{"product_id":"where-i-was-from-a-memoir-paperback","title":"Where I Was from: A Memoir - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJoan Didion\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the bestselling, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Year of Magical Thinking\u003c\/i\u003e In this \"arresting amalgam of memoir and historical timeline\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Baltimore Sun\u003c\/i\u003e), Didion--a native Californian--reassesses parts of her life, her work, her history, and ours.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDidion applies her scalpel-like intelligence to California's ethic of ruthless self-sufficiency in order to examine that ethic's often tenuous relationship to reality. Combining history and reportage, memoir and literary criticism, \u003ci\u003eWhere I Was From \u003c\/i\u003eexplores California's romances with land and water; its unacknowledged debts to railroads, aerospace, and big government; the disjunction between its code of individualism and its fetish for prisons. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhether she is writing about her pioneer ancestors or privileged sexual predators, robber barons or writers (not excluding herself), Didion is an unparalleled observer, and this book is at once intellectually provocative and deeply personal.\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn her moving and insightful new book, Joan Didion reassesses parts of her life, her work, her history and ours. A native Californian, Didion applies her scalpel-like intelligence to the state's ethic of ruthless self-sufficiency in order to examine that ethic's often tenuous relationship to reality. \u003cbr\u003eCombining history and reportage, memoir and literary criticism, Where I Was From\" explores California's romances with land and water; its unacknowledged debts to railroads, aerospace, and big government; the disjunction between its code of individualism and its fetish for prisons. Whether she is writing about her pioneer ancestors or privileged sexual predators, robber barons or writers (not excluding herself), Didion is an unparalleled observer, and her book is at once intellectually provocative and deeply personal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJOAN DIDION was born in Sacramento in 1934 and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1956. After graduation, Didion moved to New York and began working for \u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e, which led to her career as a journalist and writer. Didion published her first novel, \u003ci\u003eRun River\u003c\/i\u003e, in 1963. Didion's other novels include \u003ci\u003eA Book of Common Prayer\u003c\/i\u003e (1977), \u003ci\u003eDemocracy\u003c\/i\u003e (1984), and \u003ci\u003eThe Last Thing He Wanted \u003c\/i\u003e(1996). \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Didion's first volume of essays, \u003ci\u003eSlouching Towards Bethlehem\u003c\/i\u003e, was published in 1968, and her second, \u003ci\u003eThe White Album\u003c\/i\u003e, was published in 1979. Her nonfiction works include \u003ci\u003eSalvador\u003c\/i\u003e (1983), \u003ci\u003eMiami\u003c\/i\u003e (1987), \u003ci\u003eAfter Henry\u003c\/i\u003e (1992), \u003ci\u003ePolitical Fictions \u003c\/i\u003e(2001), \u003ci\u003eWhere I Was From \u003c\/i\u003e(2003), \u003ci\u003eWe Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live\u003c\/i\u003e (2006), \u003ci\u003eBlue Nights\u003c\/i\u003e (2011), \u003ci\u003eSouth and West \u003c\/i\u003e(2017) and \u003ci\u003eLet Me Tell You What I Mean \u003c\/i\u003e(2021). Her memoir \u003ci\u003eThe Year of Magical Thinking\u003c\/i\u003e won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2005. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In 2005, Didion was awarded the American Academy of Arts \u0026amp; Letters Gold Medal in Criticism and Belles Letters. In 2007, she was awarded the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. A portion of National Book Foundation citation read: \"An incisive observer of American politics and culture for more than forty-five years, Didion's distinctive blend of spare, elegant prose and fierce intelligence has earned her books a place in the canon of American literature as well as the admiration of generations of writers and journalists.\" In 2013, she was awarded a National Medal of Arts and Humanities by President Barack Obama, and the PEN Center USA's Lifetime Achievement Award. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDidion said of her writing: \"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means.\" She died in December 2021.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 240\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 7.9 x 5.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 14, 2004\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53062117949773,"sku":"9780679752868","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0927\/3304\/7117\/files\/cC9henBZU290ZW1rOWRoU2Y4Z216dz09.webp?v=1766566535","url":"https:\/\/belfastbooks.us\/products\/where-i-was-from-a-memoir-paperback","provider":"belfastbooks.us","version":"1.0","type":"link"}