By Nicholas Basbanes
Companion Book to Edition & Impressions: Twenty Years onthe Book Beat
The final quarter of the last century was a period ofextraordinary fervor in American letters. About the Author: Inside theCreative Process collects together more than forty of Nicholas Basbanessinterviews and essays that grew from this unique period of publishing. Aboutthe Author publishes for the first time the full interviews with importantwriters such as novelists A. S. Byatt, Joseph Heller, Edna OBrien, and KurtVonnegut; the critic Alfred Kazin a few months before he died; and columnistJimmy Breslin just after he had suffered an aneurysm. With the loss of so manyof these writers and the imposing behemoth called the Internet, this sort ofcollection may never again be culled from the morning papers. As alive and refreshing as the day they werepublished, About the Author exploresthe creative process that wasand isthe foundation of books and publishing.
This superbly crafted edition of About the Author is styled after thelimited edition of Editions &Impressions. It is bound in a delightful hunter green linen-finished clothon the spine with matching khaki toned cloth on the boards. The khaki tonedslipcase with the book is embossed in gold foil. The book includes a huntergreen ribbon bookmark and matching headbands. The limited edition is printed onMohawk Superfine smooth finish stock in a soft-white shade, and is Smythe sewninto its binding. A total of 255 copies will be signed and numbered, and 250will be for sale.
