Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir

Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir
by William Zinsser

Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir
List Price: $13.95
Our Price: $5.69
You Save: $8.26 (59%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.99 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: William Zinsser
Edition: Paperback
Published: 1998-05-20
ISBN: 0395901502
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Mariner Books

Book Reviews of Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir

Book Review: To learn by example from experts
Summary: 5 Stars

As a personal and corporate biographer, I hear many different life stories and have learned that no one approach or format fits all. This collection of essays is a splendid example of how different individuals see their lives in their own ways. The essays together also serve to reassure any would-be memoirist that there is no one Right Way to write about your life experiences. When I was very young, I read Dr. Zhivago and wrote a fan letter to the author, Boris Pasternak. In his response, he wrote to me: "And if a letter like yours arrives, it is as if... the person of the sender should rise to her full height from the bottom of the letter wrapped in words and letters and thoughts like in a dress." The Zinsser collection of essays illustrates the importance of the writer coming right off the page "wrapped in words and letters and thoughts."

Summary of Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir

Every time Inventing the Truth appears in a new edition, editor William Zinsser can't help but add to it. The first edition (1987) evolved from a series of New York Public Library talks, for which the mandate was not to lecture about the genre of the memoir but to explain how a specific memoir came to be written. In the book's 1995 edition, Russell Baker, Annie Dillard, Alfred Kazin, and Toni Morrison were joined by Jill Ker Conway, Eileen Simpson, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Ian Frazier. This time around, Zinsser has added a rich and charming reminiscence by Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes).

The authors do stick to their assignment: Russell Baker credits his huge family with helping him "learn a lot about humanity from close-up observation"; Jill Ker Conway talks about her desire to write a female memoir that was not a romantic happily-ever-after; and Henry Louis Gates Jr. discusses "want[ing] to write a book that imitated the specialness of black culture when no white people are around." But there is also plenty of advice for writers here, and some general thoughts about the genre. Conway addresses the difficulty of "going back as a historian" and trying to understand "all the things you took as a given when you were a child." Gates warns us to "be prepared for the revelation of things you don't even dream are going to come up." And Annie Dillard contemplates the strangeness of spending "more time writing about [a scene or an event] than you did living it." --Jane Steinberg


In this perfect companion for anyone beguiled by memoirs or embarking on writing one, nine distinguished authors -- Russell Baker, Jill Ker Conway, Annie Dillard, Ian Frazier, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alfred Kazin, Frank McCourt, Toni Morrison, and Eileen Simpson -- reflect on the writing process.

Biographies & Memoirs Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Books about memoir, memoirs, self-publishing
Turning Memories Into Memoirs: A Handbook for Writing Lifestories ImageTurning Memories Into Memoirs: A Handbook for Writing Lifestories
by Denis Ledoux
Soleil Press; Published: 2005-09-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.47
Price in other shops: $24.95
Reading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life Narratives ImageReading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life Narratives
by Sidonie Smith, Julia Watson
University of Minnesota Press; Published: 2002-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.50
When Memory Speaks ImageWhen Memory Speaks
by Jill Ker Conway
Vintage; Published: 1999-02-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.74
Price in other shops: $13.95
The Journalist's Handbook on Libel and Privacy ImageThe Journalist's Handbook on Libel and Privacy
by Barbara Dill
Free Pr; Published: 1986-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $212.85
The Story of Your Life: Writing A Spiritual Autobiography ImageThe Story of Your Life: Writing A Spiritual Autobiography
by Dan Wakefield
Beacon Press; Published: 1990-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $47.49
Family Secrets: How Telling and Not Telling Affect Our Children, Our Relationships, and Our Lives ImageFamily Secrets: How Telling and Not Telling Affect Our Children, Our Relationships, and Our Lives
by Harriet Webster
Addison Wesley Publishing Company; Published: 1992-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.92
Price in other shops: $9.95
Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir ImageInventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir
by William Zinsser
Mariner Books; Published: 1998-05-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.88
Price in other shops: $13.95
Care of the Soul : A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life ImageCare of the Soul : A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life
by Thomas Moore
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 1994-01-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.99
Price in other shops: $14.00
So That Your Values Live on: Ethical Wills and How to Prepare Them ImageSo That Your Values Live on: Ethical Wills and How to Prepare Them
by Jack Riemer
Jewish Lights Publishing; Published: 1994-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.22
Price in other shops: $18.99
Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception ImageVital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception
by Daniel Goleman
Simon & Schuster; Published: 1996-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.95
Price in other shops: $14.00
Similar Books and other products
An American Childhood ImageAn American Childhood
by Annie Dillard
Harper Perennial; Published: 1988-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops: $14.00
The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present ImageThe Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present
by Phillip Lopate
Anchor; Published: 1995-01-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.17
Price in other shops: $19.95
Writing Creative Nonfiction ImageWriting Creative Nonfiction
Story Press; Published: 2001-05-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.49
Price in other shops: $18.99
Writing Life Stories ImageWriting Life Stories
by Bill Roorbach
Story Press; Published: 2000-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.19
Price in other shops: $14.99
Your Life as Story ImageYour Life as Story
by Tristine Rainer
Tarcher; Published: 1998-04-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.85
Price in other shops: $15.95
On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (On Writing Well) ImageOn Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (On Writing Well)
by William K. Zinsser
Collins; Published: 2006-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.41
Modern American Memoirs ImageModern American Memoirs
Harper Perennial; Published: 1996-10-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops: $16.00
Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past ImageWriting About Your Life: A Journey into the Past
by William Zinsser
Da Capo Press; Published: 2005-03-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.78
Price in other shops: $14.95
The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative ImageThe Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative
by Vivian Gornick
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2002-10-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.05
Price in other shops: $14.00
Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art, Second Edit ImageWriting the Memoir: From Truth to Art, Second Edit
by Judith Barrington
The Eighth Mountain Press; Published: 2002-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.44
Price in other shops: $14.95
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories