Tell Me Something, Tell Me Anything, Even If It's a Lie: A Memoir in Essays

An exhilarating journey through the world of books, featuring personal reflections on Susan Sontag, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, W. G. Sebald, and Christopher Hitchens.

"A troublemaker of the good kind since his youth, Wasserman continues to inspire with his vigorous dedication to the life of the mind, exhibited with clarity and grace in this book." --Viet Thanh Nguyen

Steve Wasserman's long-awaited first book combines the urgency of a political thriller with the critical sharpness of our best essayists. Forged in the crucible of Bay Area radical politics during the 1960s--including formative encounters with the Black Panthers and revolutionary Cuba--Wasserman became one of America's preeminent editors, bringing his keen contrarian political sensibility to book publishing. In thirty essays that cover the sweep of his life, Wasserman recounts his firsthand experiences with figures like Susan Sontag, W. G. Sebald, Barbra Streisand, Daniel Ellsberg, Sister Souljah, Orson Welles, and Christopher Hitchens. And drawing from his decades as an editor, he includes several clear-eyed meditations on the fate of books in the digital age. Poignant, incisive, and always surprising, these essays turn their subjects inside out, daring their readers to cut through the noise of the culture. Tell Me Something, Tell Me Anything, Even If It's a Lie is a revelation, a fresh look at literature and politics that will enchant any book lover.