To please her father, Elena McMahon abandons her coverage of a presidential campaign during the 1980s. She agrees to act as her father's agent in a plan that leads her to an island full of drug traffickers and potential assassins.
The author recalls the weeks and months following the death of her husband of forty years and the severe illness of their only daughter, and discusses the changes that occurred in her life as a result.
Presents a commentary and critique of the actions of the U.S. government since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, arguing that the Bush administration has used the tragedy as a springboard for pushing through its domestic and foreign policies while questioning the patriotism of any and all opponents.
Shares the author's frank observations about her daughter as well as her own thoughts and fears about having children and growing old, in a personal account that discusses her daughter's wedding and her feelings of failure as a parent.
The author parallels the history of her family with that of California, focusing on the contradictions between how California is idealized and the reality of conditions in the state.
The author recalls the weeks and months following the death of her husband of forty years and the severe illness of their only daughter, and discusses the changes that occurred in her life as a result.
Contains essays in which journalist Joan Didion writes of people, places, and events of the 1960s and 70s, including the Manson family, the John Paul Getty museum, and others.
American novelist Joan Didion's first volume of nonfiction essays, first published in 1968, consisting of twenty works that reflect the atmosphere in America during the 1960s, especially in California.
