Chester B. Himes: A Biography

"Chester Himes’ life story, as described in this vivid biography, is just as surreal as those detective novels (like *Cotton Comes to Harlem*) that boosted his literary reputation. While attending Ohio State University in the late 1920s, Himes fell into bad company. After a couple of serious brushes with the law, he robbed a white couple inside their home. The upshot was the stuff of nightmares: In a little over the space of one year, Himes went from the state university to the state penitentiary. In prison, he began writing stories that eventually were published in *Esquire*. Himes, like the literature he created, was difficult and sometimes cruel; but biographer Lawrence P. Jackson demonstrates why he’s well worth the trouble."