Jafsie and John Henry: Essays

In this new collection fans and critics -- who can never get enough of David Mamet's iconoclastic insight and barbed observation of human behavior -- will discover an added dimension: as the author turns fifty, he shares not only his reflections on the nature of creativity and the challenge of aging but also his most intimate interests and obsessions.From his longtime mania for poker and its labyrinthine psychology to sharp sallies on moviemaking gibberish and the meaning of macho, Jaffsie and John Henry is knit together by Mamet's unique perspective and inimitably spare wit. Hailed by Kirkus Reviews as a writer whose essays "deliver wit, insight, and truculence in small, mixed doses", the selections leapfrog from Oscar Wilde to the tower of Babel, the Committee on Un-American Activities, and Jewish scripture. Police corruption, the art of acting, and single-malt scotch are all grist for the mill of Mamet's quicksilver mind. He reminisces about his first car, muses on the Lindbergh trial, laments the loss of the art of knife-making, and lambastes Hollywood culture. As ever, Mamet "walks a line between provocation and enticement that always compels attention" (Newsday).