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After Henry Paperback – April 27, 1993
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Didion's "reportorial pieces afford the pleasures of literature.... She is an expert geographer of the landscape of American public culture" (The New York Times Book Review).
Here, the National Book Award–winning author of The Year of Magical Thinking covers ground from Washington to Los Angeles, from a TV producer's gargantuan "manor" to the racial battlefields of New York's criminal courts.
At each stop she uncovers the mythic narratives that elude other observers: Didion tells us about the fantasies the media construct around crime victims and presidential candidates; she gives us new interpretations of the stories of Nancy Reagan and Patty Hearst; she charts America's rollercoaster ride through evanescent booms and hard times that won't go away.
A bracing amalgam of skepticism and sympathy, After Henry is further proof of Joan Didion's infallible radar for the true spirit of our age.
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherVintage
- Publication dateApril 27, 1993
- Dimensions5.18 x 0.62 x 7.98 inches
- ISBN-100679745394
- ISBN-13978-0679745396
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
—Boston Globe
"[Didion's] reportorial pieces afford the pleasures of literature. . . . She is an expert geographer of the landscape of American public culture."
—The New York Times Book Review
From the Inside Flap
About the Author
Didion’s first volume of essays, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, was published in 1968, and her second, The White Album, was published in 1979. Her nonfiction works include Salvador (1983), Miami (1987), After Henry (1992), Political Fictions (2001), Where I Was From (2003), We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live (2006), Blue Nights (2011), South and West (2017) and Let Me Tell You What I Mean (2021). Her memoir The Year of Magical Thinking won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2005.
In 2005, Didion was awarded the American Academy of Arts & Letters Gold Medal in Criticism and Belles Letters. In 2007, she was awarded the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. A portion of National Book Foundation citation read: "An incisive observer of American politics and culture for more than forty-five years, Didion’s distinctive blend of spare, elegant prose and fierce intelligence has earned her books a place in the canon of American literature as well as the admiration of generations of writers and journalists.” In 2013, she was awarded a National Medal of Arts and Humanities by President Barack Obama, and the PEN Center USA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Didion said of her writing: "I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means.” She died in December 2021.
Product details
- Publisher : Vintage; 1st Vintage Intl. Ed May 1993 edition (April 27, 1993)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0679745394
- ISBN-13 : 978-0679745396
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.18 x 0.62 x 7.98 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,020,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,624 in Essays (Books)
- #7,984 in Sociology Reference
- #10,812 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Joan Didion was born in Sacramento in 1934 and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1956. After graduation, Didion moved to New York and began working for Vogue, which led to her career as a journalist and writer. Didion published her first novel, Run River, in 1963. Didion’s other novels include A Book of Common Prayer (1977), Democracy (1984), and The Last Thing He Wanted (1996).
Didion’s first volume of essays, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, was published in 1968, and her second, The White Album, was published in 1979. Her nonfiction works include Salvador (1983), Miami (1987), After Henry (1992), Political Fictions (2001), Where I Was From (2003), We Tell Ourselves Stories In Order to Live (2006), Blue Nights (2011), South and West (2017) and Let Me Tell You What I Mean (2021). Her memoir The Year of Magical Thinking won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2005.
In 2005, Didion was awarded the American Academy of Arts & Letters Gold Medal in Criticism and Belles Letters. In 2007, she was awarded the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. A portion of National Book Foundation citation read: "An incisive observer of American politics and culture for more than forty-five years, Didion’s distinctive blend of spare, elegant prose and fierce intelligence has earned her books a place in the canon of American literature as well as the admiration of generations of writers and journalists.” In 2013, she was awarded a National Medal of Arts and Humanities by President Barack Obama, and the PEN Center USA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Didion said of her writing: "I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means.” She died in December 2021.
For more information, visit www.joandidion.org
Photo credit: Brigitte Lacombe
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Customers find the book engaging and enjoyable to read. They appreciate the author's insightful and objective writing style and her unvarnished perspective on a variety of topics.
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Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find the author brilliant and prescient, with engaging prose and subject matter.
"My favorite author. Enjoying every page." Read more
"...TOWARDS BETHLEHEM is one of my favorite essays and I so enjoy Didion's prose, subject matter and unvarnished take on a variety of topics...." Read more
"One of the best writers for decades now. Observes and articulates many of the people and events we have been influenced by. Never lets you down." Read more
"...She is brilliant, prescient and objective. Have read nobody quite like her. She is genius!!!" Read more
Customers find the writing quality insightful and razor-sharp. They appreciate the author's unvarnished take on a variety of topics. The essays are relevant to the times they are written and sometimes even current events.
"...The most in-depth of the essays (sections divided into three sections: Washington, California and New York) concern the 1989 rape of the Central..." Read more
"One of the best writers for decades now. Observes and articulates many of the people and events we have been influenced by. Never lets you down." Read more
"Stunning, insightful, razor sharp analysis of political event and history water resources, social engineering and American life circa WW2...." Read more
"Love Reading Joan Didion. Would love to meet her! Her essays are spot-on and relevant to the times they are written and sometimes even currently." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2024My favorite author. Enjoying every page.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2012Joan Didion's AFTER HENRY is a collection of essays from mostly the late 1980s, most published in THE NEW YORKER and THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS. SLOUCHING TOWARDS BETHLEHEM is one of my favorite essays and I so enjoy Didion's prose, subject matter and unvarnished take on a variety of topics. The most in-depth of the essays (sections divided into three sections: Washington, California and New York) concern the 1989 rape of the Central Park Jogger and subsequent trial, both media-driven and actual, as well as the 1988 presidential race, insomuch as it was presented by the media. She writes about the 1988 writer's strike as well as Patty Hearst, California Brush Fires, and political conventions. The subject matter is obviously less personal then her tremendous memoirs THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING and BLUE NIGHTS, but the taut, observational writing is intact, as well as the knowledge that she brings to the theme. If you are a first time reader of Didion this is not the one I would recommend - start with BETHLEHEM and then read the memoirs; however, if you are a devotee this may be the one you don't know about - so allow the completest in you to check it out.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2021One of the best writers for decades now. Observes and articulates many of the people and events we have been influenced by. Never lets you down.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2017First published in 1993, this collection of essays by a master of the form display her incisive, yet cool gaze, as always. I was expecting more personal pieces – but these range across place, from fire storms in California to New York, and politics, and issues rather than touching more on the personal.
The After Henry of the title refers to a tribute to Henry Robbins, Didion’s friend and editor, which is one of the few personal pieces. A highlight was definitely a look at the Reagans in the White House in In the Realm of the Fisher King, which throws a very glaring, and coruscating spotlight on Nancy and Ronald. Also fascinating was Sentimental Journeys, an exploration of the way the rape of a white woman was reported by that city’s media.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2019Stunning, insightful, razor sharp analysis of political event and history water resources, social engineering and American life circa WW2. She is brilliant, prescient and objective. Have read nobody quite like her. She is genius!!!
- Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2019Love Reading Joan Didion. Would love to meet her! Her essays are spot-on and relevant to the times they are written and sometimes even currently.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2024Loved this series of essays, many of which have more political or economical topics - she speaks candidly about political conventions and the party machine, the financial aspects of being a writer, as well as current events of the time such as Patty Hearst, the Central Park Five. It doesnt mesh quite as well topically or chronologically as the White Album, but the prose and language as well are so classically Didion. A must read for Didion fans
- Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2013After Henry is a gem. I depend on Didion to look under and around the public images she writes about. Her sentences on any subject give me clues as to how to look at all things.
Top reviews from other countries
- JBReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 7, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful read
Great book, highly recommend!
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Aleqx Franz-GriegReviewed in Germany on May 1, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars Didion!!
Alles war ganz super und schnell! Service war sehr gut! Ich wurde diese Firma nochmals benutzen. Ich danke Ihnen nochmal.