The ABC of Modern Biography

"Nigel Hamilton and Hans Renders' compact and companionable The ABC of Modern Biography is an essential guide, certain to be cherished by both readers and writers. I learned and laughed, and lingered over many an entry. Take it along on your own journey through life!" - Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Margaret Fuller, The Peabody Sisters, and Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast

"For students of biography, for experts, and for anybody who's just interested in how lives of individuals tell the story of our time, this exquisite volume serves as road map - and provocative spur." - John A. Farrell, journalist and author of Richard Nixon: the Life, as well as Clarence Darrow: Attorney for the Damned, winner of the Los Angeles Times Award for Best Biography of the Year

"Over the last thirty years the forms and ambitions of modern biography have been expanding almost beyond recognition, and this sprightly ABC volume promises to take a fresh and exuberant overview of current developments. Nimble and non-academic, boldly arranged topic by topic, it will challenge many conventional assumptions about the way biographers actually work, and should provoke some fascinating discussions about the future of the genre. I welcome this feisty contribution to the ongoing biographical debate!" -Richard Holmes

"The rise of biography is the literary event of our time: Hamilton and Renders are its pioneer scholars, and their compelling primer is a must read." - Joanny Moulin, President of the Biography Society, Institut Universitaire de France

"An incisive yet remarkably comprehensive introduction to the controversies and complexities of biography by two of the world's leading authorities on the subject. Contemporary examples of biographical practice are put into the context of the history of biography, beginning with Plutarch. No scholar or student of biography can afford to ignore this indispensable volume about an indispensable genre. Bravo!" - Carl Rollyson, biographer of Susan Sontag, Rebecca West, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Foot and William Faulkner