"Robert Boynton is the director of New York University's graduate magazine journalism program. His work has appeared in many magazines and newspapers, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, Lingua Franca and the LA Times Book Review. He was graduated with honors in philosophy and religion from Haverford College, and received an MA in political science from Yale University."
The book is a series of interviews with twenty of today's leading non-fiction writers about how they practice their craft. The writers interviewed, in alphabetical order, include -
Ted Conover
Richard Ben Cramer
Leon Dash
William Finnegan
Jonathan Harr
Alex Kotlowitz
Jon Krakauer
Jane Kramer
William Langewiesche
Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
Michael Lewis
Susan Orlean
Richard Preston
Ron Rosenbaum
Eric Schlosser
Gay Talese
Calvin Trillin
Lawrence Weschler
Lawrence Wright
It's a good book for anyone interested in writing or reading. It will make you want to read these author's works. The variation, and similarity, of how these writers work is fascinating.
The real "work" of non-fiction writing is apparent in the interviews. The time spent researching, gathering facts, interviewing, writing, rewriting is significant (possibly years of work). It's interesting to contrast the work it takes to produce a literary work in book or magazine form vs. the fast produced typical content of the internet, and the corresponding quality and originality of those two mediums.
I agree with all the authors that the age of quality literary non-fiction (or fiction) works in print is not over, and will not be surpassed by the internet. There is no way online media can replace the beauty of worth of books and magazines. Not to say online media isn't important and exciting in it's own way.
I have to take a few little side roads for a moment, please excuse me. While reading the book and looking at it online I ran across some things of interest.
There are quite a few references to "The New Yorker" in the book and I was thinking I need to renew my subscription. I like to just look at the covers of magazines sometimes, which is why I made the webpage Magazines, Chocolate and Coffee awhile ago.
I had traded some frequent flyer miles for magazine subscriptions a couple of years ago and was getting buried in magazines...now that those have run out I need to subscribe to some of my favs again.
By accident I ran into this Amazon listmania list Amazon.com: So You'd Like to... become a magazine junkie
I was trying to recall a passage in the book about an American painter. I couldn't remember where it was. With the super-cool Amazon "search inside the book" feature I found the quote by Richard Preston, "... "facts," which Americans have always been really big on. It is something I even see in the art of Thomas Eakins. There is a cool, blue, American light in Eakins's paintings that takes the reality of American life and turns it ..."
I wasn't familiar with Thomas Eakins before, but now I know a little bit more...thanks to that little quote in the book. Thomas Eakins was born in Philadelphia in 1844, he was friends with Walt Whitman and is known as one of America's great painters.
Thomas Eakins Prints & Posters
Finally I have to put in a word for my favorite New Yorker writer of all time, E.B. White
. His writing is so gentle and warm. If you just think of him as the author of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little you are missing a lot of good literary non-fiction work he did both at the New Yorker and in his collection of books.Here are links to buy "The New NEW Journalism" by Robert S. Boynton. I was trying to figure out if Amazon, Albiris, or Barnes and Noble had the best price, which is why I was writing the book price, tax and shipping. It's pretty much a toss up. Whichever online bookseller, local bookseller or library you like will work just fine.
Buy The New New Journalism
at Amazon for $10.46 plus 3.99 shipping plus estimated 1.25 tax. Free shipping for orders of $25.00 or more.Buy The New New Journalism
at Alibris for $10.46 plus $3.49 standard shipping. Free shipping for orders of $49.00 or more.Buy "The New New Journalism" at
Barnes & Noble for $12.55 - $11.29 (members) plus $3.99 standard shipping. Free shipping for orders of $25.00 or more. Membership is $25.00 per year and gives you a 10% discount. 
Barnes & Noble.com Prints & Posters Store
FREE Shipping on orders of $49 or more!
