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Shedding Skin
A tour of the 1950s and 1960s recounts the author's coming-of-age experiences in a period torn between idealism and despair, chronicling his journey between Baltimore and Haight-Ashbury and his witness to the historical events of the time. Reprint.
- GenresNonfictionBiography
244 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
About the author
Robert Ward
32 books19 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Robert Ward was born in Baltimore, Maryland. When he was 15 years old he went to live with his paternal grandmother, Grace, a local social activist. He did his undergraduate work at Towson State University before earning his MFA in writing at the University of Arkansas.
While living in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco he began working on his first novel, Shedding Skin, before moving back to Baltimore for its completion. He taught English at Miami University in Hamilton, Ohio for two years, then moved to Geneva, New York, where he taught at Hobart and William Smith College.
In 1974, he started his career as a journalist, writing for magazines such as New Times and Sport. He moved to New York in 1976 and continued writing "New Journalism" for eight years. During this period, he wrote his novel Cattle Annie and Little Britches as well as the screenplay for the feature film based on the book. After the publication of his fourth novel, Red Baker, in 1985 he was approached by David Milch and offered a job to write for Hill Street Blues.
After Hill Street concluded, Ward become the co-Executive Producer of Miami Vice, and spent five years writing scripts and producing TV movies at Universal Studios. He continues to write and produce television shows and movies as well publish novels.
Robert Ward was born in Baltimore, Maryland. When he was 15 years old he went to live with his paternal grandmother, Grace, a local social activist. He did his undergraduate work at Towson State University before earning his MFA in writing at the University of Arkansas.
While living in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco he began working on his first novel, Shedding Skin, before moving back to Baltimore for its completion. He taught English at Miami University in Hamilton, Ohio for two years, then moved to Geneva, New York, where he taught at Hobart and William Smith College.
In 1974, he started his career as a journalist, writing for magazines such as New Times and Sport. He moved to New York in 1976 and continued writing "New Journalism" for eight years. During this period, he wrote his novel Cattle Annie and Little Britches as well as the screenplay for the feature film based on the book. After the publication of his fourth novel, Red Baker, in 1985 he was approached by David Milch and offered a job to write for Hill Street Blues.
After Hill Street concluded, Ward become the co-Executive Producer of Miami Vice, and spent five years writing scripts and producing TV movies at Universal Studios. He continues to write and produce television shows and movies as well publish novels.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 5, 2017
Exposure through the subconscious, by means of the subconscious. Perfectly fitting to the title, Ward reveals the process of losing the self and recognizing the replacement that is constructed, offering a paranoid yet pointed map of the forces influencing the narrator's pursuit for authenticity.
Reading Bobby Ward's inner dialogue and the experiences he follows on this winding trip (in both the physical and hallucinatory sense) is like watching a dart thrown at one target and hitting one that was out of view. Alarming in the precision, and elegant in the combination of missing and hitting it's mark.
Reading Bobby Ward's inner dialogue and the experiences he follows on this winding trip (in both the physical and hallucinatory sense) is like watching a dart thrown at one target and hitting one that was out of view. Alarming in the precision, and elegant in the combination of missing and hitting it's mark.
July 11, 2012
Mild it was o.k. It really was kind of goofy. Perhaps he was still on acid when he wrote it.
April 4, 2013
Tedious. I may have enjoyed it more if I was taking drugs.
June 30, 2014
Really a collection of essays with a theme of self indulgent drug-fuelled coming of age.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews