{"product_id":"9781448218141-tough-guy","title":"Tough Guy","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Life of Norman Mailer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first biography to examine Mailer's life as a twisted lens, offering a unique insight into the history of America from the end of World War II to the election of Barack Obama.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, firstly in 1969 for \u003ci\u003eThe Armies of the Night \u003c\/i\u003eand again in 1980 for \u003ci\u003eThe Executioner's Song\u003c\/i\u003e, Norman Mailer’s life comes as close as is possible to being the Great American Novel: beyond reason, inexplicable, wonderfully grotesque and addictive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Naked and the Dead\u003c\/i\u003e was acclaimed not so much for its intrinsic qualities but rather because it launched a brutally realistic sub-genre of military fiction – \u003ci\u003eCatch 22\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMASH\u003c\/i\u003e would not exist without it. Richard Bradford combs through Mailer’s personal letters – to lovers and editors – which appear to be a rehearsal for his career as a shifty literary narcissist, and which shape the characters of one of the most widely celebrated World War II novels.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBradford strikes again with a merciless biography in which diary entries, journal extracts and newspaper columns set the tone of this study of a controversial figure. From friendships with contemporaries such as James Baldwin, failed correspondences with Hemingway and the Kennedys, to terrible – but justified – criticism of his work by William Faulkner and Eleanor Roosevelt, this book gives a unique, snappy and convincing perspective of Mailer’s ferocious personality and writings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40645323423841,"sku":"9781448218141","price":19.63,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_33132021.jpg?v=1743513251","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781448218141-tough-guy","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}