"Joseph Mitchell of The New Yorker was one of the greatest nonfiction writers in American letters. His long-form profiles of the everyday people and places at the margins of the city he loved--high-rise construction workers, Staten Island oystermen, Bowery bums--pioneered a new kind of reportage. In the Thirties, Forties, Fifties, and early Sixties he wrote about some of the most quirky and memorable characters ever captured on the page, culminating in 1964 with his extraordinary story "Joe Gould's Secret." And then . . . nothing. For the next thirty years Mitchell came to the office and seemed to be busy with writing projects, but he never published another word. In time he would become less known for his classic stories and elegant writing than for the longest writer's block this side of J.D. Salinger. Fifty years after his last story appeared, and almost two decades after his death, Mitchell still has legions of fans, and his story--especially the mystery of his thirty-year writer's block--continues to fascinate"--
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Joseph Mitchell is my favorite writer, and this biography does him justice ten times over. It's a thorough account of his life, sourced from his family and closest friends, as well as his own journals. Mitchell was known for shining a light on people who others often overlooked. He portrayed New York City in the 1930s-1950s as a vibrant and diverse place through the eyes of its most interesting inhabitants, and there is always a welcome undercurrent of his own thoughts running through his stories as well. This balance is what made him the world's finest literary journalist. Kunkel's book kept me completely invested in his life and is a great tribute to a man who deserves to be venerated.
