Bill Hayes (1) (1961–)
Author of Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me
For other authors named Bill Hayes, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Born in Minneapolis in 1961 and raised in Spokane, Bill Hayes studied writing at Santa Clara University & has worked for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Library Foundation, & the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. His work has been published in "The New York Times Magazine", "Details", & show more Salon.com, among other publications. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Bill Hayes
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1961
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Santa Clara University
- Occupations
- author
photographer - Relationships
- Oliver Sacks (partner)
- Short biography
- Bill Hayes is the author of three acclaimed works of narrative nonfiction, Sleep Demons: An Insomniac’s Memoir; Five Quarts: A Personal and Natural History of Blood; and his latest book, The Anatomist: A True Story of Gray’s Anatomy. His essays and articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Details, and The Threepenny Review, among other publications, and he has been featured on many NPR programs. “Bill Hayes has an unusual set of skills,” a critic for the New York Times has observed, “he is part science writer, part memoirist, part culture explainer.”
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
San Francisco, California, USA
Spokane, Washington, USA
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
An interesting collection of essays which trace the science and cultural significance of human blood. At the same time, the author (a gay man in a long-term relationship with a lover infected with AIDS) talks about the way that the meaning of blood has changed for him and his partner. He goes into detail on research into development of a vaccine to prevent the contagion of the virus or a treatment that could kill the virus in those infected with it.
Well written and filled with details that show more fascinated me. show less
Well written and filled with details that show more fascinated me. show less
This is the most beautiful book. It contains a few actual poems, but I kept thinking while I read it that every word was poetry. Succinct, expressive, impressionistic, divine.
This is a beautiful book about several things. First of all, it is a book about love - the love we find in our lives, the unexpected and overwhelming love that we feel when we meet certain people, but also the love for a city, the place where we choose to build our lives and where we feel complete. The stories of love in this book are bookended by the second theme - loss. It is the loss of his partner in the beginning of the book that makes Bill Hayes decide to move to New York. And, of show more course, the book finishes with the second loss, which any reader that knew and admired Oliver Sacks would be sadly expecting as the chapters moved on - his death in August 2015. Finally, by focusing on those two primordial and inevitable themes, the book becomes a book about life itself - our lives, marked by the ones we find and love, the ones we lose and mourn, and the places where we choose to be as happy as we can. It is a beautiful testament to the love between Hayes and Sacks, a touching portrait of Sacks himself in his intimacy, but also a heartfelt homage to New York - the city itself but, especially, the people that live in it, that commute in it, that work, play, suffer or wonder around its parks in insomniac nights.
Highly recommended. show less
Highly recommended. show less
Pure poetry. I borrowed this from the library, but it's a book I want to own and treasure. It brings back everything I loved about living in New York. Everything I miss.
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Statistics
- Works
- 7
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 1,064
- Popularity
- #24,196
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 32
- ISBNs
- 54