My Vita, If You Will: The Uncollected Ed McClanahan

Rating:
Summary: A new form of literature happening in our time
Review: Ed McClanahan is one of those writers that many years down the road you will wish you had each of his books in first edition hardback on your shelf.

His voice is totally new and original. The writings are hilarious, disturbing, and all too real. He is already a legend in the south, so I suggest picking up his books and read them. I guarantee you will read them again at least for the laughs. Not very often these days can a book make us laugh out loud.

If you enjoy McClanahan, I suggest reading John Dufresne also. These two must share genes somewheres in their backwoods lineage I would guess.

Rating:
Summary: Quite a Nice Read
Review: For many years -- through two marriages and God knows how many moves -- I have kept a moldering issue of PLAYBOY for the simple reason that I didn't want to turn loose of one of my all-time favorite examples of the New Journalism, Ed McClanahan's "Grateful Dead I Have Known." It's THAT good. That landmark piece and other tasty goodies have been collected into McClanahan's MY VITA, with Ed providing some new bridging material describing his growth as a writer. It's a pity he's not a more widely recognized writer. If you dig Terry Southern, Charles Portis, or Hunter S. Thompson, you'll like Ed McClanahan. If you're of that bent, I'd snatch up this book before it falls out of print.