New Releases by Mary McCarthy

"Come to me / when you have wrestled / with the angel / no one else can see..." Has there ever been a more welcoming invitation to a book? I soon gave up trying to mark favorite and most powerful phrases. Mary McCarthy knows that every line, like every life experience, is essential to the whole. I''ve admired McCarthy as an ekphrastic poet for years, so I''m delighted to find she''s just as eloquent (and bravely vulnerable) in sharing her struggles through depression. How to Become Invisible is more than good reading. It can be life changing for those wanting to become visible again. -Alarie Tennille, author of Three A.M. at the Museum and Running Counterclockwise This is a superb collection of poems that a detail personal account of experiencing bipolar disorder. Both depression and mania are vividly described, as well as the details of electroshock treatment. "You can''t prepare for a catastrophe," the speaker states. Neither can you prepare for the startling drama of these poems. -Oriana Ivy, author of How to Jump From a Moving Train and Paradise Anonymous In her hard-hitting new collection, How to Become Invisible (Kelsay, 2023), Mary McCarthy takes the role of Dante''s Virgil, guiding us through the hell of bipolar disorder, where every ordinary object conceals a wealth of dark meaning, and the current moment "will always be an unexpected stranger/coming at you quick/as a bullet/you must catch in your teeth" (Challenges). However, while Virgil''s path leads toward paradise, this dead-end road does not. The enforced normality of medication and shock treatment renders patients'' minds "clean as a stone" (ECT The Curing), monochromatic and anonymous, nothing the speaker can recognize as "normal." At the last, our guide looks backward at the intensity of madness, enticing us to rejoin her "when [we too] have wrestled/with the angel/no one else can see" (Invitation). -Robbi Nester, author of Balance (White Violet, 2012), A Likely Story (Moon Tide, 2014), Other-Wise (Kelsay, 2017), and Narrow Bridge (Main Street Rag, 2019), http: //www.robbinester.net

Hannah Arendt und Mary McCarthy lernen sich 1945 in einer Bar in Manhattan kennen, werden Freundinnen und schreiben einander über 25 Jahre lang Briefe. Darin tauschen sich die beiden » femmes de lettres«, die nicht nur leidenschaftlich denken, sondern genauso leben, beherzt und unvoreingenommen über all das aus, was sie bewegt: Politik, Zeitgenossen, Bücher und Männer. Ihre Freundschaft in Briefen ist nicht nur ein einzigartiges zeitgeschichtliches Dokument, sondern auch das Vermächtnis der außergewöhnlichen Beziehung zweier kluger und berühmter Frauen - tiefgründig, offen, berührend und spannend wie ein guter Roman.

Spirited and insightful essays from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Memories of a Catholic Girlhood and a "delightfully polished writer" ( The Atlantic Monthly). Whether penning criticism, memoir, or fiction, the New York Times–bestselling author of The Group invariably wrote with "an icily honest eye and a glacial wit" ( The New York Times). Gathered here are three collections of her personal essays and literary criticism. Occasional Prose: McCarthy imbues this collection with her unique gifts of clear-eyed observation, sharp insight, and heartfelt passion as she gives us the story of La Traviata in her own words, reviews a charming and practical book on gardening, revisits Tolstoy''s Anna Karenina, and eulogizes friends, including Hannah Arendt. "Bracing opinions tartly expressed . . . May she continue to call us all to attention . . . showing us the world of her imagination, thought and rich experience." — The New York Times The Writing on the Wall: With engaging and thought-provoking essays on Madame Bovary, Macbeth, Vladimir Nabokov, George Orwell, William S. Burroughs, J. D. Salinger, and Hannah Arendt, this collection of literary reactions is distinguished by McCarthy''s savage intelligence, clarity of thought, and utter lack of pretension. "The brand name tells all. Potential readers do not have to be informed by me of the excellence of this volume—the acumen, intelligence, clarity, wit and lack of bitchiness." —Anthony Burgess, The New York Times Ideas and the Novel: In this lively, erudite book, McCarthy throws down the gauntlet: Why did the nineteenth century produce novels of ideas while the twentieth century is so lacking in serious fiction? Could Henry James be a big part of the problem? With verve and passion, McCarthy provides a critique of how the novel has evolved—or not—in the last century. "[McCarthy''s] writing is spirited. [Her] musings serve a larger purpose, make a grander statement, or rather, indictment. She means to set the modern novel apart." — The Harvard Crimson

This first volume of the definitive edition of her fiction includes four novels and eight classic stories by the witty and provocative writer who defined a generation In 1942, Mary McCarthy provoked a scandal with her electrifying debut novel, The Company She Keeps, announcing the arrival of a major new voice in American literature. A candid, thinly-veiled portrait of the late-1930s New York intellectual scene, its penetrating gaze and creative fusion of life and literature—“mutual plagiarism,” she called it—became the hallmark of McCarthy''s fiction, which the Library of America now presents in full for the first time in deluxe collector''s edition. The Oasis (1949), a wicked satire about a failed utopian community, and The Groves of Academe (1952), a pioneering campus novel depicting the insular and often absurd world of academia, burnished her reputation as an acerbic truth-teller, but it was with A Charmed Life (1955), a searing story of small-town infidelity, that McCarthy fully embraced the frank and avant-garde treatment of gender and sexuality that would inspire generations of readers and writers. Also included are all eight of McCarthy''s short stories, four from her collection Cast a Cold Eye (1950), and four collected here for the first time. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

A collection of three novels by the author who transformed the scope and style of twentieth-century American literature—including the landmark classic The Group In Mary McCarthy''s most famous novel, The Group (1963), she depicts the lives of eight Vassar College graduates during the 1930s as they grapple with sex, sexism, money, motherhood, and family. McCarthy''s final two novels—Birds of America (1971), a coming of age tale of 19-year-old Peter Levi, who travels to Europe during the 1960s, and Cannibals and Missionaries (1979), a thriller about a group of passengers taken hostage on an airplane by militant hijackers—are both concerned with the state of modern society, from the cross-currents of radical social change to the psychology of terrorism. As a special feature, this second volume contains McCarthy''s 1979 essay "The Novels that Got Away," on her unfinished fiction. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

The Geography of the World Economy provides an in-depth and stimulating introduction to the globalization of the world economy. The book offers a consideration of local, regional, national and global economic development over the long historical term. The theory and practice of economic and political geography provide a basis for understanding the interactions within and among the developed and developing countries of the world. Illustrated in color throughout, this new edition has been completely reworked and updated to take account of recent significant changes in the world economy.

The author of The Group, the groundbreaking bestseller and 1964 National Book Award finalist that shaped a generation of women, brings reminiscences of her girlhood to this intimate and illuminating memoir How I Grew is Mary McCarthy''s intensely personal autobiography of her life from age thirteen to twenty-one. Orphaned at six, McCarthy was raised by her maternal grandparents in Seattle, Washington. Although her official birthdate is in 1912, it wasn''t until she turned thirteen that, in McCarthy''s own words, she was "born as a mind." With detail driven by an almost astonishing memory recall, McCarthy gives us a masterful account of these formative years. From her wild adolescence—including losing her virginity at fourteen—through her eventual escape to Vassar, the bestselling novelist, essayist, and critic chronicles her relationships with family, friends, lovers, and the teachers who would influence her writing career. Filled with McCarthy''s penetrating insights and trenchant wit, this is an unblinkingly honest and fearless self-portrait of a young woman coming of age—and the perfect companion to McCarthy''s Memories of a Catholic Girlhood. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author''s estate.

A journey through the glorious Italian city''s scenery, history, and culture, from the New York Times–bestselling author of Venice Observed and The Group. Mary McCarthy''s classic celebrates the Italian city often looked upon as the provincial sister to the better-dressed, more "feminine" Venice. To McCarthy, Florence, or Firenze, is a place of ageless enchantment, from the Duomo to the fortressed palaces. The Renaissance began here; art and architecture flourished. From its roots as a center of medieval trade to its transformation into one of the world''s wealthiest cities, McCarthy charts Florence''s rich and turbulent history. She introduces a cast of towering real-life characters. Through her probing writer''s lens, the poetry of Dante and the magnificent artistry of Raphael and Botticelli come vibrantly alive. Along this illuminating journey, McCarthy offers fascinating bits of trivia: There are no ruins in Florence because the Florentines aren''t sentimental about their past; America took its name from a Florentine traveler named Amerigo Vespucci. From Michelangelo to the Medicis to the story behind a statue''s missing head, The Stones of Florence is Mary McCarthy''s hymn to this unique city. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author''s estate.

DIVDIVFrom Madame Bovary to Macbeth, this collection by Mary McCarthy offers surprising revelations about some of the world’s most beloved works/divDIV Shakespeare, Nabokov, Orwell, and Burroughs are just a few of the literary immortals featured in this engaging and thought-provoking volume./divDIV In one remarkable essay, McCarthy provides a lively discourse on the true nature of evil in Shakespeare’s plays. Focusing on the character of Macbeth, she reveals why Lady Macbeth, who has to “unsex herself” and “wear the pants,” is the more human of the two. She tells us why the often-overlooked character of Madame Bovary’s husband, Charles, is the true hero, and not Emma Bovary, whom Flaubert once famously said was himself. Also included here is McCarthy’s impassioned defense of Hannah Arendt’s controversial book Eichmann in Jerusalem, as well as a discussion of the reactionary leftist writers, and a look at why J. D. Salinger was the obvious successor to Hemingway./divDIV Distinguished by McCarthy’s savage intelligence, clarity of thought, and utter lack of pretension, The Writing on the Wall is a timeless gem from an author who reveres the written word./divDIV This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author’s estate./div/div

This smash bestseller about privileged Vassar classmates shocked America in the sixties and remains “juicy . . . witty . . . brilliant” (Cosmopolitan). At Vassar, they were known as “the group”—eight young women of privilege, the closest of friends, an eclectic mix of vibrant personalities. A week after graduation in 1933, they all gather for the wedding of Kay Strong, one of their own, before going their separate ways in the world. In the years that follow, they will each know accomplishment and loss in equal measure, pursuing careers and marriage, experiencing the joys and traumas of sexual awakening and motherhood, all while suffering through betrayals, infidelities, and sometimes madness. Some of them will drift apart. Some will play important roles in the personal dramas of others. But it is tragedy that will ultimately unite the group once again. A novel that stunned the world when it was first published in 1963, Mary McCarthy’s The Group found acclaim, controversy, and a place atop the New York Times bestseller list for nearly two years for its frank and controversial exploration of women’s issues, social concerns, and sexuality. A blistering satire of the mores of an emergent generation of women, The Group is McCarthy’s enduring masterpiece, still as relevant, powerful, and wonderfully entertaining fifty years on. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author’s estate.

A college instructor embarks on a fanatical quest to save his job—and enact righteous revenge—in this brilliantly acerbic satire of university politics during the early Cold War years Henry Mulcahy''s future is in question. An instructor of literature at Jocelyn College, an institute of higher learning renowned for its progressive approach to education, he has just received word that he will not be teaching next semester. He strongly suspects that his dismissal has been engineered by his nemesis, the college president, who Henry believes resents his superior skills as an educator. Or perhaps he is being targeted by the government in this Cold War era, now that Senator Joseph McCarthy''s communist witch hunt is in full swing, especially since Henry''s dedication to independent thinking is, he believes, renowned. Whatever the case, Henry Mulcahy wants justice—and vengeance—and he will not go quietly without a fight. But the battle might expose too much of Henry''s true nature . . . Witty and biting, Mary McCarthy''s The Groves of Academe is a deliciously pointed satire of the world of higher education and its petty despots, tiny wars, and internal politics. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author''s estate.

A riveting and unconventional thriller about a motley group of airplane passengers taken hostage by militant hijackers En route to Iran, a plane is captured by Middle Eastern terrorists intent on holding hostage the committee of politicians, religious leaders, and activists on a mission to investigate alleged human rights violations by the shah. But the kidnappers soon discover that there is a greater treasure onboard. Among the passengers are prominent art collectors with access to some of the world''s most valuable paintings—priceless works that could fund global terrorist activities for decades. After the captured plane sets down in a remote Dutch farming collective by the sea, events go rapidly and frighteningly awry. As negotiations with government agencies stall, concerns over rare artwork threaten to trump the regard for human life, and both captors and captives will face bitter truths about their conflicting values, manners, and ideologies as the ticking clock races inexorably toward an explosive endgame. Mary McCarthy''s masterful Cannibals and Missionaries is a remarkable novel of events and ideas that sheds light on the tragic foibles of human nature while exploring the terrorist psychology with supreme intelligence and insight. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author''s estate.

An "endlessly fascinating novel" of an American student finding his way in 1960s Paris from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Group ( San Francisco Chronicle). It is 1964, and Peter Levi, a young student and bird watcher, has come to Paris to study at the Sorbonne. Shy and innocent at nineteen years old, he arrives fresh from an extended Maine holiday with his vivacious mother, and is determined to live a life free of unwanted complications and unnecessary stress. But this is an era of great change in the world, a time when war is looming in Southeast Asia and social unrest is simmering. There is much to trouble and confuse the young American as he journeys through foreign countries—and feelings—into adulthood. For Peter, the simplicity of childhood is over—and his new life is becoming increasingly complex in a world growing more unrecognizable by the day. Mary McCarthy''s splendid Birds of America is a moving and surprising coming-of-age tale: the unforgettable story of a young man''s awakening, and a stunning evocation of the disorienting change of the 1960s. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author''s estate.

A vicious and brilliant satire of human vanity from the author of the classic bestseller The Group Long out of print, Mary McCarthy''s second novel is a bitingly funny satire set in the early years of the Cold War about a group of writers, editors, and intellectuals who retreat to rural New England to found a hilltop utopia. With this group loosely divided into two factions—purists, led by the libertarian editor Macdougal Macdermott, and the realists, skeptics led by the smug Will Taub—the situation is ripe not only for disaster but for comedy, as reality clashes with their dreams of a perfect society. Though written as a roman à clef, McCarthy barely disguised her characters, including using her former lover Philip Rahv, founder of Partisan Review, as the model for Will Taub. As a result, the novel caused an absolute explosion of outrage among the literary elite of the day, who clearly recognized themselves among her all-too-accurate portraits. Rahv threatened a lawsuit to stop publication. Diana Trilling, Lionel Trilling''s wife, called McCarthy a "thug." McCarthy''s friend Dwight McDonald (Macdougal Macdermott) called it "vicious, malicious, and nasty." Never one to shy away from controversy, McCarthy''s portrait of her generation had indeed drawn blood. But the brilliance of the novel has outlasted its first detonation and can now be enjoyed for its aphoritic, fearless dissection of the vanities of human endeavor. In an added bonus, the renowned essayist Vivian Gornick details in a moving introduction the importance of McCarthy''s intellectual and artistic bravery, and how she influenced a generation of young writers and thinkers.

This book provides a coherent, comprehensive introduction to urban geography. It offers a historical and process-oriented approach with a North American focus that also provides a global context and comparative international perspective. From a global perspective, the authors examine urban trends and their outcomes in both the developed and the less developed countries in order to understand, analyze, and interpret the landscapes, economies, and communities of towns and cities around the world.

"Mary McCarthy may be best remembered today for her novels and memoirs, but she was also a dazzling and prolific essayist and critic, known for her witty and fearless commentary on topics ranging from American realist playwrights to women''s fashion magazines, from left-wing politics to the nineteenth-century novel." "This collection, which spans her career from the 1930s to the 1970s, displays McCarthy''s acute judgment and stylistic brio. It begins with a generous selection of her drama reviews, and includes essays on Nabokov, Burroughs, Salinger, Flaubert, Calvino, Sarraute, and Tolstoy. In the essays that follow, she dissects the social and political controversies that dominated midcentury American intellectual life, from the Moscow trials to the Vietnam War and the Watergate hearings."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Correspondence between Hannah Arendt and Mary McCarthy.