The complete memoirs of Neil Simon, the greatest--and most
successful--American playwright of all time, the author of such iconic
works as Lost in Yonkers, The Odd Couple, Biloxi Blues, and The Goodbye
Girl, now with an insightful Introduction by Nathan Lane.This omnibus
edition combines Neil Simon's two memoirs, Rewrites and The Play Goes
On, into one volume that spans his extraordinary five-decade career in
theater, television, and film. Rewrites takes Simon through his first
love, his first play, and his first brush with failure. There is the
humor of growing up in Washington Heights (the inspiration for his play
Brighton Beach Memoirs) where, despite his parents' rocky marriage and
many separations, he learned to see the funny side of family drama, as
when his mother thought she saw a body on the floor in their
apartment--and it turned out to be the clothes his father discarded in
the hallway after a night of carousing. He describes his marriage to his
beloved wife, Joan, and writes lucidly about the pain of losing her to
cancer. The Play Goes On adds to his life's story, as he wins the
Pulitzer Prize and reflects with humor and insight on his tumultuous
life and meteoric career. "Neil Simon's terrific memoirs are worth
revisiting" (New York Post). Now, with the whole story in one place, he
traces the history of modern entertainment over the last fifty years as
seen through the eyes of a man who started life the son of a garment
salesman and became the greatest--and most successful--American
playwright of all time.
