The Knowledge is semi-autobiographical and Steven Pressfield does a brilliant job of taking a story about a struggling writer and turning it into a captivating page-turner. He captures an event that occurs over just a few days, but it becomes a clarifying moment in the life of the main character. It's a gritty New York tale that takes place in the 1970s. It's a world of darkness and light and SP takes the reader back and forth between the two with such agility. It's sin and the road to redemption. The Knowledge isn't his usual fare, but it's one you won't be able to put down. ( )

You probably know Pressfield as the author of Gates of Fire. Or maybe The Legend of Bagger Vance. Or maybe The War of Art.

The Knowledge is like no other Pressfield book. Hemingway famously said "Writing is easy. All you have to do is sit at a typewriter and bleed". And I think Pressfield really bled for this.

The Knowledge stars Stretch, an aspiring writer and oft-times jackass. He's a crude, testosterone-filled, and makes bad choices. The Knowledge is subtitled A Too Close to True Novel and it's a near-autobiographical view into how an immature, undisciplined young writer becomes a pro, and grows up in the process. It's great reading and goes down easy and quick. ( )