From a critically acclaimed cultural and literary critic, a
definitive history and analysis of the memoir. From Saint
Augustine's Confessions to Augusten Burroughs's Running with
Scissors, from Julius Caesar to Ulysses Grant, from Mark
Twain to David Sedaris, the art of memoir has had a
fascinating life, and deserves its own biography. Cultural
and literary critic Ben Yagoda traces the memoir from its
birth in early Christian writings and Roman generals'
journals all the way up to the banner year of 2007, which
saw memoirs from and about dogs, rock stars, bad dads, good
dads, alternadads, waitresses, George Foreman, Iranian
women, and a slew of other illustrious persons (and
animals). In a time when memoir seems ubiquitous and is
still highly controversial, Yagoda tackles the autobiography
and memoir in all its forms and iterations. He discusses the
fraudulent memoir and provides many examples from the
past-and addresses the ramifications and consequences of
these books. Spanning decades and nations, styles and
subjects, he analyzes the hallmark memoirs of the Western
tradition-Rousseau, Ben Franklin, Henry Adams, Gertrude
Stein, Edward Gibbon, among others. Yagoda also describes
historical trends, such as Native American captive memoirs,
slave narratives, courtier dramas (where one had to pay to
NOT be included in a courtesan's memoir). Throughout, the
idea of memory and truth, how we remember and how well we
remember lives, is intimately explored. Yagoda's elegant
examination of memoir is at once a history of literature and
taste, and an absorbing glimpse into what humans find
interesting-one another.
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