"Salinger-The classic critical and personal portrait by more than twenty of his contemporaries" is a fascinating look at a very private person who it seems, accidentally became famous. Originally written in 1962, before he became as famous as a recluse as he was an author, many of the pieces were published in magazines such as Harper's, Time, The Nation, The New Republic, and others.

Reading the thoughts and opinions of writers like John Updike, Dan Wakefield, Joan Didion, William Wiegand, and others was fascinating, and insightful. It makes me wonder what they might say today, 40-50 years later.

His Glass family stories are covered in depth and of course Catcher in the Rye, Franny and Zooey.

Introduced and edited by Henry Anatole Grunwald, "Salinger" is an interesting look at his work and a tiny bit of his life.

I received this book from Meredith at Harper Perennial for review. Thank You! ( )