"John Winters offers a master class in literary sleuthing, untangling the many lives and unearthing the origin story of America's foremost Renaissance man of letters." --Kelly Horan, coauthor of Devotion and Defiance
With more than fifty-five plays to his credit--including the 1979 Pulitzer Prize-winning Buried Child, an Oscar nod for his portrayal of Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff, and an onscreen persona that's been aptly summed up as "Gary Cooper in denim"--Sam Shepard's impact on American theater and film ranks with the greatest playwrights and actors of the past half-century.
Sam Shepard: A Life gets to the heart of Sam Shepard, presenting a compelling and comprehensive account of his life and work.
In a new epilogue, added by the author after Shepard's untimely death in July of 2017, John J. Winters offers a glimpse into the enigmatic author's last days, when very few knew he was suffering from ALS.
"An excellent biography . . . Mr. Winters is especially good on the backstage of one of Mr. Shepard's most frequently revived works, True West . . . Mr. Winters has an interesting story to tell, and he recounts it ably, bringing us close to a figure who, he admits, avoids intimacy." --The Wall Street Journal
"A new, thoroughly researched biography . . . Winters does indeed capture a personality more anxious and self-doubting than previous biographers have grasped." --The Washington Post
"Meticulously presents the facts of Shepard's complex life along with incisive descriptions and analyses of diverse productions of Shepard's demanding and innovative plays . . . Winters portrays Shepard as a magnetic, enigmatic, and multitalented artist drawing on a deep well of loneliness and self-questioning, keen attunement to the zeitgeist, and penetrating insight into human nature." --Booklist (starred review)
Show more"John Winters offers a master class in literary sleuthing, untangling the many lives and unearthing the origin story of America's foremost Renaissance man of letters." --Kelly Horan, coauthor of Devotion and Defiance
With more than fifty-five plays to his credit--including the 1979 Pulitzer Prize-winning Buried Child, an Oscar nod for his portrayal of Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff, and an onscreen persona that's been aptly summed up as "Gary Cooper in denim"--Sam Shepard's impact on American theater and film ranks with the greatest playwrights and actors of the past half-century.
Sam Shepard: A Life gets to the heart of Sam Shepard, presenting a compelling and comprehensive account of his life and work.
In a new epilogue, added by the author after Shepard's untimely death in July of 2017, John J. Winters offers a glimpse into the enigmatic author's last days, when very few knew he was suffering from ALS.
"An excellent biography . . . Mr. Winters is especially good on the backstage of one of Mr. Shepard's most frequently revived works, True West . . . Mr. Winters has an interesting story to tell, and he recounts it ably, bringing us close to a figure who, he admits, avoids intimacy." --The Wall Street Journal
"A new, thoroughly researched biography . . . Winters does indeed capture a personality more anxious and self-doubting than previous biographers have grasped." --The Washington Post
"Meticulously presents the facts of Shepard's complex life along with incisive descriptions and analyses of diverse productions of Shepard's demanding and innovative plays . . . Winters portrays Shepard as a magnetic, enigmatic, and multitalented artist drawing on a deep well of loneliness and self-questioning, keen attunement to the zeitgeist, and penetrating insight into human nature." --Booklist (starred review)
Show moreJohn J. Winters is a veteran journalist, critic, and academic who has made Sam Shepard the focus of his scholarship. In addition to working for The Boston Globe and countless newspapers, Winters has placed work in Playboy, Salon, the Providence Journal, Art New England, The Providence Phoenix, Runner's World, and Rhode Island Monthly. He is a regular contributor of reviews and commentary to Boston's National Public Radio affiliate, WBUR.
Praise for Sam Shepard: A Life
"First-time biographer Winters, a journalist and critic,
meticulously presents the facts of Shepard's complex life along
with incisive descriptions and analyses of diverse productions of
Shepard's demanding and innovative plays.... Ultimately, Winters
portrays Shepard as a magnetic, enigmatic, and multitalented artist
drawing on a deep well of loneliness and self-questioning, keen
attunement to the zeitgeist, and penetrating insight into human
nature."-Booklist, Starred Review
"[An] excellent biography . . . Mr. Winters is especially good on
the backstage of one of Mr. Shepard's most frequently revived
works, True West . . . Mr. Winters has an interesting story to
tell, and he recounts it ably, bringing us close to a figure who,
he admits, avoids intimacy." -The Wall Street Journal
"[A] new, thoroughly researched biography . . . Winters does indeed
capture a personality more anxious and self-doubting than previous
biographers have grasped." -The Washington Post
"[A] literary fact-finding mission..."-Playbill
"Highly recommended to theater and movie lovers."-Library
Journal
"A journalist who has devoted years to Shepard's life and works
debuts with a comprehensive account of the life of the prolific
playwright, poet, fiction writer, musician, and more... [T]he book
is unquestionably well-informed and -researched. A thorough,
admiring work that is nonetheless honest about what the author
views as Shepard's late-career decline."-Kirkus
"John J. Winters gives us an engrossing view of a quirkily
remarkable guy . . . Winters does a superb job of re-creating
Shepard's multi-faceted life, skillfully melding its professional
and personal aspects in a continually interesting narrative. He
offers useful synopses of nearly all Shepard's plays, but eschews
deep literary analysis of said works, since, as he points out, such
material is available elsewhere. Winters displays his expertise as
a longtime Shepard scholar, yet never forgets to tell a good story,
as well . . . Hand in hand with the sobering news of his passing,
this excellent book should inspire readers to revisit the Sam
Shepard canon, both in print and on celluloid.'" -Theater Jones
"Impeccably researched and beautifully written, author John Winters
gives us an unflinching, deep dive into the psyche, imagination and
soul of Sam Shepard. Packed with exclusive new details of Shepard's
amazing and intriguing life, it's essential reading for fans of
this enigmatic playwright, minstrel and actor." -Dave Wedge,
co-author of Boston Strong: A City's Triumph Over Tragedy
and Challenge: The Story of Pete Frates and the Ice Bucket
Challenge
"John Winters offers a master class in literary sleuthing,
untangling the many lives and unearthing the origin story of
America's foremost Renaissance man of letters, Sam Shepard. One
part literary detective story, one part un-put-downable
page-turner, Sam Shepard: A Life will serve as the
definitive account of one of the 20th century's most enigmatic,
beguiling and beloved figures of the stage, screen and page."
-Kelly Horan, WBUR radio and co-author of Devotion and Defiance:
My Journey in Love, Faith and Politics.
"Winters has produced an engrossing examination of the enigmatic
Sam Shepard in this first major (and unauthorized) biography.
Drawing on widely scattered archival sources and dozens of
interviews with Shepard's family, friends and colleagues, he has
deftly sorted out the authentic ore of fact from the farrago of
legends, rumors and canards surrounding one of the greatest
playwrights and actors of our time. Along the way Winters has
shrewdly delineated Shepard's relations with Bob Dylan, Patti
Smith, Wim Wenders, and Jessica Lange, the love of his life."
-Michael Lennon, author of Norman Mailer: A Double Life
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