W.Beatty&des.Eye-V756

David Thomson, Dave Thomson. Vintage Books USA, $9.95 (479pp) ISBN 978-0-394-75756-8

In this speculative biography, film critic and novelist Thomson (Suspects) analyzes Beatty's work perceptively, but relies largely on quotes from published interviews when it comes to defining the man himself. The Beatty story is oddly alternated, PW added, with a ""silly futuristic fiction'' on earthquake survivors. Photos. (June)

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