From a legendary journalist and star writer at The New Yorker -- one ofthe most revered institutions in publishing -- an insider's look at themagazine's tumultuous yet glorious years under the direction of theenigmatic William Shawn.Renata Adler went to work at The New Yorker in1963 and immediately became part of the circle close to editor WilliamShawn, a man so mysterious that no two biographies of him seem to beabout the same person. Now Adler, herself an unrivaled literary force,offers her brilliant take on the man -- and the myth that is The NewYorker -- disputing recent memoirs by Lillian Ross and Ved Mehta alongthe way.With her lucid prose, meticulous eye for detail, and genuinelove of The New Yorker, Adler re-creates thirty years in its history anddepicts Shawn as a man of robust common sense, amazing industry, andeditorial genius, who nurtured innumerable major talents (and egos) toproduce a magazine that was -- and remains -- unique. Her ensemble cast-- all involved in legendary friendships, feuds, and love affairs --includes Edmund Wilson, S. N. Behrman, Brendan Gill, Calvin Trillin,Dwight MacDonald, Donald Barthelme, Hannah Arendt, Pauline Kael, S. I.Newhouse, Robert Gottlieb, Tina Brown, and practically everyone of notein and around The New Yorker.Above and beyond the fascinating literaryanecdotes, however, Adler's is a striking narrative that follows theweakening of Shawn's hold over the magazine he loved, his reluctantattempts to find a successor, and the coup by which he was ultimatelyoverthrown. It is a wonderful piece of reporting, full of real-lifedrama of Shakespearean dimensions, which Shawn himself surely would haveloved.