Norman Mailer was the author of more than 30 books, including The Naked and the Dead; The Armies of the Night, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize; The Executioner’s Song, for which he won a second Pulitzer Prize; Harlot’s Ghost; Advertisements for Myself; and The Deer Park. He died in November 2007.

In this selection of letters, the legendary author pulls no punches in correspondences with James Jones, Cynthia Ozick, Larry L. King, and others. Then he hits back hard at New York Times book critic Michiko Kakutani.