Let Me Tell You What I Mean

An Essay Collection

By Joan Didion | Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

About the book

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From one of our most iconic and influential writers, the award-winning author of The Year of Magical Thinking: a timeless collection that reveals what would become Joan Didion's subjects, including the press, politics, California robber barons, women, and her own self-doubt.

\"Didion’s remarkable, five decades-long career as a journalist, essayist, novelist, and screen writer has earned her a prominent place in the American literary canon, and the twelve early pieces collected here underscore her singularity.\"—O Magazine


With a forward by Hilton Als, these pieces from 1968 to 2000, never before gathered together, offer an illuminating glimpse into the mind and process of a legendary figure. They showcase Joan Didion's incisive reporting, her empathetic gaze, and her role as \"an articulate witness to the most stubborn and intractable truths of our time\" (The New York Times Book Review).

Here, Didion touches on topics ranging from newspapers (\"the problem is not so much whether one trusts the news as to whether one finds it\"), to the fantasy of San Simeon, to not getting into Stanford. In \"Why I Write,\" Didion ponders the act of writing: \"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means.\" From her admiration for Hemingway's sentences to her acknowledgment that Martha Stewart's story is one \"that has historically encouraged women in this country, even as it has threatened men,\" these essays are acutely and brilliantly observed. Each piece is classic Didion: incisive, bemused, and stunningly prescient.

Editions of Let Me Tell You What I Mean

Hardcover
ISBN 9780593318485
Paperback
ISBN 9780593396551
Paperback
ISBN 9780593312193
EBook
ISBN 9780593318492
AudioStreaming
ISBN 9780593349403
AudioStreaming
ISBN 9780593349427

Read an Excerpt

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From one of our most iconic and influential writers, the award-winning author of The Year of Magical Thinking: a timeless collection that reveals what would become Joan Didion's subjects, including the press, politics, California robber barons, women, and her own self-doubt.

\"Didion’s remarkable, five decades-long career as a journalist, essayist, novelist, and screen writer has earned her a prominent place in the American literary canon, and the twelve early pieces collected here underscore her singularity.\"—O Magazine


With a forward by Hilton Als, these pieces from 1968 to 2000, never before gathered together, offer an illuminating glimpse into the mind and process of a legendary figure. They showcase Joan Didion's incisive reporting, her empathetic gaze, and her role as \"an articulate witness to the most stubborn and intractable truths of our time\" (The New York Times Book Review).

Here, Didion touches on topics ranging from newspapers (\"the problem is not so much whether one trusts the news as to whether one finds it\"), to the fantasy of San Simeon, to not getting into Stanford. In \"Why I Write,\" Didion ponders the act of writing: \"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means.\" From her admiration for Hemingway's sentences to her acknowledgment that Martha Stewart's story is one \"that has historically encouraged women in this country, even as it has threatened men,\" these essays are acutely and brilliantly observed. Each piece is classic Didion: incisive, bemused, and stunningly prescient.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Let Me Tell You What I Mean about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From one of our most iconic and influential writers, the award-winning author of The Year of Magical Thinking: a timeless collection that reveals what would become Joan Didion's subjects, including the press, politics, California robber barons, women, and her own self-doubt.

\"Didion’s remarkable, five decades-long career as a journalist, essayist, novelist, and screen writer has earned her a prominent place in the American literary canon, and the twelve early pieces collected here underscore her singularity.\"—O Magazine


With a forward by Hilton Als, these pieces from 1968 to 2000, never before gathered together, offer an illuminating glimpse into the mind and process of a legendary figure. They showcase Joan Didion's incisive reporting, her empathetic gaze, and her role as \"an articulate witness to the most stubborn and intractable truths of our time\" (The New York Times Book Review).

Here, Didion touches on topics ranging from newspapers (\"the problem is not so much whether one trusts the news as to whether one finds it\"), to the fantasy of San Simeon, to not getting into Stanford. In \"Why I Write,\" Didion ponders the act of writing: \"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means.\" From her admiration for Hemingway's sentences to her acknowledgment that Martha Stewart's story is one \"that has historically encouraged women in this country, even as it has threatened men,\" these essays are acutely and brilliantly observed. Each piece is classic Didion: incisive, bemused, and stunningly prescient.

What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Let Me Tell You What I Mean?

Biography, Literature and Literary studies > Biography and non-fiction prose > Essays

Where can I read a sample of Let Me Tell You What I Mean?

You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780593318485

Is Let Me Tell You What I Mean part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?

Yes it is a part of series Vintage International

Who is/are the Author/s of the book Let Me Tell You What I Mean?

Joan Didion

Who is the Publisher of the book Let Me Tell You What I Mean?

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?

Let Me Tell You What I Mean is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780593318485) and paperback(ISBN 9780593396551) and paperback(ISBN 9780593312193) and ebook(ISBN 9780593318492) and audiostreaming(ISBN 9780593349403) and audiostreaming(ISBN 9780593349427)

Where can I buy Let Me Tell You What I Mean online or support local independent bookshops?

You can buy Let Me Tell You What I Mean from below

Where can I buy Let Me Tell You What I Mean?