h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Unfortunately, nobody seems to have yet written a biography of William Shawn. Perhaps, like Harold Ross, he'll need to be long dead before someone gets around to it.

Until then, there are some resources for the curious:



'Remembering Mr. Shawn's New Yorker: The Invisible Art of Editing' by Ved Mehta
Mehta adored Shawn. Whether it was that adoration or the fact that his blindness made him miss some key facts, this narrative sometimes misses key facts and generously errs on the side of judging Shawn favorably.

'Here But Not Here: My Life with William Shawn and the New Yorker' by Lillian Ross
Lillian Ross was said by many (especially herself) to be Shawn's 'office wife' or his own true love. There's plenty of debate over this book and her claim. Many consider it slightly less accurate than Gill's book. Others are quite confident that she was the only person to see Shawn's lighter side. Your judgment.

'Here at the New Yorker' by Brendan Gill.
Gill's tenure began before Shawn and lasted beyond him. He takes an entertaining look at the magazine and Shawn's style. Warning: don't believe everything. Katherine S. White died in middle of annotating 'Here at the New Yorker' for inaccuracies.

'Gone: The Last Days of The New Yorker' by Renata Adler.
Adler joined the magazine under Shawn and stayed until shortly after he left. She provides a clear, if not unbiased, description of the time.

'The Last Days of The New Yorker' by Gigi Mahon
Couldn't get through this one myself, but it is supposed to have some information about Shawn's youth in it somewhere. Good luck finding it.


A splendid memoir by John O'Sullivan: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-13366241.html


Shawn makes appearances in the memoirs of almost every New Yorker writer, including Roger Angell's 'Let Me Finish', Gardner Botsford's 'A Life of Privilege, Mostly', EJ Kahn's 'About the New Yorker and Me', etc etc.

Also Maeve Brennan's bio by Angela Bourke.

However, none of these provide more than one person's viewpoint, and none provide anything like a comprehensive view of the man.