The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America

Butler, Isaac; Kois, Dan

ISBN 10: 1635571766 / ISBN 13: 9781635571769

Published by Bloomsbury USA, 2018

About this Item

This is a fine, hardcover first edition, third printing copy in a fine, mylar protected DJ, pink/black spine. Inscribed by Dan Kois on the title page on 3-20-'18.

Seller Inventory # 096210

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1635571766
• ISBN 13: 9781635571769
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 3rd Printing
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

"Marvelous . . . A vital book about how to make political art that offers lasting solace in times of great trouble, and wisdom to audiences in the years that follow."― Washington Post

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR

The oral history of Angels in America, as told by the artists who created it and the audiences forever changed by it--a moving account of the AIDS era, essential queer history, and an exuberant backstage tale.

When Tony Kushner's Angels in America hit Broadway in 1993, it won the Pulitzer Prize, swept the Tonys, launched a score of major careers, and changed the way gay lives were represented in popular culture. Mike Nichols's 2003 HBO adaptation starring Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, and Mary-Louise Parker was itself a tour de force, winning Golden Globes and eleven Emmys, and introducing the play to an even wider public. This generation-defining classic continues to shock, move, and inspire viewers worldwide.

Now, on the 25th anniversary of that Broadway premiere, Isaac Butler and Dan Kois offer the definitive account of Angels in America in the most fitting way possible: through oral history, the vibrant conversation and debate of actors (including Streep, Parker, Nathan Lane, and Jeffrey Wright), directors, producers, crew, and Kushner himself. Their intimate storytelling reveals the on- and offstage turmoil of the play's birth--a hard-won miracle beset by artistic roadblocks, technical disasters, and disputes both legal and creative. And historians and critics help to situate the play in the arc of American culture, from the staunch activism of the AIDS crisis through civil rights triumphs to our current era, whose politics are a dark echo of the Reagan '80s.

Expanded from a popular Slate cover story and built from nearly 250 interviews, The World Only Spins Forward is both a rollicking theater saga and an uplifting testament to one of the great works of American art of the past century, from its gritty San Francisco premiere to its starry, much-anticipated Broadway revival in 2018.

About the Authors

Isaac Butler is the coauthor (with Dan Kois) of The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America, which NPR named one of the best books of 2018. Butler's writing has appeared in New York magazine, Slate, the Guardian, American Theatre, and other publications. For Slate, he created and hosted Lend Me Your Ears, a podcast about Shakespeare and politics, and currently co-hosts Working, a podcast about the creative process. His work as a director has been seen on stages throughout the United States. He is the co-creator, with Darcy James Argue and Peter Nigrini, of Real Enemies, a multimedia exploration of conspiracy theories in the American psyche, which was named one of the best live events of 2015 by the New York Times and has been adapted into a feature-length film. Butler holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of Minnesota and teaches theater history and performance at the New School and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn.

Dan Kois is an editor and writer for Slate's culture section and a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine. He's the former culture editor at Slate, where he launched the Slate Book Review. He previously co-hosted the podcast Mom and Dad Are Fighting and is a frequent guest on Slate's Culture Gabfest. His previous book was Facing Future, about the Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, for Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 series, and his next book is How to Be a Family, a memoir of parenting around the world.