As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh: Diaries 1964-1980 (Hamish Hamilton)

This, the second of three volumes of Susan Sontag's journals and notebooks, begins where the first volume left off, in the middle of the 1960s. It traces and documents Sontag's evolution from fledgling participant in the artistic and intellectual world of New York City to world-renowned critic and dominant force in the world of ideas with the publication of the groundbreaking "Against Interpretation" in 1966. "As Consciousness Is Harnessed to Flesh" follows Sontag through the turbulent years of the late 1960s - from her trip to Hanoi at the peak of the Vietnam War to her time making films in Sweden - up to 1981 and the beginning of the Reagan era. This is an invaluable record of the inner workings of one of the most inquisitive and analytical thinkers of the twentieth century at the height of her power. It is also a remarkable document on individual's political and moral awakening. Praise for "Reborn": "An exceptionally vivid, and often moving account of a young woman's painful journey towards acceptance of her own nature". ("Sunday Telegraph"). "Inspirational. Sontag shows us not just the importance, but the exhilaration of being earnest". ("New Statesman").