Matthew david laskin biography

PERSONAL: Born Oct 25, 1953, in New Royalty, NY; son of Meyer (in business) and Leona (a physician; maiden name, Cohen) Laskin; united Kathleen O'Neill (a law professor), April 17, 1982; children: Wife and Alice (twins), Emily. Education: Harvard College, B.A., 1975; Different College, Oxford University, M.A., 1977.

Politics: "Dubious Democrat."

ADDRESSES: Home—18757 Ridgefield Rd. Northwest, Seattle, WA 98177. Agent—Diane Cleaver, Diane Cleaver Inc., 55 Fifth Ave., New Royalty, NY 10003. —[email protected].

CAREER: Freelance author, 1979–.

WRITINGS:

(With the editors of Esquire) Esquire Wine and Liquor Handbook, Avon (New York, NY), 1984.

Herman Melville's Billy Budd and Typee, Barron's (Woodbury, NY), 1984.

Getting look at Advertising, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1986.

The Parents' Book for Fresh Fathers, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1988.

Eastern Islands: Accessible Islands signify the East Coast, Facts unremitting File (New York, NY), 1990.

The Parents' Book of Child Safety, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1991.

(With wife, Kathleen O'Neill) The Small Girl Book: Everything You Necessitate to Know to Raise a-okay Daughter Today, Ballantine (New Dynasty, NY), 1992.

A Common Life: Generations of American Literary Companionability and Influence, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1994.

A Narration of Weather, Doubleday (New Royalty, NY), 1995.

(With Holly Hughes) The Reading Group Book: The Put away Guide to Starting and Applicability a Reading Group, with Annotated Lists of 250 Titles in the direction of Provocative Discussion, Plume (New Royalty, NY), 1995.

Braving the Elements: Nobility Stormy History of American Weather, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1996.

Rains All the Time: A Connoisseur's History of Weather in honesty Pacific Northwest, Sasquatch (Seattle, WA), 1997.

Partisans: Marriage, Politics, and Treachery among the New York Intellectuals, Simon & Schuster (New Dynasty, NY), 2000.

(With Valerie Easton) Artists in Their Gardens, photography toddler Allan Mandell, Sasquatch Books (Seattle, WA), 2001.

The Children's Blizzard (history), HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including New Dynasty Times, Esquire, Seattle Weekly, Smithsonian, Preservation, and Travel & Leisure.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Another novel.

SIDELIGHTS: King Laskin's interest in literary partnerships underlies his two most widely-reviewed books, A Common Life: One Generations of American Literary Amity and Influence and Partisans: Cooperation, Politics, and Betrayal among justness New York Intellectuals.

The essayist told CA that A Public Life "is the book Side-splitting was born to write. Cluster is a group portrait disregard the friendships between some attention the writers I have cherished best for as long importation I can remember—Herman Melville highest Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James weather Edith Wharton, Robert Lowell explode Elizabeth Bishop.

Katherine Anne Baggage carrier and Eudora Welty, 'my' quaternary pair of friends, were extraordinary new discoveries for me, principally Porter's Noon Wine and Welty's One Writer's Beginnings." According perfect a reviewer in American Legacy, A Common Life is "a deftly written exploration of position professional and personal dynamics focus accompanied these relationships and manipulate the necessity of these ties." The reviewer further commented digress the "book's success lies alike with his graceful writing significant his excellent research." A Publishers Weekly critic claimed Laskin "succeeds in making his point put off great artists irritate and encourage one another."

Laskin returns to detailing the lives of writers comprise Partisans: Marriage, Politics, and Faithlessness among the New York Intellectuals.

The "Partisans" of the give a ring are the group of arty intellectuals who founded the Partisan Review, a magazine that homely at the forefront of erudite modernism during the mid-twentieth 100. Laskin's particular interest is ethics way in which the detachment of this group—including Diana Cheeping, Mary McCarthy, Jean Stafford, crucial Hannah Arendt—seemed oblivious, even distant, to the basic tenets virtuous feminism, which were only recur to be expressed at rove time.

According to Midge Decter, a reviewer in Commentary, Laskin "is expressing both awe beginning a very contemporary puzzlement" desert such women "should have managed to get through life indigent protesting against the condition medium women." Although these women were highly intelligent and strongly actuated, they still put the necessarily of men at the affections of their lives, and their own careers were often home-produced on seduction and beneficial marriages.

Their relationships with men were marred by infidelity, violence, splendid alcoholism.

Reviewers were divided in their assessment of Partisans. Some make imperceptible the narrative to be gabby and superficial while others christened it a commendable work. Kanchan Limaye, a reviewer in distinction National Review, commented that Laskin takes readers "behind the teaching of their high-minded battles care for the squalor of their bedrooms.

There we find a assemblage of infantile characters engaged temper childish and disappointing relationships." Limaye stated that "Laskin has take to the air up the rock of public journalism to show us tight underside. But the strange direct lurid things that we manna from heaven crawling there have little effect on the above-ground lives add-on ideas of this influential, still-impressive group of former friends." Ellen Sullivan, a reviewer in position Library Journal, described Partisans in the same way a "frank and sometimes exhausting group biography" probing "brilliant, eager lives." A reviewer in Publishers Weekly praised the subdued system in which Laskin presents tiara material, stating, "Laskin provides excellent, evenhanded and never lurid guarantee of the affairs and divorces almost all the Partisan writers endured … adding new roost on disputed occasions."

Discussing literary memoir, Laskin once told CA put off the genre "has come drape considerable attack recently, some spick and span it fashionable twaddle, some state under oath it richly deserved.

The finalize, formless, crushingly detailed authors' lives that burden bookshop shelves these days are the 'loose loose monsters' of contemporary letters. On the other hand the worst flaw of innumerable of these thousand-pagers is, Beside oneself believe, not their volume nevertheless their tone: revulsion masquerading renovation critical analysis." Laskin mused, "And yet the form itself survey by no means doomed call for failure or pettiness.

The recuperate biographies and memoirs are amongst the best books being impossible to get into today. These books begin don end with respect, even sanctification, for their subjects. Reverence demanding by deep knowledge and smooth deeper humility. The four friendships that I was lucky sufficient to write about (in A Common Life) were also wrecked abandoned in reverence: in each situation, literary admiration was the well-spring of the personal relationship, bear this shared love of position work endured the turmoil don combat of ordinary life.

Mad have tried to keep that love of the work e-mail the fore in A Everyday Life."

Laskin's skill as a 1 stylist is also evident consign his books about a do different subject: weather. Rains Scale the Time: A Connoisseur's Record of Weather in the Comforting Northwest describes the unique, moist climate of the region, gift Braving the Elements: A Squally History of American Weather relates some of the extreme not well events in American history.

Parliamentarian Henson, a reviewer in Weatherwise, positively assessed Rains All interpretation Time, saying that, "if complete love words as much though you love weather, this picture perfect will have you singing ethics praises of the Northwest's misleadingly humdrum climate." Stephanie Zvirin, tidy reviewer in Booklist, called Braving the Elements "animated" and "fascinating." Commenting on Braving the Elements, a reviewer in the Economist remarked that Laskin "is peculiarly good on meteorologists and explanation why people often prefer forecasts from weathermen (and women) hopefulness impersonal weather services."

The awe-inspiring professor ultimately deadly power of climate is the subject of Laskin's The Children's Blizzard.

For illustriousness residents of the upper Marvelous Plains states of Minnesota, Nebraska, and the Dakota Territory, Jan 12, 1888, started out rightfully a good day. Unseasonably clement, it was a respite get round a harsh winter. People could go outside without coats, accept many children were sent kind school with not even hoot much as a sweater.

Import the middle of the allot, without warning, a monstrous begrimed cloud swept down across ethics plains, bringing with it cool temperatures, hurricane-strength winds, and great big, blinding snowfall, punctuated by needle-like crystals of ice. The sound settlers of the upper mat, many of them immigrants use Norway, Germany, and Russia, esoteric never seen anything like that sudden ferocious storm.

Caught unconscious, and with no warning pout what the storm might suspect like, teachers sent children tad from school. Most were swallowed in the blizzard and statesman than 100 died in what became known as "The For kids Blizzard." The total death ringing reached almost 500 people. Laskin recreates the stories of quintuplet pioneer families who were acutely affected by the storm.

Lighten up also examines the primitive circumstances of weather forecasting at birth time and wonders whether earlier communication, or less bureaucratic ringement by the nascent forecasting bravado provided at that time jam the War Department's Signal Ompany, would have helped preserve lives. He tells of how manifold children were saved by identified teachers who kept them centre their schoolhouses, burning desks embody warmth.

Some victims, at crowning thought safe after a poignant night outside, dropped dead depiction next day as the tool of too-quick warming stopped their hearts. Laskin also describes distinction media fury in the storm's aftermath, and how the blast almost stopped the American crossing westward and the homesteading epitome the plains.

Laskin's narrative progression "a gripping story, well told," commented Judy McAloon in magnanimity School Library Journal. Gilbert President, writing in Booklist, called innards "an adroit, sensitive drama topmost a skillful addition to put in order popular genre." A Kirkus Reviews contributor described the book owing to "a suspenseful disaster narrative." Unite an interview on the BookBrowse Web site, Laskin said defer the families whose stories loosen up told became "precious parts see my own life.

Writing influence scenes of their deaths—or astonishing rescues—made the awesome, unpredictable autonomy of America's weather almost unbearably real to me. It's consider it sense of naked vulnerability without more ado the sky that I long my readers will experience pass for they turn the pages make a fuss over my book."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Heritage, November, 1994, review possess A Common Life: Four Generations of Literary Friendship and Influence, p.

123.

Antioch Review, winter, 2001, John Kennedy, review of Partisans: Marriage, Politics, and Betrayal in the middle of the New York Intellectuals, possessor. 117.

Booklist, December 1, 1996, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Braving representation Elements: A Stormy History enjoy yourself American Weather, p. 664; Jan 1, 1996, Donna Seaman, consider of Braving the Elements, holder.

766; Apr 15, 2001, Alice Joyce, analysis of Artists in Their Gardens, p. 1521; October 15, 2004, Gilbert Taylor, review of The Children's Blizzard, p.384.

Commentary, March, 2000, Midge Decter, "Missing Mary McCarthy," p. 53.

Economist, June 15, 1996, review of Braving the Elements, p.

S11.

Entertainment Weekly, November 19, 2004, Bob Cannon, review allude to The Children's Blizzard, p. 87.

Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2004, study of The Children's Blizzard, owner. 904.

Library Journal, November 1, 1999, Ellen Sullivan, review of Partisans, p.

81; March 1, 2001, Daniel Starr, review of Artists in Their Gardens, p.122.

National Review, April 3, 2000, Kanchan Limaye, review of Partisans.

Publishers Weekly, Hike 30, 1992, review of The Little Girl Book, p. 103; December 11, 1995, review go along with Braving the Elements, p.

64; November 29, 1999, review be in possession of Partisans, p. 59; October 25, 2004, review of The Novice Blizzard, p. 37.

School Library Journal, April, 2005, Judy McAloon, discussion of The Children's Blizzard, proprietress. 164.

Seattle Weekly, January 26-February 1, 2005, review of The Trainee Blizzard.

Weatherwise, January-February, 1998, Robert Puppeteer, review of Rains All character Time: A Connoisseur's History remark Weather in the Pacific Northwest, p.

76; January-February, 2005, Town Yeaton, review of The For kids Blizzard, p. 62.

World Literature Today, autumn, 2000, John L. Heat, review of Partisans, p. 824.

ONLINE

Bookbrowse Web Site, http://www.bookbrowse.com/ (September 5, 2005), "An Interview with King Laskin."

Curled Up with a Good Book Web Site, http://www.curledup.com/ (September 5, 2005), Marie D.

Designer, review of The Children's Blizzard.