The ABC of Modern Biography

In this book - an ABC of the genre, with 26 entries - two renowned biographers and teachers take us on a tour, from A for Authorization to Z for Zigzagging to the End. In trenchant, witty entries they explore the good, the bad and the plain ugly in modern 'life writing' and the portrayal of real lives today - and how, across history and continents, we got here.

This book will fascinate general readers interested in how real lives are approached by biographers today in a multitude of media. It will make a much-needed contribution in academia, as well as providing an important text for students of history, language and literature, the arts, science and media. And, not least, for biographers trying to avoid the pitfalls of ignorance or ineptitude. This book gives an informed and compelling insight into the modern biography, exploring its history and different components such as genre, points of view, the lives of famous biographers themselves, and other aspects through an alphabetical structure.

Nigel Hamilton, former Professor of Biography at de Montfort University and currently Senior Fellow in the McCormack Graduate School, University of Massachusetts Boston, is the author of 27 works of biography and memoir, including the NYT bestselling JFK: Reckless Youth and Biography: A Brief History. Awarded the Whitbread Prize for Biography and Templer Medal for Military History, his Mantle of Command: FDR at War, 1941-1942, was longlisted for the National Book Award in 2014. He is currently completing his FDR at War trilogy.

Hans Renders is Professor of History and Theory of Biography, as well as Director of the Biography Institute at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. Internationally well-known, he is jurist for many literary prizes, including the Plutarch Award and Erik Hazelhoff Biography Prize. He (co)author of many publications in the field of (literary)history and biography, including major biographies of the poets Jan Hanlo and Jan Campert, the Dutch resistance fighter. He is currently in cooperation with Sjoerd van Faassen writing the life of the artist Theo van Doesburg, founder of De Stijl.