Hit Lit: Cracking the Code of the Twentieth Century's Biggest Bestsellers

DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF WHAT MAKES A MEGA-BESTSELLER IN THIS ENTERTAINING, REVELATORY GUIDE

What do Michael Corleone, Jack Ryan, and Scout Finch have in common? Creative writing professor and thriller writer James W. Hall knows. Now, in this entertaining, revelatory book, he reveals how bestsellers work, using twelve twentieth-century blockbusters as case studies--including The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Jaws. From tempting glimpses inside secret societies, such as submariners in The Hunt for Red October, and Opus Dei in The Da Vinci Code, to vivid representations of the American Dream and its opposite--the American Nightmare--in novels like The Firm and The Dead Zone, Hall identifies the common features of mega-bestsellers. Including fascinating and little-known facts about some of the most beloved books of the last century, Hit Lit is a must-read for fiction lovers and aspiring writers alike, and makes us think anew about why we love the books we love.

Author: James W. Hall
Publisher: Random House Trade
Published: 04/10/2012
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.53lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.18w x 0.69d
ISBN: 9780812970951

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2012
Shelf Awareness 04/20/2012
Publishers Weekly 05/28/2012

About the Author
James W. Hall is the author of seventeen novels, four books of poetry, two short-story collections, and a book of essays. He's also the winner of the Edgar and Shamus awards.