Star authors : literary celebrity in America /

Moran (English and American studies, Liverpool John Moores Univ., England) has written an interesting account of the nature of author celebrity. Exploring literary fame in the United States since the turn of the 19th century, he charts how authors have learned to use the media in its various and changing forms in order to create personae that sell books. Moran argues that these writers are not simply reacting to the culture around them but are consciously manipulating it. He concentrates on John Updike, Philip Roth, Don DeLillo, and Kathy Acker and furnishes much detail to back his thesis, drawing from the authors! fiction and nonfiction works, their promotional materials, and their appearances, or lack thereof, in the media. The author also raises questions of class and literature (e.g., where and how this self-promotion takes place and whether the author is seen as literary or not). This thought-provoking and timely book is highly recommended for academic libraries."Kelley Gove, Kennebunk Free Lib., ME (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.