Description
Book SynopsisA searing study of the intersection of journalism, fiction, and traumatic violence
Trade Review"Fascinating. . . . Will make you look at some of your favorite authors—from Twain to Hemingway, Dickens to Defoe—in a fresh light."--
American Journalism"An intriguing, impressive, and original contribution that will inspire considerable thought about the history of journalism, the dynamic between a society's culture and its characteristic literature, and the impact of trauma on a writer's choice of literary subjects."--Nancy L. Roberts, coauthor of
The Press and America: An Interpretive History of the Mass Media"A beautifully interdisciplinary work that effortlessly combines psychology, literature, and journalism studies to carve out its own frontier. I have never seen a book on a similar topic that is so readable, accessible, and vast in scope as this one."--Jan Whitt, author of
Women in American Journalism: A New History"One of the strengths of Underwood's approach . . . is his ability to interweave these traumatic histories into a seamless and compelling narrative of human experience."--
Media International Australia"Underwood rightly asks whether and how changing journalistic and literary production (the disappearing newsroom, the increasingly micro-technology we use to read and communicate, the changing nature of the printed word itself) might be altering the narration and consumption of trauma."--
H-Net ReviewsTable of ContentsIntroduction: Trauma, News, and Narrative: The Study of Violence and Loss in Journalism and Fiction; 1. Stories of Harm, Stories of Hazard: Childhood Stress and Professional Trauma in the Careers of Journalist-Literary Figures; 2. Trafficking in Trauma: Women's Rights, Civil Rights, and Sensationalism as a Spur to Social Justice; 3. Trauma in War, Trauma in Life: The Pose of the "Heroic" Battlefield Correspondent; 4. Depression, Drink, and Dissipation: Dysfunctional Lifestyles and Art as the Ultimate Stimulant; Epilogue: New Challenges, New Treatments: Trauma and the Contemporary Journalist-Literary Figure Appendix of Tables; Notes
