Reflections on Biography

Reflections on Biography is intended for all readers of biography--lifelong or occasional, critical or casual--and is written by an award-winning biographer, Paula R. Backscheider. The author examines biography from many angles and gives a tour of the decisions biographers make and some of the implications of those choices. Its aim is to increase the pleasure of reading biographies, to add new, enjoyable dimensions even as it increases readers' insights into the art of writing them. The book concludes with observations about the form's future directions and challenges. In this second edition, Backscheider provides a new Introduction that describes innovative forms of biography and new theoretical directions.