Collected Essays

Three essential works that redefined the art of journalism by "one of our sharpest and most trustworthy cultural observers" (The New York Times). In these masterpieces of razor-sharp reportage, the National Book Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author proves herself one of the premier essayists of the twentieth century, "an articulate witness to the most stubborn and intractable truths of our time" (Joyce Carol Oates, The New York Times Book Review). Slouching Towards Bethlehem: America in the 1960s-a pivotal era of social change and generational divide. Here is Joan Didion on the "misplaced children" of Haight-Ashbury as well as John Wayne in Hollywood; folk singer Joan Baez and reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes; the extremes of both Death Valley and Las Vegas. Named to Time magazine's list of the one hundred best and most influential nonfiction books, this is "a rare display of some of the best prose written today in this country" (The New York Times Book Review). The White Album: A New York Times bestseller, this landmark essay collection confronts the dark aftermath of the 1960s. From a jailhouse visit to Huey Newton, cofounder of the Black Panther Party, to a recording session with The Doors, from the culture of shopping malls to the contradictions of the women's movement, Joan Didion captures the paranoia and absurdity of the era with irony and insight. And in the iconic title essay, she documents her uneasy state of mind during the years leading up to and following the Manson murders-a terrifying crime that, in her memory, surprised no one. After Henry: Whether reporting on a Hollywood murder or the "sideshows" of foreign wars, Joan Didion crystalizes her reputation as a brilliant essayist. Highlights include a portrait of the White House under the Reagans, two "actors on location"; an unexpected meditation on the Patty Hearst case; and an exposé on the racial divisions and class fault lines of New York City following the rape of the Central Park jogger. An indispensable collection from a writer on whom we can rely "to get the story straight" (Los Angeles Times).

Auteur

Joan Didion is the author of five novels, ten works of nonfiction, and a play. Her books include Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Play It as It Lays, The White Album, The Year of Magical Thinking, and, most recently, South and West: From a Notebook. Born in Sacramento, California, she lives in New York City.

Contenu

ContentsSlouching Towards Bethlehem

• Title Page
• Contents

• A PrefaceI LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND

• Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream
• John Wayne: A Love Song
• Where the Kissing Never Stops
• Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)
• 7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38
• California Dreaming
• Marrying Absurd

• Slouching Towards BethlehemII PERSONALS

• On Keeping a Notebook
• On Self-Respect
• I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind
• On Morality

• On Going HomeIII SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND

• Notes from a Native Daughter
• Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W
• Rock of Ages
• The Seacoast of Despair
• Guaymas, Sonora
• Los Angeles Notebook

• Goodbye to All ThatAcknowledgmentsThe White Album

• Title Page

• ContentsI / THE WHITE ALBUM

• The White AlbumII / CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC

• James Pike, American
• Holy Water
• Many Mansions
• The Getty
• Bureaucrats
• Good Citizens

• Notes Toward a DreampolitikIII / WOMEN

• The Women's Movement
• Doris Lessing

• Georgia O'KeeffeIV / SOJOURNS

• In the Islands
• In Hollywood
• In Bed
• On the Road
• On the Mall
• In Bogotá

• At the DamV / ON THE MORNING AFTER THE SIXTIES

• On the Morning After the Sixties

• Quiet Days in MalibuAfter Henry

• Title Page
• Contents

• After HenryWashington

• In the Realm of the Fisher King
• Insider Baseball

• Shooters Inc.California

• Girl of the Golden West
• Pacific Distances
• Los Angeles Days
• Down At City Hall
• L.A. Noir
• Fire Season

• Times Mirror SquareNew York

• Sentimental JourneysAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorAlso by Joan Didion