Books by Truman Capote
Truman Capote (1924-1984) was an American novelist and playwright, probably best-known for his classic, true crime genre-defining book In Cold Blood. “It took him six years to finish it because he had to wait for the court case and the final verdict which was the two perpetrators being executed.”
“It chilled my blood. No pun intended . . . In some of my books, I’ve taken to heart that if you turn right instead of left, either nothing will happen to you, or something really bad will happen to you just because of a seemingly random confluence of events. I learned that lesson vividly from In Cold Blood.” Read more...
David Baldacci, Novelist
“So much of that novella is about personality, and about the way one is liberated by personality or burdened by it.” Read more...
The best books on Personality Types
Merve Emre, Literary Scholar
“I like the range of the collection, and I find it a useful thing to keep with me and refer to. One big hedge with Capote’s nonfiction is that he sometimes made things up. That was more accepted in his day, whereas today it isn’t. When you read Capote, you need to be aware of that…But I still find his language beautiful. There’s a profile of Marlon Brando in this collection which is a classic. Brando later said, I wish I hadn’t talked to that guy, but everything he wrote is true. His essay about Marilyn Monroe is very short and touching.” Read more...
Peter Hessler, Journalist
Interviews where books by Truman Capote were recommended
The Best Narrative Nonfiction, recommended by Peter Hessler
Writer and journalist Peter Hessler selects five books, from Haight Ashbury to a fifth grade classroom, which show how nonfiction can bring true stories to life through literary techniques. He chooses the best of narrative nonfiction.
The best books on Personality Types, recommended by Merve Emre
Since its birth in the early twentieth century, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has become the most popular personality test in the world. Here, Merve Emre, author of the new book The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing, recommends five books that reveal how the language of ‘type’ has seeped into the marrow of American civic institutions and social life—from Fortune 500 companies to Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
The Best Mystery Books, recommended by David Baldacci
The best mystery books are completely unputdownable and addictive, the entertainment they provide more portable than watching TV and so much more satisfying than looking at your phone. Bestselling author David Baldacci, one of the masters of the genre and a passionate advocate for literacy and reading, talks us through some of the best mystery books ever written—as well as the contemporary authors he most admires.
Lynda La Plante recommends the best Crime Novels
The writer of the hugely successful Prime Suspect television series, Lynda La Plante, selects her own favourite crime novels. We haven’t completed the interview with her yet, but her brief email comments appear beside her choices.
The best books on Human Dramas, recommended by R J Ellory
Roger Ellory is a bestselling author whose recommendations include Annie Proulx, Stephen King and Truman Capote. There are, he says, no rules to great writing
