Make-Believe Town: Essays and Remembrances [Paperback]

David Mamet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

Make-Believe Town brings together David Mamet's acute insights into everyday life, the arts, and politics. These pieces evidence Mamet's love of language, particularly the introductory essay, "Eight Kings", which celebrates the private languages of carpenters, carnival workers, and all crafts and trades, and "The Northern Novel", which propounds Mamet's affection for the line of American fiction exemplified by Willa Cather and Theodore Dreiser. Some of the essays are prose portraits from Mamet's life: "Deer Hunting" and "The Diner" delineate worlds far from the public eye. Make-Believe Town also contains beautifully written recollections of Mamet's early days as a writer ("Girl Copy"), his start in the theater ("Memories of Off Broadway"), his education as a gambler ("Gems From a Gambler's Bookshelf"), and bygone days on Broadway ("Delsomma's"). Mamet's incisive thoughts about public issues - support for the arts, nudity in films, the roles given Jewish characters, even the posthumous rehabilitation of Richard Nixon - round out a far-reaching collection.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Playwright David Mamet has forged a considerable reputation, particularly in the theaters of New York and London, for dialogue that is austere, sharp, complex, sophisticated and realistic, a skill that transferred successfully to Hollywood with the movie version of his play Glengarry Glen Ross. His first collection of essays, The Cabin, gave Mamet enthusiasts the chance to see more directly what the author thinks about the world. This second miscellaneous collection of 24 essays again gives a lively scattershot view of his concerns and obsessions: sketches of friends; a memoir of child abuse; an essay on anti-semitism; thoughts on an early job writing pornography captions; much about the theater, including his beginnings on Broadway. Definitely a clue to the mind behind the dramatic art. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The 24 brief essays, several published previously, in this collection share no overarching theme, but the playwright's fans can find evidence of his interests and obsessions. His purist love for drama is evinced in an homage to director Greg Mosher, a memoir of his youth immersed in off Broadway and his scorn for the decline of screenwriting into the predictable. Mamet displays his strong Jewish identity when lamenting the "psychic assimilation" that Jewish audiences and actors undergo and urging self-defense, rather than reason, in response to contemporary anti-Semitism. Playing poker has taught this old gambler lessons ("Trust everyone, but cut the cards"), but so has New Hampshire deer hunting. His take on the sexes veers between a wry memoir of writing captions for pornography and a gnomic meditation on sex and partnership. Most of these pieces evaporate rather quickly and a few sound self-important, but Mamet's writing remains spare and lucid.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316550353
• ISBN-13: 978-0316550352
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,937,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow - What a smart guy!, January 15, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Westchester, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Make-Believe Town: Essays and Remembrances (Paperback)

Having been my first Mamet book, I was startled to realize just what an extraordinary talent lay beyond the creation of his play 'Glengarry Glen Ross.' Looking back, it was naive to think that a mere 'hack' could have written such an invective piece (which I first viewed as the popular major motion picture), that talent like that would be present in any endeavor. And that is the case with Mamet's 'Make-Believe Town : Essays and Remembrance.' I urge any fan, casual or dedicated, to read this book for Mamet's insight is spellbinding. It felt like I was actually spending time talking to the guy. Gosh. I really do love this book. -I'm gushing!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pure Mamet, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Make-Believe Town: Essays and Remembrances (Paperback)

Mamet writes on a variety of subjects, some "of importance" others meerly ruminations on past events or experiences. This leads to a certain uneven nature, as some essays seem like throw-aways in light of their immediate neighboors in the book. By the same token, some of the lighter subjects are the best in the book.

Overall: very good and required Mamet reading for any fan.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Far superior to his fics, January 21, 2005

By 

Gooch McCracken (c/o your haunted slab of Velveeta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Make-Believe Town: Essays and Remembrances (Paperback)

From SECRET NAMES by David Mamet: "I instance the phrase 'weapons of mass destruction'. This formulation is overlong, clunky, and obviously confected. This is not to say that this or that dictator, or indeed well-meaning soul, may or does not possess such tools. But the formulation itself is unwieldy and, to the American ear, unfortunate. It is the cadence of 'I'm not going to tell you again'. Rhythmically, it is a scold. And its constant enforced repetition by the newscasters (you will note that the people in the street do not use it often, and then with little ease), its very awkwardness, ensures that the phrase, and thus its reference, pass beyond the borders of consideration."

A better term would be "megadeath weapons". Even though it sounds techno-trendy.