For the Love of Books

For this ultimate book-lover's guide, more than one hundred famous writers have contributed original essays in response to the question, "What books have left the greatest impression on you and why?" The result is not a contrived list of Western civilization's "Great Books" but a heartfelt commentary on books -- classic and otherwise -- by the writers readers most admire.

In a world of burgeoning book clubs, For the Love of Books offers literally hundreds of wonderfully readable recommendations. Contributors include: Diane Ackerman, Ann Beattie, Amy Bloom, Robert Bly, Rita Mae Brown, Christopher Buckley, Ethan Canin, John Casey, Gretel Ehrlich, Penelope Fitzgerald, Gail Godwin, Nadine Gordimer, Pete Hamill, Jonathan Harr, Tracy Kidder, Caroline Knapp, Elmore Leonard, Doris Lessing, Frank McCourt, Elizabeth McCracken, Arthur Miller, Michael Ondaatje, Cynthia Ozick, Robert B. Parker, Anna Quindlen, Carol Shields, Mona Simpson, John Updike, Wendy Wasserstein, Tobias Wolff, and many others. Index.

For the Love of Books is an invitation to fall in love with the books these writers love -- and a fascinating window into the creative mind.