'Crawling to Be Born Again in Bethlehem' is a collection of essays written by Joan Didion throughout the 1960s for various periodicals that played a pivotal role in the development of the 'New Journalism.' In them, Joan Didion, winner of the National Book Award, captures the tectonic shift that occurred in every aspect of American life in the 1960s. The title of the collection and one of its essays is taken from a line in W. B. Yeats's poem 'The Second Coming' (1919), which foreshadows a catastrophe—the birth not of a savior, but of a monster, brought into being by the discord and chaos of a rapidly changing world. 'Crawling to Be Born Again in Bethlehem' is a terrifying account of the disintegration of the old world, yet a probing and sensitive account of the new. It's an engaged observer's account of a unique decade in American history whose contradictory echoes continue to resonate today. Didion invites readers to peer into the dizzying chasm that separates the generation of hippies dropping acid in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district on the eve of the 'Summer of Love' and the generation of John Wayne, the star of Hollywood Westerns, whose time is irrevocably drawing to a close. Balancing irony and empathy, Didion uses sharp, precise brushstrokes to paint vivid portraits not only of individuals—the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes and folk singer and activist Joan Baez—but also of places (Las Vegas, New York, Hawaii, Southern California, and others), presenting a complex image of America that is simultaneously frightening and tender, sinister, recognizably original, lived-in, and deeply personal. Joan Didion (born 1934) is an American writer, journalist, essayist, and screenwriter. Born and raised in Sacramento, California, she has written for Vogue, Life, Esquire, The Saturday Evening Post, The New York Times, and other publications, developing a distinctive, individual style in essays. For her autobiographical book, The Year of Magical Thinking, dedicated to the grieving process of losing a loved one, the writer was awarded the National Book Award and the Medici Prize. Translated from English by Elena Smotrova, edited by Anastasia Karkacheva and Lia Ebralidze.

Author: Joan Didion
Publishing House: No Kidding Press
Year: 2022
Number of pages: 248
Cover type: paperback
Translator: Elena Smotrova
Editor: Anastasia Karkacheva and Lia Ebralidze
Age group: 18+