Reflections on Biography

by Paula R. Backscheider

Intended for all readers of biography--lifelong or occasional, critical or casual--this original book by an award-winning biographer examines biography from many angles, and gives a tour of the decisions its writers 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.

Genres: Biography

Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jessica Mudditt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about biography in this book, and especially about the history of biography as a genre. I'd never heard of the life arc theory before (or the subsequent challenges to the notion that we peak in our powers at around 40 and then enter a gradual but steady decline).
It also gave me about ten new biographies to read - I kept buying books on Kindle as I was reading it! Sadly some of the biographies she references are no longer available to purchase - an updated version of this book would be great to have, as it was published in 2001.

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and full of biographers' war stories. The chapters on the voice of the biographer and the experience of living with the subject I found fascinating; the extended ruminations on the application of psychological models and "life shapes" to subjects' lives, not so much. Like many biographies, it tries to gather & deploy a lot of information, and doesn't always succeed. Still, I'd look up Backscheider's Defoe biography based on this.