The Portable Arthur Miller

by Arthur Miller, Harold Clurman (Introduction), Christopher Bigsby (Editor)

This classic collection—the only one-volume selection of Arthur Miller's work available—presents a rich cross section of writing from one of our most influential and humane playwrights, containing in full his masterpieces The Crucible and Death of a Salesman. This essential collection also includes the complete texts of After the Fall, The American Clock, The Last Yankee, and Broken Glass, winner of the Olivier Award for Best Play of 1995, as well as excerpts from Miller's memoir Timebends. An essay by Harold Clurman and Christopher Bigsby's introduction discuss Miller's standing as one of the greatest American playwrights of all time and his importance to twentieth-century literature.

Contents:
Biographical notes
Introduction to the Original Edition by Harold Clurman
Introduction to the Revised Edition by Christopher Bigsby
Timebends (excerpt from the autobiography) (1987)
The Golden Years (excerpt from a play) (1939-1940)
Death of a Salesman (1949)
The Crucible (1953)
After the Fall (1964)
The American Clock (1980)
The Last Yankee (1993)
Broken Glass (1994)

Genres: Plays, Drama, Classics, Fiction, Theatre, Literature, Short Stories

575 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Works of American playwright Arthur Asher Miller include Death of a Salesman (1949), for which he won a Pulitzer Prize, and The Crucible (1953).


This essayist, a prominent figure in literature and cinema for over 61 years, composed a wide variety, such as celebrated A View from the Bridge and All My Sons , still studied and performed worldwide. Miller often in the public eye most famously refused to give evidence to the un-American activities committee of the House of Representatives, received award for drama, and married Marilyn Monroe. People at the time considered the greatest Miller.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_...

Reviews

[Cyrus Colah · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than anything else, each play was American.

[Daniel Klawitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Every man has an image of himself which fails in one way or another to correspond with reality. It's the size of the discrepancy between illusion and reality that matters." -Arthur Miller

[Omar Manjouneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

"If you're alive you're afraid; we're born afraid- a newborn baby is not a picture of confidence; but how you deal with fear, that's what counts. I don't think you dealt with it very well Gellburg!" - Broken Glasses.

And as if the whole bodywork of Miller throughout his entire life is finding what is the way to deal with his fear, without losing what remains of his sanity.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course it's not the same as attending a play, it is however,a good way to brush up on a play or specific bit of dialogue.

[Lisa Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every play but one kept my attention. Miller wrote powerful drama.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Miller is much better when he is focusing on the shining moments that can be found in the lives of absolutely ordinary people than when he tries to take on things of more "import." Of the pieces I'd read before, I loved "Death of a Salesman" more than the first time and disliked "The Crucible" even more than the first time. Of the two plays I hadn't read, I got much more interested in "The Price" than "Incident at Vichy" (though I even liked that better than "The Crucible"). Miller can really work magic, but I guess it is important not to think about that magic so much when making it.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arthur Miller was a Michigan man, class of ’38, who gave us some powerful plays. I saw “Broken Glass” in NYC 1994, included in this collection. But, after plowing through “Death of a Salesman” and “The Crucible,” I think I’m done with heavy stuff like this for a while. Time for fishing or football or something.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Includes "Death of a Salesman" and "The Crucible," as well as a smattering of lesser-known works. "Incident at Vichy" is a neat companion of sorts to Miller's teleplay "Playing for Time," and "The Price" is an absorbing study of self-deception and potential squandered. The remaining bits are less compelling than the four plays, but help to round out this concise portrait of Miller's work.

[Lenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arthur Miller is my favorite playwright. He takes a family situation and has the members face moral conundrums that seem inescapable, reflecting social mores of the period in which they are written. I only read "The Crucible" in this book because I just got cast as Paris in a local production, but I've read all of his plays. He's a genius.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good portable Miller Anthology.

[Jason Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only read Death of a Salesman but I enjoyed it and it had that Catcher in the Rye feel.