From Booklist
In this thoughtful and well-researched biography, Benson follows Stegner's career, studying his literary canon as well as his numerous nonfiction works. Stegner was raised in Utah; his mother instilled in him a love of nature, and his moral code was strongly influenced by the local Mormon community. Benson, who first knew Stegner when the latter taught at Stanford University, shows Stegner's reverence of history as well as his abiding respect for the environment and conservation. As Benson traces Stegner's development as a writer, he argues that Stegner truly developed his artistic voice late in his career, with the publication of his final four novels. Benson pays particular attention to what many believe to be Stegner's masterpiece, Angle of Repose (1971), as well as personal doubts that Stegner wrestled with throughout his career. Benson takes great pains to cover all sides and thoroughly addresses criticism of Stegner's work. This well-balanced biography is not afraid to shed a critical eye on Stegner and will be of great interest to Stegner fans and literary scholars alike. Brendan Dowling
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
Wallace Stegner is one of the finest American writers, teachers, and environmentalists of the twentieth century. While his writing, both fiction and nonfiction, was recognized by a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, and many other distinctions major and minor, his legacy is much larger than any of these would suggest. His Stegner Fellows from Stanford include some of the best writers and scholars of this generation. His thoughtful environmental activism has ever more relevance for the world of today. His riveting nonfiction is taught in colleges and universities worldwide, and his subtle, many-layered fiction has brought joy, sometimes irritation, and inspiration to thousands of hopeful writers as well as readers.

About the Author
Jackson Benson has published ten books on modern American literature, among them The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer which won the PEN-West USA Award for Non-Fiction, and Wallace Stegner: His Life and Work which won the Evans Biography Award. He has twice been a fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities, has received several awards for teaching excellence, and has served on the editorial boards of two scholarly journals. Benson was professor of English and American literature at San Diego State University for thirty-one years until his retirement in 1998.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Wallace Stegner is one of the finest American writers, teachers, and environmentalists of the twentieth century. While his writing, both fiction and nonfiction, was recognized by a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, and many other distinctions major and minor, his legacy is much larger than any of these would suggest. His Stegner Fellows from Stanford include some of the best writers and scholars of this generation. His thoughtful environmental activism has ever more relevance for the world of today. His riveting nonfiction is taught in colleges and universities worldwide, and his subtle, many-layered fiction has brought joy, sometimes irritation, and inspiration to thousands of hopeful writers as well as readers.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Quite simply, Jackson Benson is the best-versed specialist we have on Stegner, whom I consider the best of our recent Western writers. The collection links a superb critic/biographer with a premier western writer. These essays reveal the strengths of Benson's approach to Stegner. Not only does he provide revealing commentaries on the best-known of Stenger's novels, nonfiction, and short stories, he also furnishes new material on Stegner's role in conservation and environmental efforts, his less recognized writings, and his friendship with Robert Frost. — (Richard Etulain, author of Stegner: Conversations on History and Literature)

ACCREDITATION