Capote: A Biography, by Gerald Clarke (2010, e-book 2013)

(nb: I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss)

After he published “In Cold Blood,” Truman Capote was the most famous writer in America, if not the world. Its novelesque telling of a true story received widespread critical acclaim, intrigued the countless readers who bought the book, and was turned into a successful Hollywood film.

This was also the apex of Truman Capote’s life. He’d been successful as a writer, and he’d made friends with his “swans,” a group of incredibly wealthy and powerful women. “In Cold Blood” blew everything into the stratosphere. Capote had made it to the top of the mountain. All that was left was the incredible, ugly fall.

Gerald Clarke’s “Capote: A Biography” is widely considered the definitive story of the tiny acerbic writer who captivated readers.

Clarke spent well over a decade researching his biography, interviewing dozens of Capote’s…