Customer Reviews

How Precious Was That While

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Piers Anthony's nonfiction writing is first rate. He dissects the idiocy in printing too few copies of a book (a topic often discussed in PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY, but he makes it understandable to the layman), and shows the pitfalls and rewards of the writer's life. I wish I had the benefit of this advice when I married a writer--I could have been saved a lot of anguish and anxiety. His skewering of the sacred cows within the Science Fiction field--some of the editors, agents, fanzine editors, and writers--is first rate and meticulously backed up.

There are parts of this book involving letters written to him from abused children that I found very hard going. I read those sections once, but found it hard to re-read. There are writers who insist the problem of sexual abuse of children is overblown but I suspect they don't seem to be as a sympathetic ear as Anthony is.

If you find biographies of writers interesting, you'll probably enjoy this book. I found it utterly fascinating. I had never been a big fan of his before, now I eagerly anticipate going back and reading his work now that I have some background on it.