Norman Mailer

I read the books of Norman Mailer up to "Ancient Evenings." There is nothing I loathe about this book about the Egyptians. I just found it too hard to read then. I read "The Executioner's Song" as well as Marilyn: A Biography, The Armies of the Night, Miami and the Siege of Chicago, Of a Fire on the Moon, King of the Hill: On the Fight of the Century. You can check that out in the old YMCA in Baguio. You will see my name there. The only Mailer book I bought is "Advertisements for Myself." I love his bravado and his insistence that writers should not just write but join in rallies, love young women, run for mayor and fight in bars. Maybe he was one reason I went to journalism. He championed the Beats and started Village Voice.
This is not the Mailer I know, the way New York Times wanted him known:

This is the Mailer I read. I want him to fight for me, advertise for me, heckle for me.