Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays

BeautifullyrepackagedaspartofthePicadorModernClassicsSeries,thisspecialeditionissmallenoughtofitinyourpocketandboldenoughtostandoutonyourbookshelf.Celebrated,iconic,andindispensable,JoanDidion’sfirstworkofnonfiction,SlouchingTowardsBethlehem,isconsideredawatershedmomentinAmericanwriting.Firstpublishedin1968,thecollectionwascriticallypraisedasoneofthe“bestprosewritteninthiscountry.”Morethanperhapsanyotherbook,thiscollectionbyoneofthemostdistinctiveprosestylistsofoureracapturestheuniquetimeandplaceofJoanDidion’sfocus,exploringsubjectssuchasJohnWayneandHowardHughes,growingupinCaliforniaandthenatureofgoodandevilinaDeathValleymotelroom,and,especially,theessenceofSanFrancisco’sHaight-Ashbury,theheartofthecounterculture.AsJoyceCarolOatesremarked:“[Didion]hasbeenanarticulatewitnesstothemoststubbornandintractabletruthsofourtime,amemorablevoice,partlyeulogistic,partlydespairing;alwaysincontrol.”