{"product_id":"9780801461446","title":"Bureau of Missing Persons: Writing the Secret Lives of Fathers","description":"\u003cp\u003eA devoted reader of autobiographies and memoirs, Roger J. Porter has observed in recent years a surprising number of memoirs by adult children whose fathers have led secret lives. Some of the fathers had second families; some had secret religious lives; others have been criminals, liars, or con men. Struck by the intensely human drama of secrecy and deception played out for all to see, Porter explores the phenomenon in great depth. In \u003cem\u003eBureau of Missing Persons\u003c\/em\u003e he examines a large number of these works-eighteen in all-placing them in a wide literary and cultural context and considering the ethical quandaries writers face when they reveal secrets so long and closely held.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmong the books Porter treats are Paul Auster's \u003cem\u003eThe Invention of Solitude\u003c\/em\u003e, Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir \u003cem\u003eFun Home\u003c\/em\u003e, Essie Mae Washington-Williams's \u003cem\u003eDear Senator\u003c\/em\u003e (on her father, Strom Thurmond), Bliss Broyard's \u003cem\u003eOne Drop\u003c\/em\u003e, Mary Gordon's \u003cem\u003eThe Shadow Man\u003c\/em\u003e, and Geoffrey Wolff's \u003cem\u003eThe Duke of Deception\u003c\/em\u003e. He also discusses Nathaniel Kahn's documentary film, \u003cem\u003eMy Architect\u003c\/em\u003e. These narratives inevitably look inward to the writer as well as outward to the parent. The autobiographical children are compelled, if not consumed, by a desire to know. They become detectives, piecing together clues to fill memory voids, assembling material and archival evidence, public and private documents, letters, photographs, and iconic physical objects to track down the parent.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornell University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47127827808496,"sku":"9780801461446","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780801461446_p0.jpg?v=1763725460","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780801461446","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}