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Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir | 
| Author: William Zinsser
Publisher: Mariner Books
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $11.16
You Save: $2.79 (20%)
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 48840
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0395901502
Dewey Decimal Number: 920.073
UPC: 046442901505
EAN: 9780395901502
Publication Date: May 20, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Every time Inventing the Truth appears in a new edition, editor William Zinsser can't help but add to it. The first edition (1987) evolved from a series of New York Public Library talks, for which the mandate was not to lecture about the genre of the memoir but to explain how a specific memoir came to be written. In the book's 1995 edition, Russell Baker, Annie Dillard, Alfred Kazin, and Toni Morrison were joined by Jill Ker Conway, Eileen Simpson, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Ian Frazier. This time around, Zinsser has added a rich and charming reminiscence by Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes). The authors do stick to their assignment: Russell Baker credits his huge family with helping him "learn a lot about humanity from close-up observation"; Jill Ker Conway talks about her desire to write a female memoir that was not a romantic happily-ever-after; and Henry Louis Gates Jr. discusses "want[ing] to write a book that imitated the specialness of black culture when no white people are around." But there is also plenty of advice for writers here, and some general thoughts about the genre. Conway addresses the difficulty of "going back as a historian" and trying to understand "all the things you took as a given when you were a child." Gates warns us to "be prepared for the revelation of things you don't even dream are going to come up." And Annie Dillard contemplates the strangeness of spending "more time writing about [a scene or an event] than you did living it." --Jane Steinberg
Product Description
In this perfect companion for anyone beguiled by memoirs or embarking on writing one, nine distinguished authors -- Russell Baker, Jill Ker Conway, Annie Dillard, Ian Frazier, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alfred Kazin, Frank McCourt, Toni Morrison, and Eileen Simpson -- reflect on the writing process.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Must-Read December 14, 1999
32 out of 35 found this review helpful
This is a must-read for anyone embarking on a memoirs project because it helps clarifying the question of WHOSE truths can and should be expressed in a memoirs. As the president of Modern Memoirs, a private publishing firm that specializes in personal memoirs and family histories, I am constantly recommending it to clients and their families. It's especially useful when one member of the family wants THEIR version of the truth to supercede the memoirist's own version. Good companion to Tristine Rainer's excellent The New Autobiography, and Richard Stone's The Sacred Art of Storytelling.
If you're thinking about writing memoir September 25, 2000
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
In INVENTING THE TRUTH, several memoirists offer their viewpoints on writing about one's life. Each author talks about the process of discovering different ways to tell their own stories and then subjecting their stories to a critical analysis, understanding that it might be told differently. They consider how the author knows too much and must distill this glut of information into a dramatic, readable narrative that will hold a reader. That means using many of the techniques of fiction, but also being true to the events. The examples prompted me to buy several of the memoirs discussed. This book would be very helpful for anyone considering writing a memoir and it's a terrific cross-section of the genre for anyone wanting to read some of the best. ~Joan Mazza, author of DREAM BACK YOUR LIFE, DREAMING YOUR REAL SELF, and 3 books in The Guided Journal Series with Writer's Digest.
 On Writing a Memoir December 7, 2000
20 out of 22 found this review helpful
According to Webster, the definition of memoir is "a biographical sketch, usually one written by someone who knows the subject well." It is from the Latin word memoria, meaning memory. But in Inventing the Truth, Annie Dillard says, "Don't hope in a memoir to preserve your memories. If you prize your memories as they are by all means avoid--eschew--writing a memoir" (70). Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir is a sort of instructional anthology composed of six chapters written by six authors. The purpose of this book, edited and introduced by William Zinsser, is to give writers different perspectives on how to write a memoir. If you are writing a memoir, or even just thinking about writing one, this book will be helpful to you. It contains examples of good memoir writing, advice on what to put in and what to leave out, and an overview of the process of writing a memoir. The advice given by William Zinsser and the other five contributors to Inventing the Truth pertains mostly to organizing memories. Annie Dillard's chapter entitled "To Fashion a Text" is very focused on memoir writing, and would not prove useful to the average Joe. However, Lewis Thomas' chapter called "A Long Line of Cells" would be interesting for anyone to read. Unless you are thinking about writing a memoir, this book probably will not entirely interest you.
A good motivator October 7, 2000
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
A pleasant read, well written and even inspirational. A good motivator for the writer that needs to connect with other writers. I did find it helpful in terms of creating a concept of *focus* when writing a memoir. Still, if one is looking for help with craft or skill, it has its limitations.
 Capturing Memories December 7, 2001
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
Capturing Your Memories
In the book Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Writing a Memoir William Zinsser along with other well renown authors take the reader through the writing process of a memoir.
The book is divided into six sections individually composed by each author. In their own words they describe how to create a memoir that will be interesting, fluid, and accurate. A memoir is not just the facts as they are, but the facts as you experienced them. There are many other pieces of advice through out the book that add to the reader's knowledge of writing a memoir.
William Zinsser is a well renowned author and teacher. He has written and been editor for the New York Herald Tribune, and Life Magazine. Zinsser has also taught non-fiction writing at Yale University. In his book Inventing the Truth Zinsser gathers advice from many talented and experienced authors. They not only offer up advice but also describe their own trials and tribulations throughout the process. From Zinsser's boyhood in Long Island to Thomas's interpretation of evolution the book Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Writing a Memoir gives comfortable and informative lessons that a writer will find useful.
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