Maps and Legends and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Buy Used
Used - Good See details
Price: £2.80

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Start reading Maps and Legends on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Maps and Legends [Paperback]

Michael Chabon
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £6.74 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.25 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 1 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £4.99  
Hardcover --  
Paperback £6.74  
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more.

Book Description

4 Mar 2010

A collection of essays on books and why they matter by the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY and WONDER BOYS.

MAPS AND LEGENDS is a love song in sixteen parts – a series of linked essays in praise of reading and writing, with subjects running from ghost stories to comic books, Sherlock Holmes to Cormac McCarthy. Throughout, Chabon energetically argues for a return to the thrilling, chilling origins of storytelling, rejecting the false walls around ‘serious’ literature in favour of a wide-ranging affection. His own fiction, meanwhile, is explored from the perspective of personal history: post-collegiate desperation sparks his debut, THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH; procrastination and doubt reveal the way towards WONDER BOYS; a love of comics and a basement golem combine to create the Pulitzer Prize-winning THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY; and an enigmatic Yiddish phrasebook unfurls into THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN’S UNION.


Frequently Bought Together

Maps and Legends + Manhood for Amateurs + Telegraph Avenue
Price For All Three: £25.88

Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Product details

  • Paperback: 250 pages
  • Publisher: Fourth Estate (4 Mar 2010)
  • Language: Unknown
  • ISBN-10: 0007289871
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007289875
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 19.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 113,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Review

Praise for Michael Chabon:

‘Poignant, affecting, witty, wrenching, a terrific writer.' Washington Post

‘The natural exuberance and extravagance of Chabon’s writing is matched by dazzling wit.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘His talent is undisputable. Chabon’s novels are warm, witty, a little whimsical, always beautifully written. He is that rare and precious beast: a literary writer with crossover appeal…’GQ

‘Chabon is a language magician, turning everything into something else just for the delight of playing tricks with words…Chabon's ornate prose makes (Raymond) Chandler's fruity observations of the world look quite plain…He writes like a dream’ Guardian

'He is the most wonderful vaudeville performer.' Philip Hensher, in the Spectator ‘Books of the Year’

About the Author

Michael Chabon is the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of seven novels - including The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and The Yiddish Policemen's Union - two collections of short stories, and one other work of non-fiction. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and children.


Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
ENTERTAINMENT HAS A bad name. Read the first page
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

3 star
0
2 star
0
1 star
0
4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Chabontastic Essays 27 Nov 2008
By A. Ross TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Although I read quite a lot, I've never been that interested in reading about writers or writing. I usually don't care too much about the person behind the words, and the more I learn about the process of getting those words into my hands, the less power the writing tends to have over me. That said, Michael Chabon could write the phonebook and I'd probably check it out -- his command of prose and genre are such that he could probably craft a pretty intriguing story out of the yellow pages. So, when I saw the stunningly beautiful cover of this collection of essays, I picked it up and brought it home, completely unconcerned with the contents. The essays (many of which appeared previously in such publications as The New York Review of Books, McSweeney's, Civilization, and Architectural Digest) fall into a few broad and sometimes overlapping categories: reviews/appreciations, in defense of genre, and influences his own work. In the first category are eloquent pieces on Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, Ben Katchor's graphic novel Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer, Howard Chaykin's comic American Flagg, Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, M.R. James' ghost stories, D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths, and comics legend Will Eisner. Actually, that list gives one a pretty good sense of just why Chabon has been so gung-ho about championing genre literature, as he does in several essays here. I've always agreed with his belief that genre writers tend to be critically marginalized, so none of his arguments were particularly fresh to me. However, for someone who's never really thought about it, they're probably the most articulate defense of genre available. Some may find his tone on this subject a little strident for their taste, but it never really rubbed me the wrong way (although, again, I agree with him). Finally, the essays about the genesis of his own books are excellent -- although probably better appreciated once you've read the books themselves. On the whole, the book is best for existing fans of Chabon, although most avid readers will discover individual essays that appeal to them.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars From ghost stories to comic books, and more 8 May 2010
By J. H. Bretts VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Wonderful essays in this book on M.R.James, Cormac McCarthy, Arthur Conan Doyle, Philip Pullman, Will Eisner and others are so enthusiastic and insightful that they have made me want to immediately find their works and devour them. Chabon has very varied tastes and this is a wide ranging book which thankfully does not confine comic books,graphic novels, science fiction, fantasy and detective fiction to a narrow-minded ghetto. Towards the end the essays get more autobiographical and will be of particular interest to readers of Chabon's novels. As ever, Chabon demonstrates what an elegant, thoughtful and imaginative writer he is.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Telling the truth when the truth matters most... 28 Jan 2011
By Eileen Shaw TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Sixteen essays on the subject of writing and the nature of the writer may not seem an enticing prospect, and it's true that some of these essays have subjects that wouldn't necessarily appeal to a wide readership. Others, however, are sparkling bright with ideas and insights, especially if you are not solely a reader/writer of mainstream fiction. Chabon is uncompromisingly on the side of writing as entertainment. Not as passive enjoyment but as speculative, adventurous, experience. He requires us to see science fiction - and all speculative writing, whether it is written by Nabakov (Ada, or, Ardor) or by Asimov, as equally legitimate in terms of its literary value. As he says, the present situation is moribund: "For even the finest writer of horror or sf or detective fiction, the bookstore, to paraphrase the LA funk band War, is a ghetto."

Much of what Chabon covers in this book is argument for a loosening of the restrictive boundaries between genres. He would like to invoke the notion of playfulness. Why must we always be bound by the marketing world into a rigid distinction of genre? He also writes entertainingly in this collection about Arthur Conan Doyle, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, M R James, and on the inception and concepts germaine to his own novels.

To this end his final piece in this collection one might well designate as his central argument in process. It is a dazzling piece of fiction entitled Golems I Have Known and is subtitled, A Trickster's Memoir. There is some excellent writing in this collection and this final essay is wholly delightful from beginning to end.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges