Arthur Miller: A Playwright's Life and Works

In the first biography of illustrious American playwright Arthur Miller since his death at age 89, University of Michigan theater professor Brater offers a concise study that, undivided by chapters and greatly enhanced by 70 black and white photographs, reads like a long encyclopedia entry. Taking an ""and then he wrote"" approach, Brater's study hits all the points of Miller's distinguished career from Death of a Salesman to The Crucible and the standard fare of his tumultuous personal life, including his marriage to Marilyn Monroe and testimony before McCarthy's HUAC committee. Due in part to its brevity, the book lacks the depth and interpretation of Martin Gottfried's recent Miller biography, but it offers far better stage production histories of Miller's many plays. Like his earlier work on novelist and playwright Samuel Beckett, Brater presents the facts of Miller's life and work for the general reader or student in need of a basic introduction to one of America's most renowned dramatist. Photos.