In his poetry Walt Whitman set out to encompass all of America and in so doing heal its deepening divisions. This magisterial biography demonstrates the epic scale of his achievement, as well as the dreams and anxieties that impelled it, for it places the poet securely within the political and cultural context of his age.
Combing through the full range of Whitman’s writing, David Reynolds shows how Whitman gathered inspiration from every stratum of nineteenth-century American life: the convulsions of slavery and depression; the raffish dandyism of the Bowery “b’hoys”; the exuberant rhetoric of actors, orators, and divines. We see how Whitman reconciled his own sexuality with contemporary social mores and how his energetic courtship of the public presaged the vogues of advertising and celebrity. Brilliantly researched, captivatingly told, Walt Whitman’s America is a triumphant work of scholarship that breathes new life into the biographical genre.
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“David S. Reynolds is a brilliant writer and historian of unusually broad scope. He is a profound scholar, combining history and literary criticism to examine our country on all levels, all the while writing fluidly so that his books are a joy to read. I like everything about Reynolds’ writing. Try one of his books and see what you think.”
— Ann Rice, bestselling author of the Vampire Chronicles
“Remarkably informative…I marked on page after page things about Whitman and his America I never knew before.”
— New York Times Book Review“Not only the best book on Whitman in over a generation, but also one of the most valuable studies in American cultural history of the last decade.”
— Charles Capper, Reviews in American History“Reynolds has given us one of the best portraits of our best poet…He is brilliant in finding so many new contexts for Leaves of Grass. A refreshing and welcome addition to Whitman scholarship.”
— Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman Quarterly Review“Reynolds splendidly examines the culture that formed the greatest American poet and the great American poem.”
— TimeBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
David S. Reynolds is a distinguished professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of numerous acclaimed works of nonfiction, including of Walt Whitman’s America: A Cultural Biography, winner of the Bancroft Prize and the Ambassador Book Award. His Beneath the American Renaissance won the Christian Gauss Award. He is a regular book reviewer for the New York Review of Books, the New York Times Book Review, and the Wall Street Journal.
John Lescault, a native of Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Catholic University of America. He lives in Washington, DC, where he works in theater.
John Lescault, a native of Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Catholic University of America. He lives in Washington, DC, where he works in theater.