James Schiff's book on John Updike is the best I've read. Schiff seems to know everything about Updike, and his ability to discuss such a range of novels in so few pages is impressive. His chapter on Updike as a man of letters is a brilliant, well-researched, and eloquent argument for Updike's place as one of America's finest critics. In addition, he offers the finest criticism I've seen on The Poorhouse Fair, the Scarlet Letter novels, The Witches of Eastwick, Buchanan Dying, Memories of the Ford Administration, Brazil, and In the Beauty of the Lilies. His chapter on the Rabbit novels is also intelligent and articulate, one of the better summaries of that great multivolume achievement. All in all, Schiff's book is a must read for anyone interested in Updike.