In a book charged with vitality and lacking no detail that it was possible to gather from books, un published letter or journals, and word-of-mouth tadition, Thomas Beer presents the morals, politics, society, and literature of the 1880's and '90s in America - and dramatizes them all. Among the figures portrayed in these brilliant pages are Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Hanna, Eleonora Duse, Joseph Conrad, ambrose Bierce, Stephen Crane, Standford White, Anna Held, J. Pierpont Morgan, Henry George, Oscar Wilde, and William Graham Summer.

"When are the 1970s going to begin?" ran the joke during the Presidential campaign of 1976. With his own patented combination of serious journalism and dazzling comedy, Tom Wolfe met the question head-on in these rollicking essays in Mauve Gloves and Madmen, Clutter and Vine -- and even provided the 1970s with its name: "The Me Decade."

In The Mauve Decade, Thomas Beer presents the morals, politics, society, and literature of 1880s and 1890s America. Beer depicts the end of a magical decade, of a society at war with itself and full of contradictions: a perfect storm of revolution and scandal.Literary greats were everywhere, and among the figures portrayed in these pages are Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Hanna, Joseph Conrad, Ambrose Bierce, Stephen Crane, Stanford White, J. Pierpont Morgan, Henry George, and Oscar Wilde.Beer's frank and frequently satirical approach to the decade is a breath of fresh air. Full of character, criticism, and life, The Mauve Decade is like a painting: vivid, detailed, and full of colour. Praise for The Mauve Decade 'Stimulating and lively' - Times Literary SupplementThomas Beer (1889 - 1940) was an American biographer, novelist, essayist, satirist, and author of short fiction. Born in Iowa, Beer graduated from Yale University in 1911 and studied law at Columbia University. He also served during World War I. Beer was best known for his biographies of Stephen Crane and Mark Hanna, as well as his study of American manners.

This collection of Wolfe's essays, articles, and chapters from previous collections is filled with observations on U.S. popular culture in the 1960s and 1970s.

A biography of the legendary early-twentieth-century New Orleans writer who directed the Federal Writers’ Project WPA guide to Louisiana. Here is the first full biography of the legendary writer known as Mr. Louisiana and Mr. New Orleans. Lyle Saxon’s life was colorful, busy, and full of contrasts. He presented himself as the perfect Southern gentleman, but he grew up fatherless in modest circumstances. As host of a French Quarter salon, Saxon dispensed drinks, anecdotes, loans, and advice to many friends, including William Faulkner, Oliver La Farge, and Sherwood Anderson, yet he was often lonely and retreated to his solitary cabin at Melrose plantation. While Saxon was ambivalent toward his work with the WPA Writers’ Project, begrudging the time it took from his own writing, the Louisiana division was, under his direction, the most productive in the United States. Though Saxon’s history books bought him fame and a place in New York literary circles, he was deeply insecure about his talent and mourned his inability to write novels. A Southern-literature scholar and a longtime fan of Lyle Saxon, Professor Harvey has researched the facts behind Saxon myths and presents the reality behind his legend. This volume also contains excerpts from Saxon’s correspondence with family and friends, including letters from Grace King, William Spratling, and Sherwood Anderson. Praise for The Life and Selected Letters of Lyle Saxon “[Harvey’s] use of Saxon’s letters . . . provide a unique and objective way of analyzing this fascinating individual while allowing Saxon to speak for himself.” —Louisiana Libraries “Pays him the respect he deserves and uncovers the essential loneliness of the most convivial of men.” —New Orleans Times-Picayune “Saxon’s life makes an interesting story and Harvey’s prose brings it fully to life.” —Brookhaven Daily Leader