Anthony Heilbut

This literary biography, which explores the author's psychology in great detail, is one of the more fascinating ones I have ever read. The writer interconnects different episodes from Mann's extensive career, showing how his shyness and fixation undergirded his insightful observations on German society, reversing course from discussions of seminal late novels such as Doctor Faustus to accounts of Mann's early years. Heilbut points out that Mann's birth happened about the same time as show more Germany's political unification, German Jews' legal emancipation, and the term "homosexual" became widely used. Extensive critical analyses of Mann's written works, both public and private, delve into the author's mind and show how Mann's literary consciousness provided a platform for investigating the boundaries and license of German, Jewish, and homosexual self-expression. Heilbut explains how, for instance, the famous novella Death in Venice shows a national idol dying amidst debased tourism, yet it also celebrates homoerotic longing. This interpretation of Thomas Mann's life was intriguing in light of these and other examples. show less

A revelatory, if rather potboilerish, biography of the author, focusing on his sexuality, loves, and their reflection in his works.

Became disinterested in finishing. Lost me at Thomas Mann-how did that connect to gospel music, queers and Aretha Franklin?

Biographies of major gospel groups organized as a chronological history of the genre.