The Art of Fact

Historical and international in scope, an anthology traces the course of literary journalism and nonfiction prose from its origins in the eighteenth century to today, from Daniel Defoe to Joseph Mitchell to Richard Ben Cramer

Kerrane, author of books about baseball, and Yagoda, author of a biography of Will Rogers, both teach courses on literary journalism, an endeavor that inspired their compilation of this distinctive and enjoyable anthology of, to use their definition, "thoughtfully, artfully, and valuably innovative" journalism. Kerrane and Yagoda have narrowed the broad category of creative nonfiction to writing that is literary in quality but strictly factual in content, as opposed to more impressionistic essays and memoirs. They discuss the finer points of literary journalism in their sharp and informative preface, then present an edifying array of sterling examples, ranging from works by such pioneers as Daniel Defoe, Stephen Crane, and Jack London to works by Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, Hunter S. Thompson, and John McPhee. The selection of confident and sometimes riling voices is matched by an enlivening diversity of subject matter, from politics to sports, nature, war, and crime, a wealth guaranteed to broaden readers' perception of literary journalism and establish appropriately high standards for this vital genre. Donna Seaman

The authors (both English and journalism, Univ. of Delaware) compiled this excellent anthology for their students in a college course in literary journalism. In their introductions, they define literary journalism as factual, innovative, and current stories about an event, making the point that this "new" journalism is not really new but has been practiced for many years. The journalists included range from Charles Dickens and Jack London to Gay Talese and Joan Didion. Kerrane and Yagoda give brief biographies of the writers, usually telling why they chose the particular work, when the piece was written, and where it first appeared. This book is recommended for journalism collections but it could easily find interested readers in most libraries.?Rebecca Wondriska, Trinity Coll. Lib., Hartford, Ct.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.