Looks at the history of biography writing, discusses those who have shaped the direction of the modern biography, and analyses early biographical works
"Whittemore treats his subjects genially and kindly, but without missing a critical trick. His book is full of illuminations, anecdotal and aphoristic, about the largely unexamined idea of character, public and private, and I read it with much delight." -- Howard Nemerov
"Mr. Whittemore is right most of the time and interesting all the time... Biography is a troubled genre -- but, as this book testifies brilliantly, a fascinating one." -- Washington Times