Chapters from an Autobiography

Here Samuel Steward retraces many of the twists and turns his amazing life has followed. He grew up in small-town Ohio in the early years of the century, became a college professor in Chicago and traveled to Europe to meet famous writers. He knew Lord Alfred Douglas, André Gide, Thomas Mann and Thornton Wilder. Best of all, he describes his long friendship with Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas and his visits to them in Bilignin and Paris. His next metamorphosis was as "Phil Sparrow," tattoo artist and "unofficial collaborator" with Dr. Alfred Kinsey. Concurrently he became "Phil Andros," narrator of the gamey adventures of a well-endowed hustler through six novels and many short stories. Now he looks back over his several careers, recalls in memory his favorite lovers, and counsels the cultivation of detachment.