pages of intense, vividly descriptive prose and stories that many could relate to. Among the relationships explored in this biography was Wolfe's close bond with his editor Maxwell Perkins, who became a father figure for him and who无疑went far beyond the normal function of an editor in developing Wolfe's talent and assisting him with his various personal and financial crises. Donald does an excellent job of depicting how Wolfe's often jumbled and overly long drafts were transformed into award-winning novels that are considered classics.

Donald is highly critical of Edward C. Alswell, who became Wolfe's editor after he had a falling out with Perkins. He contends that Alswell exceeded the role of an ethical editor in taking Wolfe's incomplete writings and shaping them into the novels (The Web and the Rock and You Can't Go Home Again) that were published posthumously. I believed that this criticism was somewhat exaggerated. Wolfe was a unique writer. Words flowed from his pen like a torrent of water. He cherished every word, and reducing a novel to a size that could reasonably be expected to be digested by a reader was an arduous task for any editor, especially since Wolfe resisted every attempt at reduction. From what I read, Alswell's contributions to making Wolfe's novels comprehensible and of a reasonable length were not significantly different from what Perkins did. Donald included some excerpts of the changes made by Alswell to Wolfe's drafts, and I did not find the changes to be that extreme. There was some reordering and shortening, but the words and the thoughts were Wolfe's. In my opinion, Wolfe was truly attempting to achieve two things in his writing: tell the story of the development of a writer and tell the broader story of America. The writings that he left behind at his death were in line with those themes, and I personally thought, especially in the case of You Can't Go Home Again, that the writings were seamlessly stitched together. Due to Wolfe's personality and the way he wrote, this was essentially what an editor signed up for. It is difficult to dispute the results, and I do not think that a tenable claim can be made that the thoughts, themes, and words were not Wolfe's.

Donald has many useful references to other scholarly works about Wolfe's writing, and I will be exploring some of those. This is a well-written, engaging, and interesting biography, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in the life and writings of Thomas Wolfe.

Thomas Wolfe, the brilliant yet tragically doomed American writer, is vividly recorded by the distinguished American historian and Pulitzer Prize winner David Herbert Donald.

Wolfe was a physical giant, endowed with remarkable talent but also burdened by excesses. His excesses encompassed various aspects such as sexuality, an insatiable appetite for food, a tendency towards slovenliness, and the bigotry ingrained in him by his Southern upbringing and the era in which he lived.

The question that lingers is: How did a simple box of thoughts and papers transform into a great American novel? In the capable hands of an award-winning Civil War writer, Wolfe's Southern gothic family, his upbringing, his failings, and his ultimate fate are richly and meticulously recorded. This account not only provides a detailed look into Wolfe's life but also offers valuable insights into the making of a literary masterpiece.

A well-written biography indeed!

It doesn't shy away from depicting Wolfe's character with all its flaws and excesses. It doesn't try to make excuses for him either. At the same time, it doesn't skimp on admiration when it is truly due. This book seems to be specifically written for those who have already delved into Wolfe's works rather than for the uninitiated. It appears to be the comprehensive biography that could potentially be the definitive one. The final pages dedicated to his posthumous works are quite remarkable.

Interestingly, this book is enjoyable not because of Wolfe's actual life, which seems rather sad, "immature" (a term that crops up quite frequently), boorish, and often soused. Instead, it is the way Donald writes about it that makes it engaging. There is very little attempt to excuse Wolfe's often angry, envious, paranoid, and hate-filled behavior. (Perhaps a medical and/or psychological opinion might diagnose him in a certain way.) The fact that Donald persisted in writing about Wolfe despite his character and a talent that seemed to come and go (in my opinion, he wasn't a genius) shows how his love for Wolfe's best writing overcame his view of the man's worst traits. And this is to the benefit of all readers.