Synopses & Reviews
An exhilarating journey through the world of books, featuring personal reflections on Susan Sontag, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, W. G. Sebald, and Christopher Hitchens.
"Wasserman continues to inspire with his vigorous dedication to the life of the mind, exhibited with clarity and grace in this book." —Viet Thanh Nguyen
Steve Wasserman's long-awaited first book combines the urgency of a political thriller with the critical sharpness of our best essayists. Forged in the crucible of Bay Area radical politics during the 1960s — including formative encounters with the Black Panthers and revolutionary Cuba — Wasserman became one of America's preeminent editors, bringing his keen contrarian political sensibility to book publishing. In thirty essays that cover the sweep of his life, Wasserman recounts his firsthand experiences with figures like Susan Sontag, W. G. Sebald, Barbra Streisand, Daniel Ellsberg, Sister Souljah, Orson Welles, and Christopher Hitchens. And drawing from his decades as an editor, he includes several clear-eyed meditations on the fate of books in the digital age. Poignant, incisive, and always surprising, these essays turn their subjects inside out, daring their readers to cut through the noise of the culture. Tell Me Something, Tell Me Anything, Even If It's a Lie is a revelation, a fresh look at literature and politics that will enchant any book lover.
is a revelation, a fresh look at literature and politics that will enchant any book lover.
Review
"The book is a remarkable record of a well-lived life. Written with care, passion, a keen eye for fakery, and a willingness to puncture it." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"If ever a man was in love with The Movement — that is, the peace and liberationist movements of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s — that man is Steve Wasserman. This collection of essays, in all its intelligent exuberance, pays full respect to that honorable devotion." Vivan Gornick, author of Taking a Long Look
Review
"Steve Wasserman's wit and passions are on full display in this collection of fine essays, crammed full of insights and anecdotes from several (apparently very fun) decades in the literary world. Editor, publisher, agent, and bon vivant, Wasserman enjoys books, ideas, friends, and progressive politics, and his love for them all is infectious. A troublemaker of the good kind since his youth, Wasserman continues to inspire with his vigorous dedication to the life of the mind, exhibited with clarity and grace in this book." Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of A Man of Two Faces
Review
"It's such a pleasure to see the cream of Steve Wasserman's writings now collected, from the remarkable tale of a bookstore owner who wouldn't let him buy the books he wanted to his brave against-the-grain take on the Black Panthers to his shrewd assessment of the fast-changing world of publishing. He is, as he says of his late friend Susan Sontag, an 'omnivore' — about politics, about literature, and about the way the rebellious currents he first encountered in 1960s Berkeley have continued to ripple through American life. The resulting volume is a feast." Adam Hochschild, author of American Midnight
About the Author
Steve Wasserman is publisher of Heyday. A 1974 graduate of UC Berkeley, he holds a degree in criminology. His past positions include being deputy editor of the op-ed page and opinion section of the Los Angeles Times; editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review; editorial director of New Republic Books; publisher and editorial director of Hill and Wang at Farrar, Straus & Giroux and of the Noonday Press; editorial director of Times Books at Random House; and editor at large for Yale University Press. A former partner of the literacy agency Kneerim & Williams, he represented many authors, including Christopher Hitchens, Linda Ronstadt, Robert Scheer, and David Thomson. He lives in Berkeley, California.