Vintage Didion

by Joan Didion

Vintage Readers are a perfect introduction to some of the greatest modern writers presented in attractive, accessible paperback editions.

“Didion has the instincts of an exceptional reporter and the focus of a historian . . . a novelist’s appreciation of the surreal.” — Los Angeles Times Book Review

Whether she’s writing about civil war in Central America, political scurrility in Washington, or the tightl -braided myths and realities of her native California, Joan Didion expresses an unblinking vision of the truth.

Vintage Didion includes three chapters from Miami; an excerpt from Salvador ; and three separate essays from After Henry that cover topics from Ronald Reagan to the Central Park jogger case . Also included is “Clinton Agonistes” from Political Fictions , and “Fixed Opinions, or the Hinge of History,” a scathing analysis of the ongoing war on terror.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Ebooks, American, Classics, Politics, Journalism

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 6, 2004

About the author

Joan Didion was an American writer and journalist. She is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism along with Gay Talese, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe.
Didion's career began in the 1950s after she won an essay contest sponsored by Vogue magazine. Over the course of her career, Didion wrote essays for many magazines, including The Saturday Evening Post, Life, Esquire, The New York Review of Books and The New Yorker. Her writing during the 1960s through the late 1970s engaged audiences in the realities of the counterculture of the 1960s, the Hollywood lifestyle, and the history and culture of California. Didion's political writing in the 1980s and 1990s often concentrated on the subtext of political rhetoric and the United States's foreign policy in Latin America. In 1991, she wrote the earliest mainstream media article to suggest the Central Park Five had been wrongfully convicted. In 2005, Didion won the National Book Award for Nonfiction and was a finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for The Year of Magical Thinking, a memoir of the year following the death of her husband, writer John Gregory Dunne. She later adapted the book into a play that premiered on Broadway in 2007. In 2013, she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by president Barack Obama. Didion was profiled in the Netflix documentary The Center Will Not Hold, directed by her nephew Griffin Dunne, in 2017.

Reviews

[Ellison Begley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I lost the book a few days ago with 8(!) pages left, and have been unable to find a new copy. I think it might be time to move on

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to try this new thing where I just do capsule-style reviews. Here's a go:

I'd only previously read "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Didion--and, considering my admittedly non-existent experience with having lost loved ones, didn't connect to it in the way so many seem to have (at least on an emotional level). Nonetheless, I found her prose style there to be breathtaking, and it's in full form in this short collection. Vintage Didion collects essays from several books--three from "After Henry," three from "Miami," two from "Salvador," one from "Political Fictions," and one based on a lecture concerning September 11th. Truly, every essay was spot-on, though Didion really confronts me with the fact that I'm pathetically unsavvy with politics. The essay on NY and the Central Park Jogger case was perhaps one of the best non-fiction essays I've ever read. Though it's clear she's done her research and doesn't mind showing as much, it comes across as astute rather than showy, fluid rather than stuffed full of other people's facts and writings. Her logic is fascinating to watch, in the sense that she moves from the most micro-level observations into smart arguments about much much larger questions. Thus, the Central Park Jogger case becomes an essay on ideologies of crime and class, specific to NYC over the past 150 years, but reaching outward, as well. And then she sweeps back into her initial arresting claims. The essay on good ol' Bill's sexual exposure in "Clinton Agonistes" was particularly provocative, as was the Sept. 11th essay, and the one on Patty Hearst. I think I was swimming too deep in the Salvador/Miami pieces, but they too are beautifully written and argued.

I'm really looking forward to moving through more of her work--and as a close friend tells me, I'm an awful idiot and a bad Lit PhD for not having read her novel "Play It As It Lays." Any case, this is probably a great introduction to Didion--at least to her more politically-minded work. I'm trying to think of lovely descriptors for her, but the one that sticks out most for me at the moment is 'shrewd'--she's got a hawk's eye to everything she mentions, and watching her follow through that sightline into an argument is inspiring. Read it, for sure.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Joan Didion is at her best when she's talking about California- about its culture, its news, or her history there. Her strength decreases the further from California she gets: she's pretty good writing about New York (which, I think, is closer to California than much of the country in between), and less good writing about Miami and El Salvador. This collection of essays spans all of those territories, and about twenty-five years in her career, from the late 70s to about 2003. The highlights involve crimes: the Patty Hearst case, the Central Park Jogger case, 9/11. She's also got a few good ones about politics- mostly about the major scandals in the Reagan and Clinton administrations. Nothing here is as earthshaking as her classic essays "Goodbye to All That" or "Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream", but they're all solid, interesting pieces. Good enough that I'm considering buying her omnibus "We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live" to get the rest of the books that these essays were pulled from.

[Court Schueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would listen to Joan talk about anything. This book didn’t disappoint. Her journalistic work is peak Didion, I love it so much. Also she has such a way of taking such a lofty topic and making it so interesting and understandable. Only thing wrong w this book is there wasn’t much of a central theme since it was just a compilation of articles published in other books of hers.

My favorite. I am determined to read everything she’s written.

[marion joelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. a collection of essays with a general focus on politics and american society/culture including thoughts on monica lewinsky, 9/11, and patricia hearst to name a few - all with the larger theme of observing what it means to be an american that benefits from the hegemonic position the country is in. as much as i want to like this one, a lot of it was a bit over my head so i used some extra commentary to understand what was going on - i don’t doubt her greatness and introspection, i just need a bit of help to get there. i really enjoy seeing her thoughts and writing applied to these topics, rather than the memories about her familial relations that i have read before. her writing is more gritty and grotesque in ways that are different from how i’ve seen it before. not to say that i prefer on over the other, i actually like them both equally - it’s just interesting to see how the topics she is writing about changes the prose.

[Michael Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of Didion's work from Miami, After Henry , Salvador, and Political Fictions. Missing selections from her most famous book, Slouching Towards Bethlehem , but that is OK, I have that one and have already read it. If your are interested in reading about 60's and 70's counterculture from someone who was there and documenting it with a passionate eye, Didion is for you...and this collection is notable for it's attempt to give an overview of her work.

[Garrett Jansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a treat that delved into a lot of American history. Even the El Salvador essay speaks to certain qualities of being an American in the world. They're all to the point and explore things that weren't quite part of the original narrative. From the Central Park Five, to the Clinton scandal and even the aftermath of 9/11, the essays look at the context and impact. They take a dive into the points around that weren't popular to consider. I think this is one of the gifts of much of Didion's writing, exploring what it means to be part of something, an event or a group. What is created as a result of your participation. This is something that is always worth thinking about as an American, as a human.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

This needs to be essential American reading.

[Evan Gold · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to rate a collection of essays spanning 25 years in one fell swoop. The sheer span of the works included shift focus upon the author, rather than their writings. Although I rated the works as a batch (well written and digestible if at times amorphous), Didion is the focus of my review.

Joan Didion is a Californian author. It is her ability to distill the underlying vibe-ography of California's place and products which make her great. Her understanding that the "extent to which certain places dominate the California imagination is apprehended, even by Californian's, only dimly" is why I loved her ability to capture the people, places, and events that shape a greater Californian conscious. The most interesting pieces in this reader come at the start. I love her analysis of the the Hearst trial in Girl of The Golden West: "This was a California girl, and she was raised on a history that placed not much emphasis on why." I also enjoyed her capture of Nancy Reagan (although I was not around as to comment on it's authenticity) In The Realm of The Fisher King; "she seemed to construe houses as part of her deal, like the housing provided to actors on location."
The further her works disembark from an analysis of the Californian Conscious, the more they feel like a projection. The Ethos of New York City (if California was confined) seemed more tangible to me in Sentimental Journeys than in many other descriptions of the place, but the works that attempt to get at the ethos of those places more removed from California, such El Salvador or America taste touristic.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little sampler of Didion's non-fiction over the years. One too many political pieces (or the absence of one more on a different topic to break things up) started to make my eyes glaze over, but her research, analysis, & writing is always top notch, & tho the subject matter here isn't cheerful, Didion navigates the terrain skillfully, providing a satisfying reading experience that is crisp, invigorating, & even buoyant. Especially memorable & effective for me is the article on Patty Hearst, & the piece from the New York Review of Books (not reprinted anywhere else to my knowledge) after 9/11, a fiery & unflinching criticism of this country's sick & twisted reaction to that event. Her insights here are particularly sharp, illuminating the healthier options open to us at that moment, & the sad, shallow path we ended up taking. Like Susan Sontag, her formidable presence in the literary world is sorely missed.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A bit of a sampler of Didion’s essays from a number of other works. Some feel a bit dated, but overall I was struck by how much I wish journos today wrote more like her. She provides such a breadth of context to the issues she is writing about. Her article on the Central Park 5 (written before their exoneration) is a fascinating exploration of how urban narratives and myth making around the identity of NYC contributed to the coverage and biases around the case and highlight the inconsistencies that might have generated reasonable doubt. The piece on the shifting frames of post-9/11 public dialogue in the US was both beautifully written and compelling. And I definitely need to track down Salvador so that I can read the whole thing.

[Lizzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always liked Didion's writing, and this little reader was a great reintroduction to it. As usual I was a little over my head with some of her political writing, but found it fascinating nonetheless. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the history of 20th century America and its politics. There is also a sharp and brilliant essay from 2002 at the end of the book, about the war on terror, which I think is still relevant now, 15 years later. Full blog post here: https://theselittlewords.com/2017/10/...

[Olivia Karschner · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating is not a reflection on Didion or her writing, although I didn’t agree with all of her takes on the excerpts from After Henry. Jack Edwards said he can’t rate a book too high if he can’t understand the purpose of existing outside of a money grab and I agree with that. This book is just a collection of snippets from Didion’s other books. It didn’t need to exist. You could just read her books in full.

[Maj · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit of a random collection. I suppose Didion couldn't have spent her entire life writing about California, but California Didion is likely my favourite. I'm guessing even the non-California books of essays some of these in this book were pulled from would amount to a 4/5, but as a collection, I can't go higher than 3*. Did not quite vibe with this one.

[Huston Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful and prescient

As a collection goes,this is first rate. Didion is not afraid to look behind the scenes in culture or politics. Although some pieces were published in the early 2000's, it it still evoked echoes of U.S. policies that reverberate today.

[Stacye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably not a fair review because I had just recently finished 2 of the books from which excerpts were taken for this collection. I found the material a weighty, not necessarily enlightening, retelling of history.

[Karina Henson · Rating 4 out of 5]

kind of a weird read because it’s a collection from several books, but wow in some of these the threads of history are so clear. everything felt strangely and immediately connected to current events of today

[Byron Rempel · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Patty Hearst to 9/11, Saint Joan digs deeper and better than anyone for her truth.

[E M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her writing on Reagan is eerily prescient of what we're facing with Trump today

[Nicole Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

this needs to be essential American reading.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure genius she saw through it all.

[meg (the.hidden.colophon) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sentimental Journeys was enough to push this to a 5, but Fixed Opinions really sealed the deal. If only the majority saw things the way Joan Didion did.

[Michael Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you haven't read much from Joan Didion, this is a good place to start. Vintage Didion covers a selection of her more powerful essays over a period of almost 40 years.

You'll notice, as you read, the strong skepticism that Didion brings to her journalistic essays. It's not that she necessarily has a political bend in one direction or another, it is that she is committed to looking around and fully rendering the context of each event she reports on, complete with historic details showing how the past has led to each moment she captures. This necessarily leads to her having some visible levels of contempt for people who would ignore details, gloss over the uglier connections between institutions, or impose a narrative on events.

Not only does Didion commit herself to exploring the "wide view" of an event in order to show the confluence of viewpoints and past actions that influence the choices made during historic moments, she does so with the sense of a Gideon--an almost-too-wise observer who is there not to render judgment herself, but to observe the imposition of an inevitable judgment dictated by the circumstances of our actions. Her knowing contempt for the selfish, magical thinking that both leads to tragedy and prevents our learning from it is simply the fatigue of an observer who has witnessed similar events to these before and who can not believe that the people around her do not remember the confluence of power, privilege, and short-term thinking that bring about the new iterations of tragedy, exploitation, and genocide that she finds herself covering.

Didion's voice should not be the only one you listen to if you're reviewing the political landscape of the last half century, but she is definitely a voice you should be listening to. Her easy way of separating the narrative we agree to impose on events from the events themselves is unbelievably necessary to a balanced understanding of the complex relationship between power and cultural forces, and the ways that both are exploited in order to shape the world to fit the collective desires of a relatively few individuals.

I would recommend moving from here to Political Fictions or Salvador, but not immediately. Your appreciation for (and recognition of the limitations of) Didion's style and voice will be better if you approach her work in context, by taking the "big picture" view for yourself and mixing your approach to her work with a large variety of other essayists and historians of the latter half of the twentieth century. The only way to truly appreciate essays that are this steeped in the culture of their times is by developing a sense of the writer's own view, and to do that you need to immerse yourself in the voices that surrounded her on the pages of the various publications where these articles originally appeared.

[Akearney · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pieces on Ronald and Nancy Reagan ('In the Realm of the Fisher King'), Bill Clinton ('Clinton Agonistes') and the Central Park jogger case ('Sentimental Journeys') are the brightest parts of this anthology, culled from other works - but there really are no missteps here. The sheer breadth of Didion's research is astounding, especially as she reveals the fuzzy thinking of both presidents and newswriters alike. The final essay, based on a lecture given in 2002, 'Fixed Opinions, or the Hinge of History' is the best review of the American government's skewing of logic to justify the 'war on terror' that I've ever read. Even now, a very worthy read.

[Kieran Healy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didion writes essays that don't argue for any real, discernible view. She more just gives observations that make you put your finger to your chin and think. At times she performs the same conspiratorial dot-connecting of which she complains about Reagan. But since it's not necessarily an argument piece, there's really nothing to disagree with. I've never read any of Didion's essays before and this felt like a good starting point. A times her viewpoint is frustrating and other times interesting. But they all achieve the most important point: They got me thinking.

[teresa]

Trying to fill in the total empty space in my reading under the didion heading. Here is a short collection pulled from her varied writings. So far, so good. I liked her non-fiction pieces on Patricia Hearst and El Salvador. Time will tell. The back blurb claims that Didion "expresses an unblinking vision of the truth." hmmm. I don't even know what that means.

[Bina · Rating 4 out of 5]

in the essay i just read, she was sticking it to nancy reagan. now she is deconstructing the new york story, one line of contrived narrative at a time. her prose is breathless, her lines of argument incredibly well reported if not always so well reasoned. a very interesting read at a time when political reportage is a bit lackluster.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first essay is absolutely mind-blowing...the rest felt kind of dated (reading about the beginning of the drug crime and violence in Miami and Central America seems kind of quaint compared to what the situation is now). Probably not the best introduction to her work since it does have "vintage" in the title, but that's on me.

[tallulah · Rating 4 out of 5]

borrowed from kian.
i read it on the plane and on the beach.
the briskness of the writing made it ideal for vacation reading.
it also made me realize how uniformed i am of news events from my earlier life.
even the clinton administration was largely a mystery to me.

[Debra Hale-Shelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even now, Joan Didion's essay on Patty Hearst is a great read. Her essay on the Clinton / Lewinsky debacle was good though not as interesting. The one on terrorism got a bit tedious. Perhaps, the further removed we are from some things, the more clearly we can see them.