Award-winning essayist Tom Bissell explores the highs and lows of the creative process. He takes us from the set ofย The Big Bang Theoryย to the first novel of Ernest Hemingway to the final work of David Foster Wallace; from the films of Werner Herzog to the film of Tommy Wiseau to the editorial meeting in which Paula Fox's work was relaunched into the world. Originally published in magazines such asย The Believer,ย The New Yorker, andย Harper's, these essays represent ten years of Bissell's best writing on every aspect of creationโbe it Iraq War documentaries or video-game character voicesโand will provoke as much thought as they do laughter.
What are sitcoms for exactly? Can art be both bad and genius? Why do some books survive and others vanish? Bissell's exploration of these questions make for gripping, unforgettable reading.