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SoBrief
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Nonconformity
by Nelson Algren • 1996
Real writing means siding with the damned, risking obsession, and refusing to comfort.
4.07
268
Nonconformity Summary
Nonconformity 91%
Real writing means siding with the damned, risking obsession, and refusing to comfort.
by Nelson Algren 1996
4.07
268 ratings
Walt Whitman
by Justin Kaplan • 1980
A failed journalist shattered poetry's rules, then spent the Civil War comforting dying soldiers.
3.94
326
Walt Whitman Summary
Walt Whitman 91%
A failed journalist shattered poetry's rules, then spent the Civil War comforting dying soldiers.
by Justin Kaplan 1980
3.94
326 ratings
William Faulkner
by André Bleikasten • 2017
His family, his affair, his South, his demons: Faulkner's novels were his life recast as myth.
4.23
13
William Faulkner Summary
William Faulkner 90%
His family, his affair, his South, his demons: Faulkner's novels were his life recast as myth.
by André Bleikasten 2017
4.23
13 ratings
Seldom Disappointed
by Tony Hillerman • 2001
Wounded infantryman, journalist, 45-year-old professor: the unlikely path to the Navajo mysteries.
4.01
794
Seldom Disappointed Summary
Seldom Disappointed 90%
Wounded infantryman, journalist, 45-year-old professor: the unlikely path to the Navajo mysteries.
by Tony Hillerman 2001
4.01
794 ratings
Mad at the World
by William Souder • 2020
He wrote the great novel of collective suffering, then fled the collective embrace of fame.
4.07
1k+
Mad at the World Summary
Mad at the World 90%
He wrote the great novel of collective suffering, then fled the collective embrace of fame.
by William Souder 2020
4.07
1k+ ratings
Papa Hemingway
by A.E. Hotchner • 1955
From Paris to Cuba, a trusted friend documents the fourteen-year unmaking of a literary giant.
4.20
3k+
Papa Hemingway Summary
Papa Hemingway 90%
From Paris to Cuba, a trusted friend documents the fourteen-year unmaking of a literary giant.
by A.E. Hotchner 1955
4.20
3k+ ratings
The Facts
by Philip Roth • 1988
A master of fiction tries to write the straight truth about his life, and discovers why he cannot.
3.70
1k+
The Facts Summary
The Facts 90%
A master of fiction tries to write the straight truth about his life, and discovers why he cannot.
by Philip Roth 1988
3.70
1k+ ratings
Why Read Moby-Dick?
by Nathaniel Philbrick • 2010
The whale is America: a historian on why Moby-Dick is the novel our present moment demands.
3.78
5k+
Why Read Moby-Dick? Summary
Why Read Moby-Dick? 90%
The whale is America: a historian on why Moby-Dick is the novel our present moment demands.
by Nathaniel Philbrick 2010
3.78
5k+ ratings
Autobiography of Mark Twain
by Mark Twain • 2010
Sealed for a century: Twain's unfiltered life, with the portrait his daughter wrote tucked inside.
3.80
9k+
Autobiography of Mark Twain Summary
Autobiography of Mark Twain 89%
Sealed for a century: Twain's unfiltered life, with the portrait his daughter wrote tucked inside.
by Mark Twain 2010
3.80
9k+ ratings
Letters
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. • 2012
The letters of a man who survived Dresden and spent twenty years failing to write about it.
4.09
2k+
Letters Summary
Letters 89%
The letters of a man who survived Dresden and spent twenty years failing to write about it.
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 2012
4.09
2k+ ratings
A Boy Named Shel
by Lisa Rogak • 2007
He drew for Playboy, wrote for Johnny Cash, and authored The Giving Tree. Then he vanished.
3.42
572
A Boy Named Shel Summary
A Boy Named Shel 89%
He drew for Playboy, wrote for Johnny Cash, and authored The Giving Tree. Then he vanished.
by Lisa Rogak 2007
3.42
572 ratings
Working
by Robert A. Caro • 2019
How one biographer's archival obsession made Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson give up their secrets.
4.45
8k+
Working Summary
Working 89%
How one biographer's archival obsession made Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson give up their secrets.
by Robert A. Caro 2019
4.45
8k+ ratings
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
by Joan Didion • 1968
At the continent's edge, the American dream frays into murder, lost children, self-deception.
4.18
85k+
Slouching Towards Bethlehem Summary
Slouching Towards Bethlehem 89%
At the continent's edge, the American dream frays into murder, lost children, self-deception.
by Joan Didion 1968
4.18
85k+ ratings
The Deadline
by Jill Lepore • 2023
The dead still run the country. A historian shows how, from the Constitution to the smartphone.
4.31
621
The Deadline Summary
The Deadline 89%
The dead still run the country. A historian shows how, from the Constitution to the smartphone.
by Jill Lepore 2023
4.31
621 ratings
The Wisdom of the Heart
by Henry Miller • 1941
Modern men are half-alive and call it progress. The cure starts when the thinking stops.
4.03
663
The Wisdom of the Heart Summary
The Wisdom of the Heart 89%
Modern men are half-alive and call it progress. The cure starts when the thinking stops.
by Henry Miller 1941
4.03
663 ratings
Paranoia
by Shirley Jackson • 2015
A stranger's hat, a fork's grudge: how Shirley Jackson turned daily unease into lasting horror.
4.05
4k+
Paranoia Summary
Paranoia 89%
A stranger's hat, a fork's grudge: how Shirley Jackson turned daily unease into lasting horror.
by Shirley Jackson 2015
4.05
4k+ ratings
Revolutionary Characters
by Gordon S. Wood • 2006
Not demigods but Enlightenment thinkers who had to turn philosophy into a working republic.
3.96
4k+
Revolutionary Characters Summary
Revolutionary Characters 89%
Not demigods but Enlightenment thinkers who had to turn philosophy into a working republic.
by Gordon S. Wood 2006
3.96
4k+ ratings
Palm Sunday
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. • 1981
Dresden, a mother's suicide, a son's madness: the pieces Vonnegut assembled into a self-portrait.
3.78
7k+
Palm Sunday Summary
Palm Sunday 89%
Dresden, a mother's suicide, a son's madness: the pieces Vonnegut assembled into a self-portrait.
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 1981
3.78
7k+ ratings
The White Album
by Joan Didion • 1979
A writer, a psychiatric breakdown, and the California essays that defined an unraveling decade.
4.02
51k+
The White Album Summary
The White Album 89%
A writer, a psychiatric breakdown, and the California essays that defined an unraveling decade.
by Joan Didion 1979
4.02
51k+ ratings
On Writing
by Ernest Hemingway • 1984
Write true, cut hard, and the reader will feel what you never said.
4.02
5k+
On Writing Summary
On Writing 88%
Write true, cut hard, and the reader will feel what you never said.
by Ernest Hemingway 1984
4.02
5k+ ratings
Callings
by Dave Isay • 2016
A sanitation worker, neurosurgeon, and beekeeper reveal how they found purpose in unexpected work.
3.92
2k+
Callings Summary
Callings 88%
A sanitation worker, neurosurgeon, and beekeeper reveal how they found purpose in unexpected work.
by Dave Isay 2016
3.92
2k+ ratings
A Man Without a Country
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. • 2005
America as failed empire, Earth as casualty, laughter as survival: Vonnegut's final dispatch.
4.10
50k+
A Man Without a Country Summary
A Man Without a Country 88%
America as failed empire, Earth as casualty, laughter as survival: Vonnegut's final dispatch.
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 2005
4.10
50k+ ratings
The American Spirit
by David McCullough • 2017
Why the American past is a well to draw strength from, not a burden to escape.
4.22
7k+
The American Spirit Summary
The American Spirit 88%
Why the American past is a well to draw strength from, not a burden to escape.
by David McCullough 2017
4.22
7k+ ratings
The Great Agnostic
by Susan Jacoby • 2013
The man who drew thousands to hear him speak: why America forgot Robert Ingersoll.
4.04
720
The Great Agnostic Summary
The Great Agnostic 88%
The man who drew thousands to hear him speak: why America forgot Robert Ingersoll.
by Susan Jacoby 2013
4.04
720 ratings
Lorraine Hansberry
by Charles J. Shields • 2022
Closeted, radical, and a slumlord's daughter: the life that produced A Raisin in the Sun.
3.78
400
Lorraine Hansberry Summary
Lorraine Hansberry 88%
Closeted, radical, and a slumlord's daughter: the life that produced A Raisin in the Sun.
by Charles J. Shields 2022
3.78
400 ratings
Alex Haley
by Robert J. Norrell • 2015
Family porch tales became the Roots miniseries seen by 85% of Americans. Then came the lawsuits.
3.48
89
Alex Haley Summary
Alex Haley 88%
Family porch tales became the Roots miniseries seen by 85% of Americans. Then came the lawsuits.
by Robert J. Norrell 2015
3.48
89 ratings
How Not to Get Rich
by Alan Pell Crawford • 2014
Before he was America's most beloved author, Mark Twain was its most disastrous investor.
3.63
123
How Not to Get Rich Summary
How Not to Get Rich 88%
Before he was America's most beloved author, Mark Twain was its most disastrous investor.
by Alan Pell Crawford 2014
3.63
123 ratings
In Search of The Color Purple
by Salamishah Tillet • 2021
A forgotten grave, a banned novel, and the Black women's voices America tried to erase.
4.21
220
In Search of The Color Purple Summary
In Search of The Color Purple 88%
A forgotten grave, a banned novel, and the Black women's voices America tried to erase.
by Salamishah Tillet 2021
4.21
220 ratings
American Story
by Bob Dotson • 2013
Four decades on American back roads, collecting the lives no news camera ever found.
3.63
228
American Story Summary
American Story 88%
Four decades on American back roads, collecting the lives no news camera ever found.
by Bob Dotson 2013
3.63
228 ratings
Benjamin Franklin
by Hourly History • 2016
Ran away at 17 with empty pockets; by 70, he charmed France into bankrolling America.
4.18
632
Benjamin Franklin Summary
Benjamin Franklin 88%
Ran away at 17 with empty pockets; by 70, he charmed France into bankrolling America.
by Hourly History 2016
4.18
632 ratings
Aspects of the Novel
by E.M. Forster • 1927
A novelist dismantles fiction into its working parts: story, plot, and the characters who breathe.
3.80
5k+
Aspects of the Novel Summary
Aspects of the Novel 88%
A novelist dismantles fiction into its working parts: story, plot, and the characters who breathe.
by E.M. Forster 1927
3.80
5k+ ratings
Nobody Knows My Name
by James Baldwin • 1961
Exile sharpened Baldwin's sight: what America made of him, and why simple stories fail the truth.
4.36
5k+
Nobody Knows My Name Summary
Nobody Knows My Name 88%
Exile sharpened Baldwin's sight: what America made of him, and why simple stories fail the truth.
by James Baldwin 1961
4.36
5k+ ratings
Best American Essays 2018
by Hilton Als • 2018
The essay as weapon and refuge: twenty-seven writers on race, memory, and a nation on edge.
3.53
350
Best American Essays 2018 Summary
Best American Essays 2018 88%
The essay as weapon and refuge: twenty-seven writers on race, memory, and a nation on edge.
by Hilton Als 2018
3.53
350 ratings
Mark Twain
by Ron Chernow • 2025
America's greatest humorist was a grief-haunted gambler who saved his darkest truths for the grave.
4.18
8k+
Mark Twain Summary
Mark Twain 88%
America's greatest humorist was a grief-haunted gambler who saved his darkest truths for the grave.
by Ron Chernow 2025
4.18
8k+ ratings
101 Amazing Facts about J.K. Rowling
by Holger Weßling • 2019
From welfare to a billion dollars: the backstory of Hogwarts in 101 digestible facts.
101 Amazing Facts about J.K. Rowling Summary
101 Amazing Facts about J.K. Rowling 88%
From welfare to a billion dollars: the backstory of Hogwarts in 101 digestible facts.
by Holger Weßling 2019
Q's Legacy
by Helene Hanff • 1985
A professor's lectures led to a London bookshop, twenty years of letters, and accidental fame.
4.05
2k+
Q's Legacy Summary
Q's Legacy 88%
A professor's lectures led to a London bookshop, twenty years of letters, and accidental fame.
by Helene Hanff 1985
4.05
2k+ ratings
Sinatra's Century
by David Lehman • 2015
A hundred glimpses of a singer who mapped an American century: mob, movies, music.
3.97
169
Sinatra's Century Summary
Sinatra's Century 88%
A hundred glimpses of a singer who mapped an American century: mob, movies, music.
by David Lehman 2015
3.97
169 ratings
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
by Gertrude Stein • 1933
Alice Toklas meets Gertrude Stein in 1907 Paris, entering the salon where modern art was born.
3.54
14k+
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas Summary
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas 88%
Alice Toklas meets Gertrude Stein in 1907 Paris, entering the salon where modern art was born.
by Gertrude Stein 1933
3.54
14k+ ratings
Several Short Sentences About Writing
by Verlyn Klinkenborg • 2012
Writing isn't about flow or formulas; it's about one clear sentence, then another.
4.13
4k+
Several Short Sentences About Writing Summary
Several Short Sentences About Writing 88%
Writing isn't about flow or formulas; it's about one clear sentence, then another.
by Verlyn Klinkenborg 2012
4.13
4k+ ratings
The Last American Road Trip
by Sarah Kendzior • 2025
Route 66 promised reinvention. One family drives its ruins to find what's left of America.
3.84
2k+
The Last American Road Trip Summary
The Last American Road Trip 88%
Route 66 promised reinvention. One family drives its ruins to find what's left of America.
by Sarah Kendzior 2025
3.84
2k+ ratings
The Long Slide
by Tucker Carlson • 2021
A reporter's thirty-year tour: magazine adventures, foreign wars, and the slow death of free speech.
4.13
2k+
The Long Slide Summary
The Long Slide 88%
A reporter's thirty-year tour: magazine adventures, foreign wars, and the slow death of free speech.
by Tucker Carlson 2021
4.13
2k+ ratings
Good Prose
by Tracy Kidder • 2013
Everything a Pulitzer winner and his editor know about writing nonfiction that people finish.
3.92
1k+
Good Prose Summary
Good Prose 88%
Everything a Pulitzer winner and his editor know about writing nonfiction that people finish.
by Tracy Kidder 2013
3.92
1k+ ratings
Borges on Writing
by Jorge Luis Borges • 1973
Plausibility trumps truth, short stories hinge on a situation, and great poems arrive unbidden.
4.07
1k+
Borges on Writing Summary
Borges on Writing 88%
Plausibility trumps truth, short stories hinge on a situation, and great poems arrive unbidden.
by Jorge Luis Borges 1973
4.07
1k+ ratings
The Last Founding Father
by Harlow Giles Unger • 2009
America's least-known founder doubled its land, drew a line around a hemisphere, and died bankrupt.
3.94
11k+
The Last Founding Father Summary
The Last Founding Father 88%
America's least-known founder doubled its land, drew a line around a hemisphere, and died bankrupt.
by Harlow Giles Unger 2009
3.94
11k+ ratings
Glory Days
by Dave Marsh • 1987
The contract was signed on a car hood. The battle to control his music nearly broke him.
3.78
387
Glory Days Summary
Glory Days 88%
The contract was signed on a car hood. The battle to control his music nearly broke him.
by Dave Marsh 1987
3.78
387 ratings
The Lonely Voice
by Frank O'Connor • 1961
The short story speaks for the outsider the novel was never built to see.
3.89
246
The Lonely Voice Summary
The Lonely Voice 88%
The short story speaks for the outsider the novel was never built to see.
by Frank O'Connor 1961
3.89
246 ratings
Run With the Hunted
by Charles Bukowski • 1994
Childhood beatings, dead-end jobs, cheap wine: an outsider's life in his own poems and stories.
4.26
5k+
Run With the Hunted Summary
Run With the Hunted 88%
Childhood beatings, dead-end jobs, cheap wine: an outsider's life in his own poems and stories.
by Charles Bukowski 1994
4.26
5k+ ratings
Novelist as a Vocation
by Haruki Murakami • 2015
Originality is subtraction: how writing badly in English gave a Japanese novelist his voice.
3.89
19k+
Novelist as a Vocation Summary
Novelist as a Vocation 88%
Originality is subtraction: how writing badly in English gave a Japanese novelist his voice.
by Haruki Murakami 2015
3.89
19k+ ratings
How to Write Short
by Roy Peter Clark • 2013
Tiny texts, big impact: the craft moves that make short sentences stick harder than long ones.
3.77
1k+
How to Write Short Summary
How to Write Short 88%
Tiny texts, big impact: the craft moves that make short sentences stick harder than long ones.
by Roy Peter Clark 2013
3.77
1k+ ratings
Education of a Felon
by Edward Bunker • 1999
A career criminal's brutal education behind bars, and how literature gave him a way out.
4.14
2k+
Education of a Felon Summary
Education of a Felon 88%
A career criminal's brutal education behind bars, and how literature gave him a way out.
by Edward Bunker 1999
4.14
2k+ ratings
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