Ebook: Never a lovely so real: the life and work of Nelson Algren

"This definitive biography reclaims Nelson Algren as a towering literary figure and exposes how his radical politics sabotaged his career. For a time, Nelson Algren (1909-1981) was America's most famous author. Millions bought his books; The Man with the Golden Arm, winner of the first National Book Award, was made into a film starring Frank Sinatra. Yet the cause of Algren's decline was never clear. Some said he drank his talent away, others cited writer's block. The truth, hidden in the pages of his books, is far more complicated and tragic. In this magisterial biography--drawing from interviews, archived correspondence, and the first unredacted version of Algren's FBI file--Colin Asher reestablishes Algren not only as a legendary figure, but a dramatic iconoclast. He recounts the author's development as a thinker, his affair with Simone de Beauvoir, and his unapologetic left-leaning politics. Most intriguingly, Asher uncovers the true cause of Algren's artistic exile: a reckless creative decision that led to increased FBI scrutiny and may have caused a mental breakdown"--;Between St. Columbanus and the wrought-iron gate of Oak Woods Cemetery -- "Tell your tire troubles to Nelson Abraham" -- Stoic. Academic. Ink-stained wretch -- The past receded like a wave just spent -- "So help me" -- "What is a carpenter without his tools?" -- Somebody in boots -- The crack up -- Forlorn children -- Trotskyists, Council Communists, and Mattickites -- At home in rat alley -- Morning -- "Do it the hard way" -- The anonymous man -- Exploring the neon wilderness -- A boy from the provinces -- Exile? -- "Ok, kid, you beat Dostoyevsky" -- How long does this sort of thing go on? -- Nonconformity -- "Riding day-coaches to nowhere" -- "They don't exactly give me any medals for caution" -- A walk on the wild side -- A lightless cave off a loveless hall -- "No, no novel" -- A character named Nelson Algren -- Sea diary -- "On the Ho Chi Minh Trail" -- The last carousel -- "The sanest man I ever met" -- Paterson, New Jersey -- The devil's stocking -- "The end is nothing, the road is all."