Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* Here is Andy Warhol in full: open to suggestion, voyeuristic, given to gallows humor, driven by revenge, anger, and scorn, and determined to glorify the commonplace, infuriate the critics, . . . puzzle the public, and titillate the media. With unprecedented access to remarkable archival materials, the gleanings of 139 interviews, extraordinary analytic powers, and a mutual gift for compelling prose, distinguished arts writers Scherman and Dalton, who knew Warhol, present the most forthright and nuanced portrait yet of the artist who rejected originality and technical virtuosity as criteria for fine art, and focused instead on manipulating potent commercial images. Scherman and Dalton cover in stinging detail Warhol's rough Pittsburgh youth and the afflictions that made sexual relationships so fraught. Inlaid with sharp profiles of numerous pivotal figures, including assistants Gerard Malanga and Billy Name, gallery director Ivan Karp, art historian Henry Geldzahler, and It Girl Edie Sedgwick, this riveting reconsideration assesses Warhol's place in New York's gay society as well as its art world, and chronicles the complex dynamics of Warhol's amphetamine-fueled art and film studio, the infamous Factory. By comprehensively portraying the ferociously influential artist in his prime, up to his nearly fatal shooting in 1967, Scherman and Dalton reveal the essential Warhol in all his contradictions, torment, calculation, and brilliance.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2009 Booklist