The Big Empty

By Norman Mailer, John Buffalo Mailer,

Book cover of The Big Empty: Dialogues on Politics, Sex, God, Boxing, Morality, Myth, Poker and Bad Conscience in America

Book description

Questions are posed, writes Norman Mailer, "in the hope they will open into richer insights, which in turn will bring forth sharper questions. " In this series of conversations, John Buffalo Mailer, 27, poses a series of questions to his father, challenging the reflections and insights of the man who…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked The Big Empty as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Mailer published three nonfiction books near the end of his life to lay out his final take on issues he’d been pursuing his entire writing life and as a highly visible, often notorious, public intellectual: On God, Why Are We at War?—echoing his 1967 novel Why Are We in Vietnam?—and The Big Empty. I chose The Big Empty because the reader comes to understand where Mailer lands finally on so many issues he covered during his decades of political and societal journalism, with a special focus on democracy in America, its potential and its abiding threats.…

From Robert's list on reading Norman Mailer.

Want books like The Big Empty?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Big Empty.

Browse books like The Big Empty

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in civilization, boxing, and George W. Bush?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about civilization, boxing, and George W. Bush.

Civilization Explore 209 books about civilization
Boxing Explore 38 books about boxing
George W. Bush Explore 36 books about George W. Bush