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501 Great Writers: A Comprehensive Guide to the Giants of Literature
Entertaining and informative, this collection of brief, informal biographies spans the centuries from Sophocles in ancient Greece to Harper Lee in America's Deep South. Along the way, readers will enjoy pithy biographical sketches of existentialists Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, French satirist Voltaire and Edwardian satirist Oscar Wilde, dramatists from William Shakespeare to Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, poets from Dante to William Wordsworth and T.S. Eliot, and novelists who include Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Toni Morrison, John Updike, and hundreds more. Each biographical entry includes an assessment of the writer's literary innovations and cultural impact, supplemented with a list of the author's major works, fascinating quotes, and intriguing asides. This book covers a broad range of literary artists who have shaped the course of fiction, poetry, drama, and philosophical thought across a span of more than 2,500 years. Both a handy quick-reference source and an inspiration for readers to delve into the world of the literary arts, "501 Great Writers " is certain to be opened and referred to time and time again. Filled with photos and illustrations.
639 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 20, 2014
Why 501? Why not 737 or 962?
Basically this is a great idea, and I'm regularly referring to it. Many more writers could have been included if the title of the book wasn't the determining factor. I think to have a handy reference book like this, forget the catchy title of 501 when there are six hundred and forty pages. Some entries get half a page, some get one page, some two pages, and some writers get four pages! A lot of pages are wasted by including full page images of old book covers or a photo of the author or something relating to the writer's life or related subject matter. This is wasted valuable space that could have included more great writers or list more titles by the authors that are included.
There are some surprising omissions. W. Somerset Maugham for instance. Patrick Hamilton, H.V. Morton, Shirley Hazzard, David Malouf, Amitav Ghosh.
There are forty three contributors, so I'm not sure if there is a variety of quality in the description/critique of the 501 Great Writers life and work. Some focus more on the writer's life, some more on their works. The two pages on George Orwell focus on his fiction, mostly on Nineteen Eighty-Four. It is disappointing that there's barely a mention of Orwell's essays, some of his most important writing.
Playwrights are very well represented, forty eight of the 501 great writers, which is very good.
The main Writer page layouts are nicely designed with a small photo of the writer in the top corner. I'm from the old school when it comes to typography - A body of text reads much better in a serif typeface. San serif faces should mostly used for sub-headings or titles. I hate reading a block of type in san serif.
Another interesting thing I found with this reference book, it's easy to see from when a writer was born, the age they died. From a random selection of twelve writers, those that didn't live to an old age mostly wrote about the darker side of human nature or tragedy and the hardship of life. Steinbeck - 60. Huysmans - 59. Chekov - 44. Faulkner - 65. Fitzgerald - 44. George Orwell - 47.
And those writers who mostly wrote about sex lived longer, like Henry Miller - 89. and Anais Nin - 74. SO what does that tell us. I advise all young emerging writers, if you want to live a long life……..
Basically this is a great idea, and I'm regularly referring to it. Many more writers could have been included if the title of the book wasn't the determining factor. I think to have a handy reference book like this, forget the catchy title of 501 when there are six hundred and forty pages. Some entries get half a page, some get one page, some two pages, and some writers get four pages! A lot of pages are wasted by including full page images of old book covers or a photo of the author or something relating to the writer's life or related subject matter. This is wasted valuable space that could have included more great writers or list more titles by the authors that are included.
There are some surprising omissions. W. Somerset Maugham for instance. Patrick Hamilton, H.V. Morton, Shirley Hazzard, David Malouf, Amitav Ghosh.
There are forty three contributors, so I'm not sure if there is a variety of quality in the description/critique of the 501 Great Writers life and work. Some focus more on the writer's life, some more on their works. The two pages on George Orwell focus on his fiction, mostly on Nineteen Eighty-Four. It is disappointing that there's barely a mention of Orwell's essays, some of his most important writing.
Playwrights are very well represented, forty eight of the 501 great writers, which is very good.
The main Writer page layouts are nicely designed with a small photo of the writer in the top corner. I'm from the old school when it comes to typography - A body of text reads much better in a serif typeface. San serif faces should mostly used for sub-headings or titles. I hate reading a block of type in san serif.
Another interesting thing I found with this reference book, it's easy to see from when a writer was born, the age they died. From a random selection of twelve writers, those that didn't live to an old age mostly wrote about the darker side of human nature or tragedy and the hardship of life. Steinbeck - 60. Huysmans - 59. Chekov - 44. Faulkner - 65. Fitzgerald - 44. George Orwell - 47.
And those writers who mostly wrote about sex lived longer, like Henry Miller - 89. and Anais Nin - 74. SO what does that tell us. I advise all young emerging writers, if you want to live a long life……..
March 24, 2022
I didn't read this entire thick book. I skimmed around, focusing on the last century of writers. The order of the writers is by birth date. So you may read a bio on a novelist, then a poet, followed by someone writing plays. These could be fantasy or political or cultural topic writers. This felt a bit jumbled, but I understand this order.
There was a nice list of the key items they wrote, but it wasn't necessarily complete. Then the couple of paragraphs (occasionally more) highlighted major achievements.
I did find myself adding some gems to my 'to-read' stack, but I wish I could see each writer's dominant genre quicker. It is listed near their name, but for some strange reason the publisher wrote this important clue in light gray color and size 4 font. WTF?
The few paragraphs that highlighted different books did NOT have the book-titles mentioned in bold. This would have greatly helped.
The time-span for writers was for all recorded history, which I though was a bit broad. Too 'encyclopedic' in one volume.
There were color-coded sections for periods of time, so you could flip in big increments.
Rather than a thick, short book, I wish they had gone with a taller design and did some font sizes bigger, and that genre-color better.
Collection of information: 4.5+
Book layout (fonts, use of bold, etc): 3
Ave: 4
There was a nice list of the key items they wrote, but it wasn't necessarily complete. Then the couple of paragraphs (occasionally more) highlighted major achievements.
I did find myself adding some gems to my 'to-read' stack, but I wish I could see each writer's dominant genre quicker. It is listed near their name, but for some strange reason the publisher wrote this important clue in light gray color and size 4 font. WTF?
The few paragraphs that highlighted different books did NOT have the book-titles mentioned in bold. This would have greatly helped.
The time-span for writers was for all recorded history, which I though was a bit broad. Too 'encyclopedic' in one volume.
There were color-coded sections for periods of time, so you could flip in big increments.
Rather than a thick, short book, I wish they had gone with a taller design and did some font sizes bigger, and that genre-color better.
Collection of information: 4.5+
Book layout (fonts, use of bold, etc): 3
Ave: 4
December 28, 2017
Disclaimer: Ok, I didn't literally "read" all 501 entries.
I really enjoy this series (501 Great Artists/1001 Movies/17 Doritos Flavors<--the last one is a book pitch. Barron's Educational Press: CALL ME!!) There are entries for each author that include some biographical data and a list of significant works. Lots of illustrations. I did notice that the entries mostly get shorter as the authors get more modern. Minor quibble though. This is a great reference item.
I really enjoy this series (501 Great Artists/1001 Movies/17 Doritos Flavors<--the last one is a book pitch. Barron's Educational Press: CALL ME!!) There are entries for each author that include some biographical data and a list of significant works. Lots of illustrations. I did notice that the entries mostly get shorter as the authors get more modern. Minor quibble though. This is a great reference item.
January 1, 2014
An interesting list of authors, although it focuses more on American and English literature. Their choices showed little knowledge about Brazilian literature for example. They chose to name our best writer, Machado de Assis, and two others that are not our best, but the most known abroad. Quality should be the most important factor. I can't help but wonder if they did the same to other nationalities.
April 9, 2010
Excellent reference book with biographies and book listings for each of the authors. A collective effort by a very talented group of individuals.
December 29, 2021
Amazing book, amazing help.
January 27, 2016
Julian Patrick (ed), “501 great writers a comprehensive guide to the giants of literature” (London: Apple, 2009)
This wonderful book provides signposts pointing to some of the best literature in the English language allowing “glimpses down roads you may, one day, be traveling.”
“Literature is the most durable of durables.” - John Sutherland (Foreword, p6)
“A good book about the best books, and their creators.” - John Sutherland (p6)
“... 'the biobib,' … the life and list together.” - Julian Patrick (Introduction, p7)
A diverse range of authors are profiled, such as Homer (8th C, the poet), Sappho (630BC-580BC), Plato (360BC), and Ovid's (43BC-17CE) epic mythological poem 'Metamorphoses' (p23). St Augustine (354-430 AD) (p25), Giacomo Casanova (1725 in Italy) (p98), Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832, Germany) (p106), H.G. Wells {referred to as the “father of science fiction” along with Jules Verne (p241)}, Katherine Mansfield (p300) and Chimamanda Adiche (Nigerian) (p633) get noteworthy inclusions.
Other notable quotes include:
“And what, Socrates, is the food of the soul? Surely, I said, knowledge ...” - Plato, 'Apology' (360BC) (p17).
“Shame is the most violent of the passions.” Madame De La Fayette (b1634, Paris), 'The Princess of Clèves' (1678) (p77).
Of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) and his wife Mary it is said, “Both Percy and Mary Shelley suffered from extended periods of depression, exacerbated by the deaths of their son and daughter.” (p135).
“All human wisdom is summed up in .. two words, 'Wait' and 'Hope'.” - Alexandre Dumas, in The Count of Monte Cristo (p145).
“Emily Brontë's verses show a restlessly inquisitive mind exploring the bleak frontiers of the human relationship with nature and divinity. Yet she is generally regarded primarily as a romantic novelist, and Wuthering Heights regularly tops polls for the most romantic book of all time. This is something of an anomaly given that Brontë's excoriating investigation of class and gender oppression, told in the narrative of a gothic ghost story, suggests there can be no happily ever after.” (p171).
“Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched.” - Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893, France) (p216).
Raymond Chandler 'The Big Sleep' (1939), “Philip Marlowe, his main hero, spends nearly as much time unconscious as he does drinking bourbon and making jokes.” (p303)
Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Russian): “Own only what you can carry with you.... Let your memory be your travel bag.” (p447).
Doris Lessing (Iranian): “Man, who is he? Too bad to be the work of God: Too good for the work of chance!” (p448).
Maya Angelou: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” (p499).
J.K. Rowling: “I just write what I wanted to write. I write what amuses me. It's totally for myself.” (p630).
- -
This wonderful book provides signposts pointing to some of the best literature in the English language allowing “glimpses down roads you may, one day, be traveling.”
“Literature is the most durable of durables.” - John Sutherland (Foreword, p6)
“A good book about the best books, and their creators.” - John Sutherland (p6)
“... 'the biobib,' … the life and list together.” - Julian Patrick (Introduction, p7)
A diverse range of authors are profiled, such as Homer (8th C, the poet), Sappho (630BC-580BC), Plato (360BC), and Ovid's (43BC-17CE) epic mythological poem 'Metamorphoses' (p23). St Augustine (354-430 AD) (p25), Giacomo Casanova (1725 in Italy) (p98), Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832, Germany) (p106), H.G. Wells {referred to as the “father of science fiction” along with Jules Verne (p241)}, Katherine Mansfield (p300) and Chimamanda Adiche (Nigerian) (p633) get noteworthy inclusions.
Other notable quotes include:
“And what, Socrates, is the food of the soul? Surely, I said, knowledge ...” - Plato, 'Apology' (360BC) (p17).
“Shame is the most violent of the passions.” Madame De La Fayette (b1634, Paris), 'The Princess of Clèves' (1678) (p77).
Of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) and his wife Mary it is said, “Both Percy and Mary Shelley suffered from extended periods of depression, exacerbated by the deaths of their son and daughter.” (p135).
“All human wisdom is summed up in .. two words, 'Wait' and 'Hope'.” - Alexandre Dumas, in The Count of Monte Cristo (p145).
“Emily Brontë's verses show a restlessly inquisitive mind exploring the bleak frontiers of the human relationship with nature and divinity. Yet she is generally regarded primarily as a romantic novelist, and Wuthering Heights regularly tops polls for the most romantic book of all time. This is something of an anomaly given that Brontë's excoriating investigation of class and gender oppression, told in the narrative of a gothic ghost story, suggests there can be no happily ever after.” (p171).
“Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched.” - Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893, France) (p216).
Raymond Chandler 'The Big Sleep' (1939), “Philip Marlowe, his main hero, spends nearly as much time unconscious as he does drinking bourbon and making jokes.” (p303)
Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Russian): “Own only what you can carry with you.... Let your memory be your travel bag.” (p447).
Doris Lessing (Iranian): “Man, who is he? Too bad to be the work of God: Too good for the work of chance!” (p448).
Maya Angelou: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” (p499).
J.K. Rowling: “I just write what I wanted to write. I write what amuses me. It's totally for myself.” (p630).
- -
October 1, 2015
As it says in the title, this is an informative collection of 501 mini biographies based on giants of literature. This book isn't really exhaustive, since as many have said it misses some people. I can give it the pass on that, since it would make the book many times longer to include everyone important. For instance, I like Frank Herbert's Dune. Frank Herbert isn't included. Does that make it bad? Well, no. If you consider this book to be a springboard into the world of literature then it does it's job pretty well.
What I liked: The book contains the authors in chronological order, so you can group them into periods and eras and whatnot. This is when they were born to when they died(obviously).
The author entries contain their most famous works along with the year they were written, allowing you to find those works.
The entries also might contain a photo or likeness of the author in question and a piece representative of their work. For instance, Miguel de Cervantes has the famous image drawn by Picasso of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.
If you are looking for someone in particular the beginning of the book lists all of them in alphabetical order along with a page number.
Sometimes a quote by the author or from a work they did is included.
The book does not limit itself to just novelists; anyone that created something of note could be included. It also has playwrights and poets and essayists and journalists.
What I disliked: I mentioned this before, but the listing of 501 people just seems arbitrary.
There are people that were most certainly missed. I know this means that a lot of compromises had to be made, but still, a mention could have been made.
Some authors get four pages devoted to their lives and others might get a half of a page. I don't know the reason for that, but I assume it had something to do with what was relevant.
This book is good, but I suppose it could have been better. I don't know how, but I am certain there is a way. While we're at it, I also made a list of all the authors so that I could find them again in Goodreads or some other location. I am sure it's been done, but I needed some typing practice.
What I liked: The book contains the authors in chronological order, so you can group them into periods and eras and whatnot. This is when they were born to when they died(obviously).
The author entries contain their most famous works along with the year they were written, allowing you to find those works.
The entries also might contain a photo or likeness of the author in question and a piece representative of their work. For instance, Miguel de Cervantes has the famous image drawn by Picasso of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.
If you are looking for someone in particular the beginning of the book lists all of them in alphabetical order along with a page number.
Sometimes a quote by the author or from a work they did is included.
The book does not limit itself to just novelists; anyone that created something of note could be included. It also has playwrights and poets and essayists and journalists.
What I disliked: I mentioned this before, but the listing of 501 people just seems arbitrary.
There are people that were most certainly missed. I know this means that a lot of compromises had to be made, but still, a mention could have been made.
Some authors get four pages devoted to their lives and others might get a half of a page. I don't know the reason for that, but I assume it had something to do with what was relevant.
This book is good, but I suppose it could have been better. I don't know how, but I am certain there is a way. While we're at it, I also made a list of all the authors so that I could find them again in Goodreads or some other location. I am sure it's been done, but I needed some typing practice.
August 30, 2015
The four stars could be anything. It could be five. It could be two. I mean, as a reference, it's kind of a five - the layout is nice, it's listed in chronological order (Which I find most helpful) & has some quotes, some key works to check out, a little review of the writer & their style.
The choices are... I mean, you can't really rate it on that. It's objective. (To an extent.) But having said that, a lot of these people are kind of part of the canon you'd wander into anyway, if you're looking at a particular style or period. I guess... I guess I just wanted to somehow unlock some tremendous French symbolist author or something in there, or I don't know what. But it means nothing. The book could be five stars, probably should be, could be three, probably won't be, let's give it four.
(Note: I have not read this cover-to-cover, but over the years, have probably come pretty close through skimming.)
The choices are... I mean, you can't really rate it on that. It's objective. (To an extent.) But having said that, a lot of these people are kind of part of the canon you'd wander into anyway, if you're looking at a particular style or period. I guess... I guess I just wanted to somehow unlock some tremendous French symbolist author or something in there, or I don't know what. But it means nothing. The book could be five stars, probably should be, could be three, probably won't be, let's give it four.
(Note: I have not read this cover-to-cover, but over the years, have probably come pretty close through skimming.)
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August 9, 2014Une excellente encyclopédie où j'ai découvert de nombreux écrivains (et j'ai considérablement alourdi ma PAL!).
Le titre m'intriguait: pourquoi 501? La réponse est dans la préface: "l'espace de rêve demeure: il est tout entier contenu dans le 1 qui s'ajoute aux 500, comme dans le 1 des 1001 nuits. Il ouvre le champ des possibles, il laisse imaginer celui qu'on aimerait tant placer parmi les autres; il suggère que la liste n'est pas close."
Chaque biographie débute par un petit encadré de deux phrases, l'une donnant le nom entier de l'auteur, sa date de naissance et (éventuellement) sa date de mort. La seconde phrase résume le style et la théorie littéraire de l'auteur et la façon dont il a marqué son époque.
Ces 501 écrivains sont de toutes nationalités et de toutes époques (on débute par Homère et on termine par Chimamanda Adichie).
Le titre m'intriguait: pourquoi 501? La réponse est dans la préface: "l'espace de rêve demeure: il est tout entier contenu dans le 1 qui s'ajoute aux 500, comme dans le 1 des 1001 nuits. Il ouvre le champ des possibles, il laisse imaginer celui qu'on aimerait tant placer parmi les autres; il suggère que la liste n'est pas close."
Chaque biographie débute par un petit encadré de deux phrases, l'une donnant le nom entier de l'auteur, sa date de naissance et (éventuellement) sa date de mort. La seconde phrase résume le style et la théorie littéraire de l'auteur et la façon dont il a marqué son époque.
Ces 501 écrivains sont de toutes nationalités et de toutes époques (on débute par Homère et on termine par Chimamanda Adichie).
August 2, 2011
An interesting, but not spectacular browse book. I love the big pictures of all the authors in question, and any list of great writers like this starts me jotting down new entries in the "to read" journal. However, the book seems to fail as it gets closer to the modern era, including too many folks for what seems like diversity issues or for being controversial rather than being writers who will truly hold up over time.
January 25, 2014
After all, 501 is too few. It also profiles authors who are good but not great and there are notable absentees as well. Somerset Maugham for instance. Of course it focuses more on the Western authors. One of the nice elements in the book, is the highlighting of a sentence from a book written by the authors. This, is nothing, at least helps in building one's list of quotable quotes! It's an ok read in bed.
May 23, 2015
O livro traz uma excelente coletânea dos grandes autores da história. Apesar de um foco maior na literatura anglófila, foi possível "passear" por todos os cantos do planeta e conhecer um pouco das temáticas e preocupações de cada tempo e lugar. O detalhe que fez toda a diferença pra mim e que considerei um carinho especial foi o acréscimo na edição brasileira de 24 autores brasileiros que fizeram a diferença na nossa literatura.
February 17, 2013
Each writer's life and work is summarized by a different contributor. Some are pretty good. Others are, well, ugh. But, this book was so much fun to read. It creates a hunger to read and so many specific books to go out there and grab. A reminder that we don't always need to lunge for newest, latest books. Great writers throughout history have left us a legacy.
June 8, 2016
This book is a nice summary of many of the mains authors in history. There will always be discussion about why this author made it into the list and that other one didn't, but in general, I think it was a fair list, and their biographies and works are succinct and comprehensive.
October 11, 2010
Great book! It introduced me to writers I have never heard of and books I can't wait to read.
October 5, 2013
This is a good reference book or for dipping into to find new writers or books. I found the organization of the book by birth date of the author to be a bit confusing.
March 14, 2014
I would recommend this book to all my fellow librarians. Its very informative and has good photographs too, its great really for browsing if you need to find something out fast...
December 2, 2010
Fun reference.
August 15, 2011
Read this book, read every book mentioned within. Forget GoodReads.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews