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Author Unknown: On the Trail of Anonymous
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Author Unknown: On the Trail of Anonymous description
This fascinating book describes how an English professor became a detective, sort of. Don Foster still teaches literature at Vassar College, but he's recognized as an expert in attributional theory--the idea that everybody has literary fingerprints, or, as he puts it, "no two individuals write exactly the same way, using the same words in the same combinations, or with the same patterns of spelling and punctuation." Foster is now an expert at identifying anonymous authors. He fell into this line of work accidentally. As a graduate student who spent his days reading forgotten Elizabethan texts, Foster stumbled upon "A Funeral Elegy" by one "W.S." Through careful research, recounted in Author Unknown, he showed that it was, in fact, a long-lost poem of Shakespeare's. His claim was controversial; a chapter on this experience is as much a lesson in academic politics as attribution theory. "To propose an addition to the Shakespeare canon is like announcing that you've found a lost book of the Bible, due for inclusion in future editions," he writes. "History shows that it is usually the attributor who gets burned." For Foster, however, it became a launching pad. In what is his most interesting chapter, Foster explains how he deduced Joe Klein was "Anonymous," the author of the bestselling book Primary Colors. He also became involved in the Unabomber case and a search for the identity of the mysterious novelist Thomas Pynchon. Foster is sometimes said to use computer programs to determine an author's identity, but this is only partly true: he employs searchable databases, and then conducts all of the comparative analysis himself. "Give anonymous offenders enough verbal rope and column inches, and they will hang themselves for you, every time," he writes. The first three chapters--focusing on Shakespeare, Klein, and the Unabomber--are the best part of the book; the rest of it, at times, feels like filler. Yet as a whole, Author Unknown is a compelling blend of autobiography, detective story, and literary analysis. --John J. Miller |
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Author Unknown: On the Trail of Anonymous Customer Reviews
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Neat concept , but only in theory...
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Author Unknown intrigued me for its interesting concept of the identification of writers based on their prior works. While the overall concept was neat, the execution was less than stellar.
Initially, my favorite chapter was the Shakespeare chapter....I found it fascinating how Mr. Foster painstakingly pieced together scraps of information to formulate his theory. But, he lost some of my respect when every other sentence was to poke fun (in a rather childish way) at the other scholars who had come before him and had been less than successful at their tasks. Not classy. Unfortunately, my interest in the chapter was blown once I discovered that 2 years after the publication of this book, it was written up in the NY Times regarding his erroneous claim for the 'Funeral Elegy'....it was John Ford, NOT Shakespeare who authored it. Hmmmmm....open mouth, remove foot, Mr. Foster.
Moving on, the other good chapters were the ones on the Unabomber and 'Primary Colors'. These chapters actually gave insight into Mr. Foster's method of attacking the unknown with regards to the written word. It was fascinating to get a glimpse into how to approach this new methodology.
Sadly, the rest of the chapters were not as engaging. The 'Talking Points' chapter was SO long-winded and full of useless details, I got so confused and felt like I was reading in circles. The 'Night Before Christmas' chapter was painful to read, with the author basically satirizing everyone who approaches him for his help. His attitude is one of "woe is me, I've gotten SO famous" - now, every Tom, Dick and Harry is coming out of the woodwork to consult me about their long-dead relatives' writings.
Overall, an interesting concept and kept me engrossed somewhat...I would recommend certain chapters out of the book, but not all. Too bad Mr. Foster didn't realize that the basic, no-frills description of his work is the main course....we don't need the side dishes of self-aggrandizement, sarcasm and snickering behind his competitors' backs in order to come away feeling satisfied. |
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